Admissions

Please consult UBC’s Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies’ guidelines on submitting Canadian and International transcripts, prior to uploading digital copies.

Official (paper) copies will only be required once conditional admission is offered.

Minimum grade requirements: As a general rule, successful applicants will have minimum first class standing (80% or higher at UBC or equivalent) in each of the last two years of undergraduate study, in accordance with the criteria for graduate funding in the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. No student with an overall average of less than 75% or its equivalent in his/her final two years should consider graduate studies in this Department. Students from American colleges and universities which use letter grades should have at least a B+ average.

A minimum of three Letters of Reference must be submitted.

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): We require a Test of Written English (TWE) score of 5, and minimum TOEFL score of 580 (paper exam), 237 (computer-based) or 92 (internet exam, including at least 22 on Reading, 25 on writing, 22 on Listening, and 23 on Speaking).

International English Language Testing Service (IELTS): A minimum overall band score of 6.5 is required with a minimum score of 6.0 in each component of the academic (NOT general) IELTS test.

General Test Exam (GRE) scores are considered in the application process for both MAs and PhDs. GRE scores help the committee to evaluate your application.

• MA applicants are advised but not required to submit GRE scores.
• PhD applicants with prior degrees from Canadian universities are advised but not required to submit GRE scores.
• PhD applicants with prior degrees from non-Canadian universities are required to submit GRE scores.

We strongly recommend that applicants prepare for and take the GRE the summer before applying to the program.

A Statement of Intent (about 500 words) that includes information on:

1. Your personal and academic background that led you to your graduate degree plans
2. Your likely major field
3. The kinds of research problems that most interest you
4. Why the UBC Department of Political Science is well-suited to your interests

While we would like some information about your background as it relates to your academic plans, you should focus most of your statement on your academic and research interests.

A sample of your written work for application to the PhD program. The writing sample should be a piece of research in political science or a related field. The writing sample should be sole-authored by you and not coauthored. For applicants in the fields of comparative politics, international relations, U.S. politics, and Canadian politics, the most informative writing samples will include some element of original empirical analysis, such as your own analysis of a set of quantitative data or your own analysis of qualitative evidence (e.g., via process tracing, a case study, or interpretive analysis).

A writing sample is not required for applications to the MA program.

If your citizenship and correspondence address is located in one of the world's 50 least developed countries, as declared by the United Nations, you do not need to pay the application fee. You will not be asked for a fee when you complete the online application. The list of LDC’s can be found here: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldcs-at-a-glance.html

Academic background: We take a relatively broad view of the kinds of undergraduate courses that can serve as helpful preparation, though it is helpful for us to see some significant political science content. This is especially important if you are applying to the PhD program. It helps if we can see from your transcript that you have some relevant background in political or related social sciences, but we are also open to applications from bright students who did their undergrad degrees in other fields but have clear reasons for wanting to shift to political science.

Academic transcripts: As a general rule, successful applicants will have minimum first-class standing in each of the last two years of study, in accordance with the criteria for graduate funding in the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

Letters of reference: Three are required. All of them should be academic; that is, from an instructor who has taught or supervised your academic or research work. If your marks are at the lower end, this is even more important. Even if it has been some time since you finished your degree, try to contact an instructor anyway. Since you will be applying to a research program, it is important for the admissions committee to know your abilities as a researcher and academic writer.

Statement of Intent: In your statement, we are looking for  (1) your personal and academic background that led you to your graduate degree plans; (2) your likely major field; (3) the kinds of research problems that most interest you; (4) research experience and research skills that have prepared you to embark on a MA/PhD, (5) why the UBC Department of Political Science is well-suited to your interests. While we would like some information about your background as it relates to your academic plans, you should focus most of your statement on your academic and research interests.

The MA program is typically completed in 12 months. The PhD program is a 6-year graduate degree.

If your GPA is at or below the minimum requirement for admission, consider taking some upper-level (3rd year or 4th year) academic courses at your local university and achieve first-class standing (A- average). This will demonstrate your academic ability and give you stronger academic references as well.

Spend time preparing your application and discuss your draft statement of interest with someone who has graduated from a similar program or has completed graduate studies.

We encourage all applicants to identify one or more faculty members with whom they would be interested in working. You can do this in the online application.

However, you are not committed to working with this faculty member once you arrive here. Some students change supervisors once they have chosen a thesis/dissertation topic.

You may email a potential supervisor before applying to gauge their interest in your research, but this is not required.

Teaching: Students obtain the opportunity to work as a Teaching Assistant, and would have access to instructional skills workshops.  PhD students may have the opportunity to teach their own courses.

Writing: Students will strengthen their writing skills through graduate coursework, an advantage in both academic and non-academic careers.

Research methods: We offer several quantitative and qualitative research methods courses, providing skills of tremendous value in both academic and non-academic research settings.

Presentation skills: Workshops, conferences, and courses offer opportunities to hone strong presentation skills.

Graduate students typically find employment in the following positions:

• Graduate Teaching Assistant;
• Graduate Research Assistant;
• Exams Invigilator; and/or
• Library Assistant.

Nearly all graduate students are employed as either Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants or both during their program.