Admissions and Deadlines

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.

Admission to the graduate programs is competitive. We encourage early submission of applications.

For more information on the application process, please check out the Graduate Application Process: Step by Step by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

On this page:

Minimum qualifications for eligibility

The following represents the minimum qualifications for eligibility:

Masters Programs

  1. an undergraduate degree equivalent to a University of Alberta Bachelor of Education degree (BEd);
  2. teaching certification;
  3. a grade point average of 3.0 on a 4 point grading system (if you wish to apply to the MEd program and your GPA is less than 3.0, please contact the department before applying);
  4. at least one year of successful teaching experience at the early childhood, elementary or middle classroom level (student teaching and substitute teaching does not qualify).

Doctoral Program

  1. a master's degree or its academic equivalent from an academic institution recognized by the University of Alberta;
  2. a minimum grade point average of 3.3 on most 4 point grading systems, based on your most two years of full-time study is required;
  3. at least one year of successful teaching experience at the early childhood, elementary or middle classroom level (student teaching and substitute teaching does not qualify);
  4. A program supervisor who has agreed to supervise their doctoral program and research.

Application documents

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (FGPS) requires all documents to be uploaded to the application system in PDF format. All documentation uploaded must not be older than six months.

Applicants are not required to mail copies of documents to Elementary Education. We do recommend you compile all supporting documents before starting your application.

The following represents the documents needed by the application submission deadline:

Master or Doctoral Programs

  1. All University transcripts and/or marksheets (degree certificates from non-Canadian universities must also be submitted);
    • The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies requires all transcripts and marksheets to meet specific guidelines.
  2. Current curriculum vitae (resumé) portraying scholarly studies and professional educational activities, such as teaching, curriculum development, consulting, etc. (we recommend that you do NOT use the template provided by FGPS because it does not allow you the space to highlight your experiences);
  3. Statement of intent (500 words approximately) carefully and thoughtfully prepared, describing one's interest in graduate study in this Department and reasons for wanting to pursue advanced study in Elementary Education.
    • Applicants to the doctoral programs should also describe the area of scholarship they intend to pursue, as well as the name of the faculty member who has agreed to supervise their program. Doctoral applicants must address how they meet the funding requirements in their letter of intent. If you are a working professional employed at or above the 0.5 FTE, please upload the Confirmation of Employment form into the GSMS portal, or email the signed copy to essgrad3@ualberta.ca to be added to your application.
  4. Three letters of reference from persons qualified to comment on the applicant's academic work and potential for graduate study. It is highly recommended that one or more letters be from persons at the institution last attended. Student sends link to their referees directly from the application portal. Referees need to send their letters to the student's application portal.
  5. Doctoral applicants only: Sample of student's writing 20 pages, maximum. Please send the writing sample as a PDF.

English language proficiency (ELP)

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (FGPS) requires all applicants to demonstrate English language proficiency. Applicants with degrees/qualifications in a language other than English need to demonstrate English Language Proficiency by completing an approved English language exam.

To be admitted to Elementary Education programs, applicants must meet the minimum exam scores as outlined below:
  • TOEFL: minimum score of 580 (paper-based), 237 (computer-based), or a total score of 93 with a score of at least 24 on speaking and writing and 20 on reading and listening (internet-based)
  • MELAB: minimum score of 90
  • IELTS (Academic): minimum overall band score of 7.0, with at least 6.5 on each band
  • CAEL: overall minimum score of 70, with at least 60 on each subtest
  • PTE (Academic): overall minimum score of 64

Note: Applicants with qualifications from certain countries and international universities are exempt from the English language requirements.

Application deadlines

Canadian citizen, permanent resident, landed immigrant

Deadline
Masters Programs March 1
Doctoral Programs December 1

International

Deadline
Masters Programs March 1
Doctoral Programs December 1
Contact

Graduate Program Advisor:
Email: essgrad3@ualberta.ca

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