Applying to the Program

Prospective students wishing to apply to the NMHI graduate student program must ensure that the following steps are taken and conditions are met:

1. Admission criteria has been met (see below).
2. A supervisor and funding has been secured. It is the student's responsibility to contact potential supervisor's directly. Please do not begin your application to the program without supervisor and funding confirmation.
3. The student has applied to the program through the admissions portal.
4. The application will then be sent to the Director of Graduate Studies and Neuroscience Graduate Program Committee (NGPC) for their review and approval. If successful, we will proceed with submitting your application through the admissions portal.

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Admission Criteria for the NMHI Graduate Student Program

Grade Point Average

The minimum GPA for students who have completed post secondary education in Canada or the United States is 3.0 on a 4.0 scale based on at least the last 20 courses or 60 course credits (or U of A equivalent).

Minimum GPA requirements for applicants from other countries must be equivalent to a 3.0 based on at least the last 20 courses or 60 course credits (usually the last 2 years of study).

Students who do not meet the minimum requirement cannot be considered.

GPA and other application requirements are the same for both the MSc and the PhD, unless otherwise noted.

Supervision

As the NMHI's Neuroscience Graduate Studies program is thesis-based, applicants must have a supervisor and funding in place before they can be accepted into the neuroscience program.

Acceptance by a supervisor does not guarantee admission into the NMHI. The final decision is administered by Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS). 

English Language Proficiency

English Language Proficiency for Applicants whose first language is not English.

As English is the primary language of instruction at the University of Alberta, all applicants must be proficient prior to admissions. Minimum requirements of the proficiency exams include:

TOEFL: an overall score of at least 100 with no less than 21 in each of the subtests.
IELTS: an overall score of 7.0 with no less than 6.0 on each of the subtests.

Please note: TOEFL Institute or IELTS Testing Institute results can be directly uploaded through the Admission portal.

Students will not be required to take an English language proficiency test under one of the following conditions:

• Their institution is included in Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies exemptions list.
• They have completed a post-secondary degree in the United States or Canada, even if the student's first language is not English.
• Their institution's language of instruction is English. An official letter stating that this is the case must be sent from the institution directly to the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute.

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Evaluation of Applications

All applications will be reviewed by the NMHI Director of Graduate Studies and the Neuroscience Graduate Program Committee (NGPC).  Applications being considered for acceptance will be forwarded to the prospective supervisor who will confirm that funding is available. If all admission requirements have been met, the application will be sent to Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) for further processing.

The final admission decision is made by GPS. Applicants should note that possession of the minimal entrance requirements does not guarantee admission to the program. Information provided in the completed application, the availability of resources and the identification of an appropriate supervisor will all factor into the final decision.