Frequently Asked Questions

No, you do not need to have found a faculty member willing to supervise you before submitting an application. Faculty members cannot view an application or accept a student until an application has been approved by the School of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies and the program.   If your application is approved by the program, it will be made available to our graduate faculty.

Information on supervisors currently offering research opportunities is available at:

https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/gradstudies/future_students/research_opportunities/index.html

https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/pathol/gps/graduate_student_opportunities.html

You can accept your offer through the Western Student Center. Login into the Center with the information provided with your Western Personal Computer Account and select Self Service. To accept your offer simply select the Accept Admission option under Student Admission and select your choice.

Students with a slightly lower admission average may be considered if they have very favourable supporting letters, or have demonstrated an exceptional aptitude for research.

The School of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies will use a conversion scale to calculate the admission average.  The calculation will be completed based on the applicant’s most recent two years of study.  Summer, part-time, intersession, distance education and undergraduate university courses taken beyond the four-year undergraduate degree are also included.

Western does not include marks from the following types of courses in the calculation of an applicant's admission average:

• Internship/placement or activity-type courses
• Bachelor of Education
• Certificate or diploma program
• Non-convertible grades (e.g. pass/fall)
• Naturopathic or chiropractic medicine
• Continuing Education programs

Exchange program grades are included if they are convertible.

International applicants are invited to check WES Credential Evaluation to see how their grades convert to the Canadian grading system.

Once an application is submitted through the online system, an initial assessment is completed by the School of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS).  After SGPS has confirmed all documentation has been received, they can then release your application to the program for assessment. We try to connect with all applicants within one to 14 business days of receiving the complete application from SGPS.

Referees are contacted by the School of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies once your application has been received.  Letters are submitted electronically.

You can change your referee by logging in to https://student.uwo.ca with your Western Identity. Click “Apply for Graduate Admission”, and then click “Edit Referees” next to your application. You will not be able to change the referee information if the reference has been provided.

While academic references are preferred, the program does accept references from employers or others who are able to adequately judge your performance in the areas listed on the reference letter:  intellectual ability; originality of thought; aptitude for scientific research or scholarly work; ability to express him/herself orally; ability to express him/herself in writing; initiative; perseverance.

For full details, click here.

For full details on acceptable achievement of English language proficiency, click here. 

The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine does not offer conditional admission based on completion of an English language proficiency program.

Program start dates are restricted to January 1, and September 1. 

At Western University the graduate year is divided into three terms:

• Winter term: January 1 – April 30
• Summer term: May 1 – August 31
• Fall term: September 1 – December 31