Prospective Student Frequently Asked Questions

In cases where an applicant's GPA falls below the minimum we may consider life achievement, providing you meet the Guidelines for Considering Life Achievement.

Please note the following:

• In order to be considered for life achievement an applicant must meet the criteria.
• Life achievement does not guarantee admission; it only helps determine an applicant's eligibility. Even if life achievement is met, the Admissions Committee may still choose to deny an application.
• We do not require or accept Graduate Record Examination (GRE) results, and we cannot use GRE scores when calculating an admission GPA.
• We are unable to provide preliminary screening. Review of an individual’s file will only take place after an application has been submitted.

To be eligible for consideration for admission applicants must present a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or an equivalent grade), calculated over the most recent coursework equivalent to two years of full-time study. At the University of Alberta this is ★60 (20 courses).

The Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies uses an internal calculator that converts different grading schemes (both domestic and international) into the 4.0 scale that the University of Alberta follows.

1. The degree and date conferred must be printed on your transcript.
2. Degree Certificate.
3. If you have completed all your courses but items 1 and 2 are not yet available because you are still waiting for graduation, you must request a letter confirming program completion and expected date of graduation from the Registrar’s Office of the institution you attended.

Individuals without a completed Bachelor's Degree may still be eligible to apply via the Life Achievement Criteria.

For this case, we suggest that you send a copy of your CV to the Graduate Administrator prior to submitting an application. Your CV will be forwarded to the Graduate Coordinator who will assess your profile to see if you indeed meet the Life Achievement Criteria for those without an undergraduate degree, if not you will be given recommendations on how you’ll be able to boost your eligibility to apply to the program.

You need to submit transcripts for ALL postsecondary studies you have taken, including but not limited to: discontinued programs, study abroad, short courses, transfer credits.

For transfer credits, you need to submit BOTH transcripts:

• Where the credits were originally taken, and
• Where the credits were transferred to.

In order for unofficial transcripts to be accepted during the application process, these must contain the following:

• Your name
• Program
• Institution Name/Logo
• Print date
• URL where it was downloaded from

Your referees must be able to:

• Give us an idea of how you perform, whether in an academic or professional setting.
• Let us know what makes you stand out.
• Tell us why you are a good fit for graduate studies, the field, and/or our program.

A.) If they are only sending transcripts by mail, have them mail these to the below address:

Education Student Services (ATTN: Sarita De Guzman)
1-107 Education Centre North
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T6G 2G5

B.) If they are sending these either through MyCreds or by email, have them send these to slis@ualberta.ca.

Additional Notes if submitting transcripts through either of these methods:

1. Make sure to send transcripts to these addresses ONLY as searching for and requesting these from other offices here at the University of Alberta will cause delays to your application.
2. Make sure to inform the Graduate Administrator beforehand.

The admissions process is divided into three stages:

1. Preliminary Screening (September 15 to December 15)

• This stage is facilitated by the Graduate Administrator. This is where:
  • Your eligibility will be determined
  • Your application requirements will be checked if correct and/or complete
  • Your admission GPA will be calculated

Note: The Graduate Administrator will give you a status of your application and will inform you if there’s any issue with your application. All eligible and completed applications will be reviewed by the Faculty at the same time, regardless of when you submitted your application.

2. Faculty Review (~January to February)

• The SLIS Faculty will review the eligible and completed applications and decide which applicants will be recommended for admission.

3. Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies’ Review (~February to April)

• All applications recommended for admission will be forwarded to GPS for final review. If all documents are in order, you will be issued an admission offer letter. If not, they will contact the Graduate Administrator who will then get in touch with you to get these sorted.

• Fall (September-December)
• Winter (January-April)
• Spring (May-June)
• Summer (July-August)

All SLIS students are required to take the five core courses listed below, plus two IT-designated elective courses. For more information please see our MLIS Program Courses page.

• LIS 501 Foundations of Library and Information Studies
• LIS 502 Organization of Information
• LIS 503 Reference and Information Services
• LIS 504 Leadership and Management Principles for Library and Information Services
• LIS 505 Introduction to Research in Library and Information Studies

All MLIS applicants are admitted to the course-based route. You have the option to change your selection once you are in the program. Students interested in completing the thesis-based MLIS may change their program route to the thesis route after their 1st year of study in the course-based MLIS program.

• Course-based MLIS: 13 courses (★39) and a capping exercise (★0)
• Thesis-based MLIS: 10 courses (★30) and a thesis paper

The decision to pursue a thesis depends on the nature of the student's research interests and career goals. Students interested in pursuing the thesis route should review the School's Thesis-Based procedure. The School encourages MLIS students with strong relevant background to pursue their research interests through the thesis-based program route. Students are advised, however, that the School's support of a particular thesis topic will depend directly on the availability of existing faculty who are active in the general area of the student's research so that adequate supervision can be provided.

Courses are offered on a wide range of topics; previous offerings have included such topics as comic books and graphic novels, government information, instructional practices, collection management, digital libraries, and metadata. The electives offered may change from year to year. Each year the courses available for registration will be listed in Bear Tracks (the online student service centre). For a complete list of electives, please visit the course listings page

The MLIS program is a generalist program which means that we do not have formal concentrations. However, SLIS offers a number of options that allow students to tailor their program to their interests.

1. Students are able to take some 3-credit courses outside of SLIS that can be applied to their MLIS degree.
2. Within courses, students often have the option to pursue topics of interest and can tailor assignments to their own interests.
3. Students in the MLIS program take up to 6 electives. These elective courses can be tailored to student interests such as technology, social justice, public libraries, etc.
4. Students can pursue a research topic and on-campus students can opt to take the thesis route.

Online classes are conducted using the university's eClass platform and generally do not require the download or purchase of additional software. eClass is also designed to be compatible with those technologies designed for accessibility. 

In order for courses to be eligible for transfer credits, these must meet items 2, and 4 to 7 in the University Calendar criteria for transfer credit.

If the courses meet these criteria, the procedure for transfer will be as follows:

1. Check our list of LIS courses and their description to see if the courses you want transferred have a suitable LIS course description match (LIS 501 not included—all MLIS students are required to take this as their first course).
2. When you apply to the program, you must inform us which courses you want to transfer during the application process. There is a notes section in the application portal where you will be able to indicate this. We will exclude these courses from the calculation of your GPA (transfer credit eligibility criteria #3).
3. If and when you get admitted to the program, you will be assigned an academic advisor. You will need to submit a copy of your course outlines for the courses you want transferred to your advisor and they will check which LIS courses these can transfer to, or approve any recommendation that you may have from checking our list of courses (transfer credit eligibility criteria #1).

There are a couple other steps after these (i.e. submitting the transfer credit form and supporting documents to GPS), but those can be discussed once items 1–3 have been completed.

MLIS students can transfer a maximum of 3 courses in their program.

A degree from the School of Library and Information Studies is your key to future employment. Completion of an MLIS at SLIS will give you many skills that will make you a sought-after employee. Libraries can be found in almost all communities, organizations and regions. SLIS takes an active interest in the employment opportunities of its graduates. Every year SLIS conducts the Placement Survey in an effort to track the employability of its graduates to ensure that the training received matches the demands of the labour market. This yearly survey has consistently found that graduates of SLIS programs experience extremely high rates of employment in the library and information sciences field within three months to a year after graduation.

These surveys have also found that SLIS graduates are represented in all branches of the library and information sciences field - public libraries, academic libraries, government and medical libraries, archives and working in careers beyond the traditional library environments. A degree from the University of Alberta and the School of Library and Information Studies will take you straight into a promising and rewarding career.

Click to view an interactive map of where SLIS Alumni live around the world.

Edmonton is the capital of the province of Alberta, one of Canada's western prairie provinces. The City of Edmonton has a population of over one million people, and a metro population of approximately 1.5 million. The Edmonton Metropolitan Area (also known as the Capital Region) includes several surrounding cities and towns. Edmonton is Alberta's second-largest city, after Calgary, and is Canada's fifth-largest municipality. Edmonton is serviced by Edmonton International Airport (YEG), and the Edmonton Transit System (ETS) provides bus and light rail transit across the city, with multiple transit stations located on University of Alberta campuses. 

Edmonton is a dynamic and diverse city located in central Alberta on the North Saskatchewan River. The city is renowned for its support of its arts and cultural institutions, and is home to the Royal Alberta Museum, Art Gallery of Alberta, and the award-winning Edmonton Public Library system. The sunny summer months see many festivals held throughout the city celebrating diversity, the arts, and the numerous groups that contribute to life in Edmonton and Alberta. The Edmonton Heritage Festival and the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival are some of the largest and best known, and are held near the U of A's North Campus. During the winter months residents enjoy winter sports such as hockey, skiing, and outdoor skating both here in Edmonton and in the majestic Rocky Mountains. 

As a northern city, Edmonton experiences long summer days with up to 17 hours of daylight. During the winter you can expect a blanket of snow under clear starry nights, and with a bit of luck you'll catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. Edmonton has one one of the the largest urban park systems in North America, including the North Saskatchewan River Valley which is 22 times larger than Central Park in New York City, with over 160 km of trails and paths. Surrounding Edmonton within easy access are many natural areas including Elk Island National Park and, in the Rocky Mountains, Jasper National Park. Elsewhere in Alberta you'll find attractions close enough for weekend trips, such as the City of Calgary and Banff National Park. 

Even after many years of steady growth, the cost of living in Edmonton and Alberta remains very affordable. The cost of living, combined with the many natural features and cultural attractions in and around the city, bring many people to live, work, and study in the Edmonton area.