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.

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 95 with no less than 21 in each of the subtests.
IELTS: an overall score of 7.0 with no less than 6.5 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.
Course Prerequisites

Please see our Calendar

Applicants to the MSc program are expected to have completed the following courses or their equivalents: ZOOL 342 and PHYSL 372. Students deficient in this area may be expected to take these courses soon after admission.

For applicants external from the University of Alberta, please specifically identify the courses in your transcript to be considered by the Neuroscience Graduate Program Committee (NGPC). These courses can be identified in your Statement of Interest. 

If an applicant does not have these courses, only a conditional admission is granted and the student will be on probation until such time as they meet these requirements.

Applicants to the PhD program who do not have a sufficient Neuroscience background may be required to take additional courses to ensure an adequate background. These will be considered extra-to-degree.
Supporting Documents required for admission
1.   Three letters of reference with at least two from academic sources.
2.   Statement of Research Interest
3.   Curriculum vitae
4.   All transcripts
5.  Supervisor confirmation and applicant funding information form (please reach out to nmhiedu@ualberta.ca for this form). This form is to be completed by the supervisor and sent to the department Graduate Program Administrator. 
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.
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Graduate Studies at the U of A
More information about applying to the University of Alberta as a Graduate Student is available on Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies website.
Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies