Deadlines for Application for Admission
The College of Graduate Studies and Research normally admits applicants to commence in September of each year. However, some academic units may consider applicants to commence in January or May.
It is expected that academic units will be able to process complete applications for admission in no more than four weeks, after which time they will either advise the candidate that their application could not be accepted or send a recommendation for admission, along with all necessary documentation, to the College of Graduate Studies and Research.
In most circumstances, the College of Graduate Studies and Research will process recommended applications in no more than two weeks. At this time the candidate and academic unit will be advised that the application could not be accepted or an official letter of offer will be sent to the applicant.
When determining the lead-time needed to complete all the admission requirements by the date of the first expected registration, the following factors should be considered:
It can take up to 6 months after the receipt of the official letter of offer for international students to get a student visa and be allowed to enter Canada.
It can take up to 4 weeks for international applicants to receive their official letter of offer by surface mail. Because of the expense, the College of Graduate Studies and Research cannot courier the official letter of offer to the applicant.
Some academic units only process applications at certain times of the year. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that applicants contact the academic unit to determine the unit’s deadline dates for applications.
Special Case applications can take from 6 to 8 months to process because of the complexity and detail of the application process.