Doctoral
Master’s
English Proficiency Requirements: standardized test of English language proficiency required, unless the applicant holds a post-secondary degree or diploma from a university in which the primary language of instruction was English.
| Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOEFL | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 92 |
| IELTS | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Note: the requirements include not only a minimum overall score, but also a minimum score on each component, given the importance of a balanced profile of language ability.
If TOEFL/IELTS Score Is Low: the student cannot TA until they re-take the TOEFL/IELTS and meet the departmental minimum requirement. This applies no matter how many attempts may be required. Supervisors will have to pay the entire departmental minimum level of funding if the student does not get an award. This will continue until minimum English language proficiency requirements are met.
Application Procedure
1. Identify and contact a potential supervisor
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Identify a potential supervisor or supervisors. Although the minimum requirements for admission are set by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, no student will be admitted unless a faculty member in the Zoology program agrees to accept a student into their laboratory group.
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Applicants must contact the potential supervisor(s) and provide them with unofficial or draft versions of the elements that will go into the online application (i.e., transcripts and letters from referees; see below). It is highly recommended, but not essential, that a potential supervisor encourages an application before proceeding to the next step.
2. Complete the application form and pay application fee
3. Required Application Materials
- Three Referees: Ideally, the referees should be faculty members who have supervised your studies and/or research directly, and they should have institutional email addresses in order to upload their references in the referee portal of the application.
- Curriculum Vitae,
- Statement of Intent intent outlining your research experience, proposed research project (or ideas), and explaining your interest in working with the particular faculty member(s),
- Scanned copies of up-to-date official transcripts (front and back) of grades from all post-secondary institutions attended.
Application Deadlines
- December 1st: Deadline for consideration in the CIHR or NSERC CGS-M/Affiliated-M scholarships. You must have applied for admissions and the CGSM/Affiliated-M (separate applications, one for admissions and one for awards) by this date. Please review the respective awards' websites for more details.
- January 15th: Deadline for Master’s and Doctoral applicants to be considered for UBC fellowships
Is the MSc/PhD in Zoology program suitable for me?
Please contact your prospective supervisor(s) directly as they make the admissions decision and would have their own criteria for students joining their labs.
Am I eligible to apply for the MSc/PhD in Zoology if I have a degree from __________?
Please check G+PS’ minimum admissions requirements here: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/prospective-students/application-admission/check-your-eligibility as there may be different requirements depending on the country that your degree is from.
Do I need to take an English proficiency test?
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.
If you require a test, they must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application. Please remember to submit your English proficiency test results directly to UBC Graduate School and not the department, details here: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/prospective-students/application-admission/english-language-test
Does an admissions offer from Zoology come with funding?
Yes, please review our funding policy here: https://zoology.ubc.ca/graduate-program/student-finance-funding
Can I self-fund my MSc/PhD Zoology program?
No, students must be funded via our departmental funding policy. Occasionally students will have funding opportunities outside of GTAs, GRAs, and awards (eg. Industry job) but those must be discussed with the proposed supervisor and approved by the graduate program in advance as a funding commitment must be in place before a formal admissions offer can be made.
Does my proposed supervisor have to be in Zoology?
Students pursuing a degree in Zoology must have a supervisor that is a part of or formally associated/affiliated with the Department of Zoology. If you'd like to apply for our program but your proposed supervisor has no formal affiliation with the Department of Zoology, they must contact the department and apply for formal affiliation.
I’m applying for a CGSM/Affiliated-M award, do I need to submit a completed admissions application by December 1st?
Ideally, yes. Admissions applications are used to determine that you:
- intend to pursue a UBC Zoology graduate program
- have a proposed supervisor who is interested in accepting you as a student (which may be on the condition of receiving an award)
If you don’t think you’ll have a completed admissions application by December 1st (eg. Missing reference letters) please reach out to your proposed supervisor to let them know. Proposed supervisors will be receiving your application in December for an initial review regardless of completeness. As admission decisions are made by supervisors, applicants must pass this initial review by their proposed supervisor to qualify for our departmental CGSM/Affiliated evaluation. Passing the initial review does not guarantee admissions to our program.
More information on the CGSM: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/canada-graduate-scholarships-masters-cgs-m-program
More information on the Affiliated-M: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-masters-program
I applied for admissions months ago; why haven’t I heard back?
Completed applications are sent to proposed supervisors (as listed on the application) for their evaluation and decision. If you’ve not heard back, it likely means that no one was able to accept you as a student. As you should already be in contact with your prospective supervisor(s) from the beginning of the application process, please reach out to them directly to confirm or if you have additional questions.