International Academic Requirements

The Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) sets a minimum academic standard for admission for both Canadian and international applicants. Please see below for our minimum academic requirements for both Master's and Doctoral student admissions.

Please be advised that some departments may have additional or higher admission qualifications. Always visit the department website or contact the department directly for program specific admission requirements. (Note: You can access the department’s website via the program page hosted on this site; each page provides preliminary information and a link to the department site, located at the bottom of the page under “Contact.”)


Master's Programs

Applicants are normally required to have completed a four-year baccalaureate degree, or its academic equivalent, from an academic institution recognized by the University of Alberta.

An admission grade point average of 3 on most 4-point grading systems or B on most letter grading systems, based on your most recent two years of full time study (or equivalent) is required.

Doctoral Programs

Applicants are normally required to have completed a master's degree, or its academic equivalent, from an academic institution recognized by the University of Alberta.

An admission grade point average of 3 on most 4-point grading systems or B on most letter grading systems, based on your most recent two years of full time study (or equivalent) is required.

Additional Requirements

Some departments have additional requirements, such as:

  • Statement of research interests
  • Previous work experience in the field
  • Educational tests such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), or Miller Analogies Test

Contact the department directly to find out if there are any additional requirements.


Minimum Academic Requirements

Since degrees vary greatly from institution to institution and country to country, the University of Alberta will examine course content to establish equivalencies to a U of A baccalaureate degree. For a list of minimum academic requirements by country, please see here.

For more information on graduate admissions and related topics, please review the Graduate Program Manual Section 5: Admissions.