Supporting Documents

All supporting documents are uploaded directly to FGSR's Application Portal.

Do not send any documents by mail to the department unless specifically asked to. Do not refer to Bear Tracks at any time during the Application phase as the information on Bear Tracks does not reflect the true status of your application. Always refer to the Applicant Portal. Documents can be uploaded to your portal at any time during the application process before review.

Required documents

• Transcripts (see below for the requirements for Acceptance of Uploaded Transcripts)
• Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Three letters of reference provided by academic staff members capable of assessing the applicant's academic and research ability. References are requested by applicant via the portal at the time of application, and are uploaded directly to the application by the referee. (Students who are graduating from the UofA do not have to provide letters of reference.) Hardcopies are not required.
• Official English Language Proficiency scores (if applicable) such as TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB, etc. Do not send GRE.

International applicants should refer to the International Admission Requirements.

Canadian applicants should refer to the Canadian Admissions Requirements.

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Requirements for Acceptance of Uploaded Transcripts

Applicants must upload all current transcripts to complete the application process.

• Include all transcripts from each post-secondary institution you attended (including incomplete studies, exchange and transfer credit courses)
  • All transcripts must have a recent date on which it was printed
  • If your previous education was completed in India or Pakistan, individual marksheets MUST be submitted; consolidated transcripts are NOT acceptable.
• A Degree Certificate must accompany transcripts* that do not clearly indicate:
  • that a degree has been conferred/awarded/granted; and
  • the date on which the degree was conferred.
    • Degree certificates must include the date of issue, the registrar's signature, and a post-secondary institution stamp or seal.
• *You may have an interim transcript that does not yet indicate that a degree has been conferred and the date that degree was conferred. However, final transcripts from all North American and many international institutions will include this information; in which case there is no need to submit a Degree Certificate.

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Uploaded Documents

Uploaded documents must meet the following criteria in order to be accepted:

• The document must include the applicant's full name, post-secondary institution name, academic program, the grading scheme/scale legend, names and numbers of courses, year and term of attendance, credits, and grades received.
• The transcript must be scanned in its entirety (front and back pages) and be legible. If the back page is blank there is no need to scan.
• As applicable:
  • Transcripts provided to support a degree that has been conferred must cover the entire period of the degree.
  • An English translation of transcripts in languages other than English must be provided by the issuing institution or by a certified translator.
    • If the transcript is issued in French by a Canadian institution, then no English language translation is required.

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Acceptable Transcripts

Acceptable transcripts may include either:

• A transcript issued to the student by the post-secondary institution; or
• A transcript/student record obtained from self-serve web system of the post-secondary institutions (must meet the criteria listed above and provide the system's URL and print date)

We do not accept documents notarized by a notary public, or endorsed by a lawyer, professor, or judge.

Transcripts uploaded on the online application portal are considered to be unofficial documents.

If an applicant receives a conditional offer of admission, they must then provide official transcripts. These must be sent directly from the post-secondary institution to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research office for authentication purposes.

Killam Centre for Advanced Studies
2-29 Triffo Hall, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T6G 2E1

Questions with regard to supporting documents can be sent to ecegadm@ualberta.ca.