Admission Requirements and Criteria

NOTE: These are minimum admission requirements. Many programs have additional specific requirements that you must meet. Please refer to your specific program of interest.

For the 2025-2026 academic year, the Faculty of Education will only consider applicants to the PhD program with full-time status if they meet one of the following conditions: 

• Remains professionally employed at or above .5 FTE (this includes four over five arrangements) during their studies. 
• Has a supervisor who has expressed in writing the ability and intention of funding the student to $25,000 for each of the first two years (this includes financial co-sponsorship with another faculty member).
• Is applying as an Indigenous student (1 studentship) or a member of an equity-denied group (1 studentship). 
• Is sponsored by an external agency at or above $25,000 per year or has an external scholarship at or above $25,000.
• For the Counselling Psychology (CP) and School and Clinical Child Psychology (SCCP) programs, please consult their websites for additional information on doctoral applications

The minimum admission requirements are a four-year undergraduate degree or equivalent (typically in education or psychology) from a recognized institution, with a minimum GPA of 6.5/9.0 or 3.0/4.0 on the most recent 60 credits of course work. Students are NOT required to complete the GRE for admission purposes. Those students whose previous academic work was completed in a language other than English must provide proof of proficiency in the English language. The following are acceptable:

• TOEFL score of 580 paper-based; OR
• TOEFL score of 237 computer-based; OR
• TOEFL score of 93 Internet-based (IBT), with a score of at least 24 on speaking and writing, and 21 on reading and listening (ITP not accepted); OR
• IELTS Academic score of 7 with no band less than 6.5; OR
• Pearson Test of English score of 63
• Duolingo English test score of 120 with minimum of 100 in each band

Students entering the TESL Ph.D. must have an overall TOEFL iBT score of 101 with a minimum of 23 in Listening, 23 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 26 in Writing; OR an overall IELTS Academic score of 7 with no band less than 6.5.

An applicant's undergraduate academic performance, letters of reference, work experience, letter of intent, and areas of academic interest are all taken into account during the selection process for all graduate programs. Due to the necessity for quotas in many program routes and the limited resources of the Faculty, many highly qualified applicants cannot be admitted. While the Faculty encourages as many applicants as possible, it also recommends applicants apply to other universities in the event they cannot be admitted to the University of Alberta.

Admission Decisions are made based on the following criteria:

Criteria for Admission Decisions

		MEd Thesis	MEd Course- based	PhD
1)	Previous academic record (average of last 60 credits)	Yes	Yes	Yes
2)	Academic background in area of interest	Yes	Yes	Yes
3)	Educational or work experience	Yes	Yes	Yes
4)	Research experience	Yes	No*	Yes
5)	Letters of recommendation	Yes	Yes	Yes
6)	Statement of intent	Yes	Yes	Yes
7)	Match with area supervisory capacity	Yes	No	Yes
8)	Publications and presentations	No	No	Yes

*Research experience is required for the course-based program in Counselling Psychology. More information can be found on their program page here

The graduate program operates on a year-round basis (see area specific application deadlines). Students are normally only admitted for programs which start in September.

Contact

• essgrad1@ualberta.ca