Admission requirements

Language requirements

  • The Department of Pediatrics requires proficiency in English of all applicants prior to acceptance in the program.
  • Canadian/Permanent Residents demonstrate proficiency in English language through either education at a North American Institution, or education at an exempted institution listed on FGSR’s Recognized English Language Countries and Institutions page. If the Canadian/Permanent Resident applicant does not satisfy the requirements in either of these methods, an English language examination with satisfactory scores (as listed below) is required.
  • International applicants must submit either a TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB or CAEL original report of these scores with their application documents. The graduate student must have a minimum TOEFL score of 570 (paper-based), or the computer-based TOEFL score equivalent of 230, or the internet-based TOEFL score equivalent of 95 with at least 20 per section. The required MELAB minimum score is 91. The required CAEL minimum score is 70 with at least 70 on each subtest. The required IELTS minimum score is 7.5 with at least 6 on each band. The required PTE Academic minimum score is 69.
  • If the graduate studies coordinator and supervisor agree that the graduate student be accepted with a TOEFL score between 550 and 570 (or equivalent), it is understood that a remedial English course will be taken.

For complete details on graduate program requirements, see Section 5: Admissions, in the FGSR Graduate Program Manual.

Special Note: Duolingo English Test as an ELP alternative

If you are in a region impacted by Pearson, IELTS or TOEFL test centre closures due to COVID-19, the university will temporarily accept the Duolingo English Test as one of the ways to meet our English Language Proficiency requirements.

The Department of Pediatrics’ minimum Duolingo overall score is 125. More information on the Duolingo test can be found on FGSR’s website.

The following program requirements have been approved for the graduate studies coordinator offered by the Department of Pediatrics. These requirements exceed the minimum requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) and the Medical Sciences Graduate Program in order to ensure that the best candidates are accepted and that excellence of the program is maintained.

Application and supporting documents

Applicants are required to complete an online application through the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. This process requires the applicant to upload required supporting documents to their online application on or before the application submission deadline.

All uploaded supporting documents must comply with FGSR's Application Requirements for Academic Documents. Applicants are required to declare all academic education from all past and present universities, colleges, and post-secondary institutions attended (including the University of Alberta). Failure to disclose all education and/or comply with these criteria could result in a cancellation of the application or withdrawal of admission offer.

For further detail on required documents and deadlines see the following:

Failure to provide this material may result in a delay in processing the application. The submitted material must be original documentation or official notarized copies of materials issued by the institution. For all documents not in English, an official English translation must accompany the original document.

Academic requirements

Candidates must hold a four-year baccalaureate or its academic equivalent from an academic institution recognized by the University of Alberta to enter this program. The department generally does not accept students with an overall grade point average of less than 3.3 on the last two years of academic study (normally the last 60 units of course weight).