Admission Requirements
Eligibility
Applicants for entry into the graduate program must have an Honors Bachelor degree, or equivalent, in Microbiology, Immunology or in some other biological sciences program. At least a high B average is required. Holders of MD, DDS, or DVM degrees are also eligible to apply. All applicants must be approved by the Department and by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies before being permitted to register. The one-year M.Sc. program is available only to students currently enrolled in a Western BMSc program with an honours research thesis component. All one-year MSc applicants must be approved by the graduate studies committee before being permitted to register.
Please note that meeting the minimum average requirement does not guarantee admission. Other parts of the application package are also considered: letters of reference, academic preparation for graduate work and how well the program will prepare the candidate for his/her planned career path.
Applicants must meet all general requirements for admission as stipulated by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. In addition, program-specific requisites under the headings listed below are to be submitted via the SGPS portal. Once an application is completed, adjudication of the application and finding a research supervisor could take more than 2 months. We strongly recommend you to apply for our program even more than 2 months before the start date of the program.
References
- Two letters of recommendation from Faculty members familiar with your scientific activities and/or course work. Please note that letters from persons other than University/College Faculty are not acceptable.
Supplemental Documents
- A one to two page letter (Statement of Interest/Letter of Intent describing your academic and scientific background, your research interests and motivations to pursue graduate studies in Microbiology and Immunology).
- Your resume or C.V.
Proficiency in English
To be considered for admission, applicants graduated from schools outside of North America must demonstrate English proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB, CAEL). You must have the testing service send your score electronically to Western through the application system.
Applying
Applicants are responsible to ensure that a complete application package is submitted. Incomplete applications will not be assessed by the Graduate Committee. Final admission depends on the applicant identifying a faculty member willing to supervise and financially support the candidate for a minimum of two years and approval by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
Students are not required to have a supervisor identified to apply to the MSc/PhD programs. If a student is admitted into the program, the student is required to find a supervisor before starting the program. We strongly encourage students to get in touch with faculty members as potential supervisors to learn more about their research and identify a potential fit.
Application to the Graduate Program in Microbiology and Immunology
(PhD, MSc, One year project & course-based MSc) is available through the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
