Admission

The normal requirement for admission to the MA program is the equivalent of an Honours degree in English 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.

Application Deadline: January 15

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 English 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. 

Application Procedures

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.ENGL) or (b) the coursework stream/major research paper (MA.ENGL: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 (e.g., TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB test scores) must be included. Note: The University is no longer accepting Duolingo Test Results.

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

International Applicants

International applicants should be realistic in their estimation of the cost of studying and living in Canada. Please review 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.

For clarification with regard to this process, please visit Applying to Guelph.

Questions?

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

Frequently Asked Questions

• General Admission Questions
• Application Process
• Transcripts
• References
• English Language Requirements
• Uploading Documents to WebAdvisor
• Decision Making Process
• Accepting Your Offer
• Applying for a Study Permit

Contact

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 setsgrad@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, Tuition and Cost of Living

Cost of living in Guelph and tuition information can be found here: https://graduatestudies.uoguelph.ca/future/cost.

Scholarship and Funding Opportunities

There are numerous opportunities to apply for scholarships and various awards. Please visit the University of Guelph Scholarships and Awards for more information.

The University of Guelph has established a number of ACCESS awards which provide bursaries for students in financial need. To be eligible for these bursaries, students must complete a needs assessment application available from Student Financial Services, or check the website. A variety of competitive research scholarships are also available. Information on awards and funding assistance is available from the Faculty of Graduate Studies calendar Link. 

Prospective applicants, including foreign student applicants, are strongly encouraged to apply for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) in advance of applying for admission to the IMPR program at the University of Guelph. Please review deadlines and application details at this link. 

Prospective students who are Canadian citizens or permanent  residents are also encouraged to apply for the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant in advance of applying for admission to the IMPR program at the University of Guelph.  Please review deadlines and application details at this link

Additional scholarships and awards may be available. Please visit the Graduate Studies funding page for more details and information.