Admissions

Applicants must complete at minimum a four-year undergraduate degree, or its academic equivalent in any discipline from an academic institution recognized by the University of Alberta (ie, BA, BSc, BCom, BEd, BPE, BFA, etc).

Applicants may apply before their degree is complete. However, the degree requirements must be completed, date of convocation must be stated, and official grades appear on a transcript by June 30 of the admission year in order to be eligible for admission.

Note: Diploma and/or certificate programs are not accepted and courses are not included in GPA calculations.

The minimum GPA for any graduate program at the University of Alberta is a 3.0 on the 4 point scale (75% or grade of B) on the most recent 60 credits (20 courses) of study, including Spring/Summer terms, exchange programs, etc.

Admission to our program is extremely competitive. Applicants should present at least a 3.4 GPA (80%, B+) average on the most recent 60 credits (20 courses) of coursework to be considered for admission.

Note: Meeting the competitive admission GPA in a particular year does NOT guarantee admission

More Information

Regarding GPA calculation, courses included/excluded from the GPA calculation, and cut off GPA scores for the last two admission cycles.

FAQ's

*IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR FALL 2027 ADMISSIONS - The timeline for Statistics and Human Anatomy completion has been shortened from 10 years to 5 years. 

You must complete an approved Statistics and Human Anatomy, minimum 3 credit course within 5 years of the term in which you are applying. We also require a Indigenous History course (3 credits) or Certificate version of the MOOC linked below. 

Prerequisite statistics and human anatomy courses that are older than 5 years will NOT be accepted.

Statistics

As a minimum, the course needs to cover:

• Quantitative data collection
• Descriptive statistics
• Probability distributions
• Sampling distributions and the central limit theorem
• Interval estimation and hypothesis testing
• Introduce types of analysis such as
  • Correlations and regression analysis
  • Goodness of fit
  • Contingency tables
  • Analyses of variance

An "Intro Stat" or other general quantitative stats course that covers the topics above may fulfill this requirement.

Approved Statistics Courses

Human Anatomy

As a minimum, the course needs to cover the gross and microscopic anatomy of the tissues, organs and organ systems of the entire human body, with emphasis on the relationships, interactions and functions of major structures. Most "Intro to Human Anatomy" courses fulfill this requirement. Physiology courses do NOT fulfill the requirement.

If the course is 6 credit Human Anatomy/ Physiology at least 3 credits needs to be pure anatomy.

Approved Human Anatomy Courses

Online Prerequisite Courses at U of A

The department of Physical Therapy at the University of Alberta offers an online Anatomy course PTHER 350 and Statistics PTHER 352 course that meet the Occupational Therapy department's prerequisite requirements.

PTHER 351 does NOT meet our Anatomy requirements.

Online Prerequisite Courses

Canadian Indigenous History

Course requirements may be fulfilled through the certificate version of the University of Alberta Indigenous Canada Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), or an academic equivalent (3 credits).

You do not have to be a University of Alberta student to take the MOOC. Students will receive a certificate upon course completion that should be uploaded to their online application. Applicants taking the certificate course are required to have it completed by the time of application (January 31) as the certificate must be uploaded to the "Supplemental Application Info" section of the online application. The certificate course will not be included in the GPA calculation.

If an applicant chooses to take this prerequisite for credit, they should ensure that the course has been approved by the Department of Occupational Therapy by checking the pre-approved courses link, or applicants can have a course approved by following the instructions listed below. Credit courses will be included in the GPA calculation, if applicable. Courses that focus on Indigenous health and wellness are NOT sufficient for this requirement.

To be eligible for approval courses need to cover at minimum the following topics:

• The fur trade and other exchange relationships
• Land claims and environmental impacts
• Legal systems and rights
• Political conflicts and alliances
• Indigenous political activism
• Contemporary Indigenous life, art and its expressions

Approved Indigenous History Course

Prerequisite Approval

If the prerequisite course(s) you've taken don't appear on the lists provided, they must be approved by the department BEFORE the application deadline of January 31. This applies to both International and domestic applicants.

To have a course approved send the course name/number, institution name and course outline/syllabus to mscot@ualberta.ca.

A PDF copy of the course outlines/syllabus must be submitted by email in order to have a course reviewed for equivalency. Calendar descriptions of courses, screen shots etc, of courses are NOT accepted. Requests for course evaluations that do not include a PDF course outline will denied. 

The department of OT can not assist in registration of prerequisite courses. Please contact the university registrar or department that offers the courses directly for registration assistance.

Applying Before Prerequisite is Completed

You may apply to the program without completing one or all of the prerequisite courses. You must:

1. Upload your transcript into your application before January 31 showing you're enrolled in an approved course(s).
2. Email an official copy of the transcript(s) to mscot@ualberta.ca by June 30 showing that you have successfully completed the course(s).
3. If you don't email official transcripts with final grades to the department by June 30 your application will be considered incomplete and not reviewed for admission.

If taking the Indigenous Canada MOOC Certificate it MUST be completed by the application deadline of January 31st as applicants are required to upload the certificate to the "Supplemental Application Info" section of the online application. Failure to upload the certificate by January 31st will result in an incomplete application which will not be reviewed for admission.

You must upload a CV, or Resume to your online application by the January 31 application deadline. Applications that are missing a CV, or Resume will be considered incomplete and not reviewed for admission.

You may format and/or organize your CV, or Resume as you see fit. The CV/Resume should list work and/or academic experience. It is NOT an opportunity to submit a personal statement regarding admission to the program. 

Transcript Requirements

Transcripts must meet the requirements listed on the GPS Document Preparation webpage.

Applicants must list all academic institutions attended/attending on the application and provide one set of official transcripts in PDF format from each University, college, technical institute, etc, ever attended or are currently attending. This includes:

• Transfer
• Exchange
• Graduate level
• Part-time
• Distance programs
• General interest courses
• Spring/summer sessions, even if you may or may not have received transfer credit at another institution

You must list each institution separately under the education section of your  application, then scan and upload transcripts (front and back pages) to your application by the January 31 deadline.

You must upload all admission documents including transcripts in to your application by the January 31 deadline.

• The department will not upload any admission documents into the application on behalf of a applicant.
• Transcripts that are faxed, mailed or emailed to the department by you or your University will not be accepted.
• PDF transcripts must be uploaded to the applications system. Links to transcripts are not accepted.
• Transcripts uploaded to the admission system can not be password protected
• Unofficial transcripts may be accepted provided the meet the requirements listed on the Document Preparation webpage.
• Upon admission to the program, you'll be provided information as to when, and how to submit official sealed transcripts (if required)
• Failure to list and provide complete transcripts from all institutions you attended on the application may be considered an intentional omission and will lead to the cancellation of your application for admission, or withdrawal of your offer of admission
• Transcripts can't be older than one year from the term of which you are applying i.e. Fall xxxx
  
  • It's important that you request transcripts before the deadline
• Photos of documents are not acceptable
• Once transcripts have been uploaded to the online application by the applicant they can not be replaced or deleted. For this reason transcripts MUST show fall term grades and winter term registration if applicable.
• If fall term grades and winter term registration (if applicable) is missing the application will be considered incomplete and not reviewed for admission. 

Requesting Transcripts

• You can request PDF transcripts from your Post Secondary institution be sent to you by email
  • Upload these transcripts to your application
  • Uploaded PDF transcripts can not be password protected
• If PDF transcripts are not available from your university you may request sealed transcripts be mailed to you
  • Once you receive your paper transcripts you may break the seal and open the envelopes
  • Scan the transcripts (front and back pages) into a PDF file and upload it to your application

Apply During Fall Term

• If you are enrolled in Fall term (Sept - Dec) courses, only upload your transcript once all fall term grades have been reported, by January 31. *Do not upload your transcript without all your Fall term grades reported. 

Apply During Winter Term

If at the time of application you are registered in any winter term courses (prerequisites included), or will not convocate by the January 31 application deadline.

• Upload an official transcript(s) in PDF format to the online application system indicating registration in the winter term course(s) by January 31. *Do not upload your transcript without all your fall term course grades reported or winter term registration reflected. 
• Email a final transcript(s) PDF to mscot@ualberta.ca by June 30.  Transcripts must show all final winter term course grades, state that degree requirements have been met, and show the date of convocation
• If the course(s), degree, and convocation are not completed, or transcripts are not received by email by June 30 the application will be considered incomplete and not reviewed for admission
• Transcripts should be emailed to MScOT@ualberta.ca by the applicant not shared by a third party sender as these are often directed to the spam folder.  Only transcripts sent directly by applicants will be confirmed by a reply email. 

If you have not convocated at the time of applying the Degree certificate field can be left blank on the application.

Applicants No Longer Attending Post-secondary Institutions

Upload all transcripts in PDF format as soon as possible after starting an application.

U of A Past/Present Students

• Submit one unofficial (from BearTracks), or official U of A transcript in PDF
• Transcripts from all other-post secondary institutions ever attended must also be submitted even though you may have received transfer credit at the U of A

You must complete a situational judgements exam offered by CASPer testing. CASPer testing is external to the University of Alberta, and testing results are sent directly to the department from CASPer.

Applicants with incomplete or missing CASPer scores will not be considered for admission.

Book Online

Applicants must take the CASPer test once for every admission cycle. Testing dates can be found on the CASPer website.

The last testing date offered is scheduled before the January 31st application deadline. Meaning applicants need to plan accordingly to meet the application requirements and deadlines.

Applicants with questions about the CASPer exam need to contact CASPer directly. 

Statement of Interest and Applicant Self Reflection Questionnaire

• The Statement of Interest and Applicant Self Reflection Questionnaire (ASRQ) are listed under Forms and Additional Uploads which an be accessed AFTER applicants submit their online application.
•  Applicants are required to complete both the Statement of Interest and ASRQ. Applications missing either one of these items will be considered incomplete and not reviewed for admission. 
• Once submitted these forms can not be altered or edited.

Prerequisites

• International applicants must ensure their prerequisite statistics and human anatomy courses, are acceptable to fulfill the requirements before the application deadline of January 31.
• You must email official course outlines/syllabus to mscot@ualberta.ca before the January 31 application deadline for review.
• Official course outlines must be PDF documents issued by the institution and include.
  • Institutions name
  • Course name
  • Marking scheme
  • Credit or hour requirement
  • A description of the topics covered
• If this requirement is not met courses can't be reviewed.

Degree equivalences

Since degrees vary greatly from institutions and countries, the University of Alberta will examine course content to establish equivalences to a University of Alberta baccalaureate degree.

Although you may present the minimum academic and prerequisite course requirements to be considered for admission, all applicants must well exceed the minimum requirements to be considered for admission. A competitive application doesn't guarantee admission into the program.

Minimum Academic Requirements

Documents Requirements 

• Official transcripts, or marksheets in both the original language and an official, English translation from each institution attended.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the Application Requirements for Academic Documents.
• Official copy of degree certificate and English translation is required if the degree awarded does not appear on the official transcript.
• Original English language test scoresheet (TOEFL, TSE, IELTS) is required.
• Course outline/syllabus of both the statistics and human anatomy courses that will be used to fulfill the prerequisite course requirements must be submitted prior to the January 31 deadline to ensure that requirements are fulfilled.
• World Education Services (WES) evaluations are NOT accepted.

English Language Proficiency Requirement

English is the primary language of instruction at the University of Alberta and all applicants must be very proficient in written and spoken English. Our Occupational Therapy courses are very comprehensive and therefore you need to have a very good command of the English language. Students MUST be fluent English-language speakers to be able to successfully complete fieldwork placements.

English Language Proficiency Exams

If you completed your degree in a country or University listed on the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Exemptions list you will not have to provide a English Language test.

Applicants with degrees/qualifications in a language other than English, or from a country where English is not the primary language may need to demonstrate English Language Proficiency through one of the following exams. These scores are the minimum requirement to apply, successful applicants present much higher, competitive scores.

As per the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Graduate Manual, a test of English Language must have been completed in the last two years. Test that are older than two years will not be accepted.

• TOEFL
  • Minimum overall score of 100
  • Minimum score of 25 on each of the individual skill areas
• IELTS
  • (Academic) minimum overall band score of 7.5
  • With at least 7.0 on each band
• PTE
  • (Academic) overall minimum score of 61
  • Minimum band score of 60