5.5 Admission Deadlines

Any deadline dates set by departments should be made clear to applicants and should be published in the department's graduate programs section of the Calendar.

Canadian & USA Admissions

The Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) has no deadlines for Canadian or USA applicants. Deadlines may be established by individual departments.

International Admissions

The deadline dates by which a completed international student application file must be received in GPS are:

• July 1 for September admission
• November 1 for January admission
• March 1 for May admission
• May 1 for July admission

(FGSR Council 1990/11/9)

These deadlines also apply to those applications from within Canada where a student authorization is required.

After the Deadline

Departments may set earlier deadlines for international application documents to be received.

These deadlines are intended to establish a realistic timetable for departments and GPS to review applications and issue admission letters, and for international students to obtain the necessary documentation from their home governments, Canadian embassies, or consulates.

GPS recognizes that in some instances it may be possible for students to arrive for a specific term with an admission after the recommended admission deadlines (e.g., sponsored students). In many cases, students already in Canada on a student authorization should be able to receive a new student authorization valid for the University of Alberta within four weeks. A department submitting an admission file after the deadlines should advise GPS of special circumstances at the time the application documents are submitted.