Admissions

The MA Theatre Studies program is currently on pause for 2025-26 and will not be accepting applications at this time.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the MA program is the equivalent of an Honours degree in English or Drama/Theatre Studies from a recognized post-secondary institution, with at least a high second-class standing (78%) in the work of the last four semesters or the last two undergraduate years. Students with degrees in other disciplines may also be considered. In very exceptional circumstances, an applicant may lack the required honours BA degree, but may be assessed as qualified to undertake graduate studies on the basis of other experience and practice and may apply for admission under alternate admissions criteria.

The deadline for the receipt of your complete application package for admission in the Fall semester is January 15th. There is only one entry point for the MA Program (September). Consideration of your application cannot begin until all of the supporting documentation has been submitted, and applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and to make certain that the entire application package (with all supporting materials) is uploaded prior to the due date. At its discretion, the School may consider applications received after the due date, but there is no guarantee that space or financial assistance will be available. Decisions on admissions are normally finalized within 6-8 weeks of the January 15th deadline.

Application Procedures

The MA Theatre Studies Program is currently on pause for 2025-26.

Step 1: You must apply online using the Ontario Universities' Application Centre. After you have submitted your OUAC application, you will receive an email within 3-5 business days with information on how to submit your additional documents via WebAdvisor. A link and more information will be provided with this email. When applying to the English MA program, you must choose an MA stream (thesis or coursework): (a) the thesis stream (MA.THST) or (b) the coursework stream/major research paper (MA.THST:L) in you application.

Step 2: Upload the following components to the WebAdvisor portal:

Official transcripts from all previous secondary and post-secondary institutions. Unofficial transcipts can be uploaded to WebAdvisor for your application, but all official transcripts must be sent gradapps@uoguelph.ca if you are accepted to one of our programs. Official transcripts in languages other than English or French must be accompanied by a certified literal translation.
Two (2) letters of reference (you will be prompted to enter your referees' contact information and a secure link will be sent to them directly). Please let your referees know that they are encouraged to send an email to gradapps@uoguelph.ca if they are experiencing difficulty or have issues with this new process.
A 400-600-word research statement about your research interests, your reasons for wishing to pursue graduate studies at Guelph, and, if possible, a statement about specific fields of study you are interested in exploring
Two (2) senior undergraduate essays (complete with grades and instructors’ comments, if possible) that can serve as samples of your scholarly performance.
If your first language is not English, a certification of English language proficiency must also be included (e.g., TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB test scores) for applicants whose first language is not English. Note: The University is no longer accepting Duolingo Test Resuts.

For more information on the application process, please visit Applying to Guelph.

International Applicants:

International applicants are strongly encouraged to consult the University’s Centre for International Programs for additional information and also International Graduate Student Funding Guidelines.

Applications from international students are warmly encouraged, though the application procedures are somewhat more complex. If the applicant’s first degree was completed in a country where English is not the first language, certification of English-language proficiency must be documented at the time of application. Examples of acceptable assessment of proficiency include official scores or results from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of the Educational Testing Service, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB), and the Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL) assessment. The minimum acceptable score is 550 for the paper-based TOEFL, an overall score of 89 with no individual component below 21 for the Internet Based TOEFL, 6.5 for IELTS, 85 for MELAB, and 60 for CAEL. However, the Admissions Committee will also assess the essays submitted as part of the application to determine whether the applicant is likely to be able to work adequately at the graduate level. Graduate courses at the University of Guelph are completed in approximately 12 weeks, and students must therefore be proficient in the use of English, both written and oral, when they begin their studies at Guelph. There is no provision for upgrading English language skills during the course of the MA Program. Note: The University is no longer accepting Duolingo Test Resuts.

Questions?

For clarification regarding the University of Guelph's admissions process, please visit Applying to Guelph.

Frequently Asked Questions

For graduate inquiries, please contact our interim Graduate Program Coodinator for English and Theatre Studies: Gregor Campbell

(gregorc@uoguelph.ca).

For admission support and technical questions, please contact sotecgrad@uoguelph.ca.

Please let your referees know that they are encouraged to send an email to gradapps@uoguelph.ca if they are experiencing difficulty or have issues with this new process.

Fees

Please consult the University’s website for the current schedule of fees for graduate students.