GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Application Procedures

Applications for admission are accepted at any time during the year.  The academic year is divided into three terms:  September – December, January – April and May – August.  Most applicants who are admitted begin their studies in September; however, students may also begin programs in January or May.   A minimum of 2 months prior to date that a student hopes to register is normally needed for applicants whose previous studies were done at a Canadian or U.S. university, and 4 months for international applicants.   Please note that admission to the Pharmacy or Nutrition graduate programs is based on there being a faculty member identified to be the applicant’s graduate supervisor.  

Before applying, please carefully consider: 

1. Do the areas of specialization of our graduate programs, which correspond to the expertise of the faculty, match your research interests?   Please note that it is normally not possible to determine, prior to applying, if there is a prospective supervisor here who will recommend you for admission.  
   
   
2. If required, does your score on the English language proficiency test meet the required levels (eg, TOEFL Internet score of 80 with a minimum of 20 in each category).  See Qualifications for Admission section for minimum scores required on other tests.
   
   
3. Can you arrange for three recommendations from former professors or others, acquainted with your training and experience, who can indicate your demonstrated ability for independent thought, advanced study and research?
   
   
4. Do you meet the academic qualifications for admission, including a cumulative weighted average of at least 70% in the last two years of study for the Master’s program and at least 75% for the PhD.   Please note that these are the minimum averages in order to be considered.  An admission average of 80% or greater is required to be considered for scholarships.  These averages are grade equivalents here; please check http://www.usask.ca/cgsr/prospective_students/requirements/international.php to determine how to convert the grades from your country/university to the grading system at the University of Saskatchewan..

Please follow these steps to apply:

1. Fill in the online application form at http://www.usask.ca/cgsr/prospective_students/get_ready.php.  
   
   
2. Every applicant must pay a $75 (Canadian dollars) application fee (non-refundable), and you are strongly encouraged to pay this online if possible.  If this is not possible, you can pay by cash, certified cheque or money order to the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition.  If sending by cheque, a bank routing code must appear.
   
   
3. Our College will be notified of your online application and, if we have not been in contact with you already, we will email you instructions to complete the additional application process.  The “College” referred to below is the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition.  You will be asked to:
   1. Arrange for three Letters of Recommendation to be sent to the College.  The referees should be professors or others acquainted sufficiently with your training and experience to judge your ability to undertake graduate studies.
   2. Arrange to have official transcripts of all post-secondary education sent directly to the College from your University (or Universities).   In certain situations, an attested copy of a transcript may be sufficient.  If you completed all your studies at the U of S, you are not required to submit transcripts.
   3. Arrange to have the TOEFL result or equivalent English language test (as indicated in the Qualifications for Admission section), sent directly from the testing centre to the College.
   4. Complete the Pharmacy Graduate Program: Information from Applicants form or the Nutrition Graduate Program: Information from Applicants form.   You will be asked to provide details on the area in which you wish to study, and also indicate if you have funding to support yourself for the duration of the program, should you be admitted.
   5. Send your resumé or CV, including publications, familiarity with research equipment, research-related experience and other relevant information.

All of the above documents will form your complete application package.  It will be circulated to faculty members whose areas of expertise correspond with your research interests.  The faculty will review your package and consider the following in making a decision whether to recommend you for admission.

• Based on your application, transcripts, letters of recommendation and resume, does the faculty member believe you are likely to succeed in the graduate program?
• Is the faculty member able to take on additional graduate students or does he/she have the maximum number that can be supervised at this time?  A number of excellent individuals may have applied to undertake studies with a particular faculty member, and so he/she needs to decide how many and which students to accept.
• Does the faculty member have the necessary research funds available to support the research that you are interested in undertaking (eg, facilities, equipment, operating funds)?
• Do you have funding to support yourself during your program, or is your academic average such that there would be the possibility of you being awarded a scholarship? 

If admission is recommended, our College will send a Recommendation for Admission to the College of Graduate Studies and Research (CGSR), where the final decision regarding admission is made.  If this decision is positive, CGSR will send you the offer of admission.  If admission is not recommended by our College, we will notify you of this as soon as possible.  Please note that because of the high numbers of applications, there is significant competition to obtain a space in the Pharmacy and Nutrition graduate programs.   We sincerely appreciate your interest in our programs!