Course Prerequisites & Other Requirements

A competitive applicant to the MSc or PhD degree programs must meet all of the following admissions criteria:

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Applicants with Canadian or American degrees applying to the Master’s (MSc) degree program must hold the academic equivalent of a four-year Bachelor’s degree from UBC including one of the following:

  • A minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC) in third- and fourth-year courses.
  • Academic standing with multiple third- or fourth-year courses in the A grade range (80% or higher at UBC) in the field of study (genetics).

Canadian, American and other international students applying for the Doctoral (PhD) degree program normally hold a Master’s degree with a first class standing and demonstrated evidence of research ability or potential.

Applicants with international degrees applying to the Master’s or PhD programs should check the GPA requirements for degrees from outside of Canada – see: COUNTRY requirements.

For more information about GPA requirements for MSc and PhD applicants, see Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies minimum academic requirements.

Course Prerequisites and Other Requirements:

Mandatory advanced-level courses in:

  • Genetics and/or genomics

Strongly recommended advanced-level courses in one or more of the following:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biostatistics (Statistics)
  • Bioinformatics (i.e. MICB 405 or equivalent)

Additional criteria:

  • Relevant laboratory research experience
  • Excellent references with assessment of research expertise and aptitude

Applicants with medical degrees (i.e. MBBS) generally do not qualify for this Program as they lack coursework in genetics and related laboratory research training.

MSc & PhD SUPERVISOR COMMITMENT REQUIREMENT

See “Research Supervisors”

MSc & PhD APPLICATIONS:

Applicants upload the following documents to their online application form by the deadline:

  • Statement of Interest (also known as Statement of Intent) (1 page)
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Official post-secondary transcripts and degree certificates (issued by the university, not web  transcripts) and grading key
  • IELTS / TOEFL official academic test scores (if applicable)
  • References (3)

 Applications that are not completed by the deadline will not be reviewed by the Admissions Committee.