Applicants must have completed or be in the final year of a program leading to a 4-year undergraduate degree at a recognized university, and expect to have obtained your degree by the end of the academic year in which application is being made.

Consideration will be given to  applicants with a minimum of a 70% average, but preference given to applicants with a minimum of an A- or 80% average.

For MSc applicants, eligibility is based on the average of the marks from the 3rd and 4th years of their undergraduate degrees using the following criteria set by SGPS:

• all courses with a weight of 0.5 will be counted once when the average is calculated
• all courses with a weight of 1.0 will be counted twice when the average is calculated
• all courses with a weight of 1.5 will be counted 3 times when the average is calculated

Consideration will be given to  applicants with a minimum of a 70% average, but preference given to applicants with a minimum of an A- or 80% average.

For MSc applicants, eligibility is based on the average of the marks from the 3rd and 4th years of their undergraduate degrees using the following criteria set by SGPS:

• all courses with a weight of 0.5 will be counted once when the average is calculated
• all courses with a weight of 1.0 will be counted twice when the average is calculated
• all courses with a weight of 1.5 will be counted 3 times when the average is calculated

The following table demonstrates an example of basic calculations to determine admissibility:   

At the time of the application, this student has an interim average of 82.9%. (190 + 156 + 158 + 80 + 180 + 78 + 79 + 82 + 78 + 80)/14 = 1161/ 14 = 82.9%

the divisor of 14 is the sum of the number of times each course is counted (2 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 +1 + 1 + 1 + 1)

Letter grades are converted to a 12 pt scale then the 100% scale using the table shown below, and an average is computed as outlined above.   

All international transcripts will be assessed at the graduate program level according to gudelines set by SGPS.

Both Canadian and international transcript assessments done at the graduate program level must be approved by SGPS before an offer for graduate enrollment is issued to the selected applicant on behalf of Western.  SGPS's decision is final. 

All applications that are academically eligible are circulated with letters of reference to all faculty supervisors who are recruiting graduate students. If no faculty supervisor shows an interest in an applicant's file then the application does not proceed any further. The applicant will be notified of this.

Interviews are arranged by the graduate program only at the request of interested faculty supervisors. Every effort is made to accommodate both the applicant's and the prospective supervisor(s)' schedules. If more than one prospective supervisor requests an interview with an out-of-town applicant then a one or two day interview schedule will be organized to suit all participants. Hotel accommodation will be arranged at the program's expense and the applicant must submit original receipts (car, bus, train, or plane) in order to receive reimbursement for travel expenses. The cost of meals are the responsibility of the applicant.

Applicants should realize that recruiting faculty supervisors request an interview after considering the following criteria:

• academic eligibility
• suitability of the applicant's academic background to the available research project
• evidence of the applicant's ability to be resourceful, self motivated, and with an above average research aptitude, as per their referees' letters of recommendation

The interview process may take as long as a month to organize depending on the faculty supervisors' and applicants' time tables. The letters of offer to successful applicants will be sent as soon as possible after the faculty supervisors have made their recommendations.

We do not offer graduate positions in our program unless a faculty supervisor has agreed to supervise a graduate applicant. At that time, a letter of offer will be sent to the applicant stating:

• the name of the prospective supervisor who is offering a graduate position in his/her research group, and a brief description of a project (if decided)
• that we have recommended the applicant's file to SGPS for admission to our graduate program
• the amount of the graduate stipend that is offered to cover living expenses and tuition support
• any other conditions for graduate enrollment as required

In the case of more than one supervisor offering a graduate position to an applicant, the applicant will be asked to send a list of the prospective supervisors in his/her preference to the Graduate Affairs Assistant. Every effort will be made to match the applicant with his/her first choice but this can not be guaranteed.

All faculty supervisors' letters of offer are contingent upon final approval of SGPS. That office will issue an official letter of offer to successful applicants on behalf of the university.