Minimum Academic Requirements
- For an MSc – an Honours Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Science with at least a minimum overall standing of 75% in the last two years
- For a PhD – an MSc degree (or equivalent) in Science with at least a minimum overall standing of 75%
- Direct admission to the PhD program is also possible for applicants with an overall ‘A’ (minimum 80%) standing. Course requirements are reduced by one course for students admitted directly to the PhD program from an Honours Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Science
Transcripts
- We use the grading scale of the home institution to determine the admission average. The average is then translated into a University of Guelph alpha grade equivalent. (i.e. A, B, C) or University of Waterloo percentage. We look for a Canadian ‘B’ (75%) GPA equivalent
- Where the transcripts do not indicate graduation or conferment of a program, the certificate establishing degree completion is required
- Transcripts in languages other than English must be accompanied by a certified literal translation. For international students, please check ([email protected]) to determine if there is any additional transcript or document requirements for your country
- Canadian and US transcripts are evaluated on a minimum of 20 courses over the last two years of course-work, excluding first and second year courses in those years. In some cases, this may mean looking at course work in the second year period to achieve the required number of courses for evaluation. If the required number of courses extends into a semester, all courses in that semester are used in the evaluation
- International transcripts are evaluated on the overall courses taken with no credit value assigned to the courses
Applicants with a Honours BSc Degree
An Honours BSc Degree is evaluated based on the specialization that the individual is applying for. Thus, it is recommended that applicants take courses at the 3rd and 4th year level in the specialization or research area of interest that they wish to apply for.
Older Degrees or Degrees Lacking Upper-level Science Courses in a Research Area
In some cases where the minimum academic requirement is met, but previous course work was obtained a number of years ago, or an applicant’s academic background is lacking upper level science courses in the areas that the applicant is interested in pursuing; the department may recommend the completion of preliminary courses prior to pursuing a full-time MSc Thesis-based program or a PhD program. Taking preliminary courses would entail registering in a non-degree program in a University of your choice and enrolling in a minimum of four (4) 3rd and 4th year courses in your intended area of research, and achieving an overall standing of B+ (78%). You would then apply to GWC2 for consideration for the graduate program. You would not be guaranteed admission, as admission is based on the recommendation of a faculty research advisor and you would be responsible for all costs of the undergraduate courses.
