General admission requirements

To study as a graduate student at the University of Manitoba: 
1.    You must demonstrate English language proficiency
AND
2.    You must have a four-year bachelor's degree or equivalent from a recognized college or university with a minimum B average (3.0) in the last 60 credit hours or equivalent. 

Some departments may have higher standards and additional criteria. These may include confirmation from a prospective supervisor; admissions tests such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT); and a statement of research interests or experience in the field.

Please visit the program page for your department for more details on application requirements.

Master's program requirements

To study as a graduate student at the University of Manitoba:
1.    You must demonstrate English language proficiency
AND
2.    You must have a four-year bachelor's degree or equivalent from a recognized college or university with a minimum "B" average (3.0) in the last 60 credit hours or equivalent. 

Some departments may have higher standards and additional criteria. These may include confirmation from a prospective supervisor; admissions tests such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT); and a statement of research interests or experience in the field.

Please visit the program page for your department for more details on application requirements. 

In specific cases where the academic background of the student is judged to be insufficient for the given program in a unit, the department may recommend that the student be admitted to a pre-master's program of study.

Pre-master's program requirements

The pre-master's program is designed to bring the student's standing to the approximate level of an Honours graduate, to provide the student with any necessary prerequisites for courses to be taken in the master’s program.

The pre-master’s program is not intended to help a student boost their GPA. All students applying for the pre-master's program must have attained a minimum GPA of 3.0 (B or equivalent) in the last two full years (60 credit hours) of study. 

Doctoral (PhD) program requirements

Master’s degree or equivalent from a recognized university and a cumulative GPA of 3.0 (B or equivalent) in the last two previous years of full time study (60 credit hours) is the minimum requirement for admission to the PhD program. With special recommendation of the department, exceptional applicants with an honours bachelor’s degree may be considered for entry to PhD study. For details please visit the PhD General Regulations in the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar. 

Transfer from the master’s to the PhD program

Students who have not completed their master’s program may apply to transfer to the PhD program upon recommendation by the student’s department. For information on transfers please visit the PhD General Regulations in the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar.

English language proficiency requirements

English is the language of instruction and communication at the University of Manitoba.

To meet the English language proficiency requirements, applicants must have either: 

1. Received a high school diploma or university degree from Canada or one of the countries listed on the English Language Proficiency Test Exemption List

OR

2. Submitted a passing, English language test score. A list of accepted tests and minimum scores can be found on the chart below:

In all cases, test scores older than two years are invalid.

Test name Minimum score required Test contact
IAEP
(Intensive Academic English Program)
Pass Level 5/AEPUCE (Academic English Program for University and College Entrance) with a minimum of 65% overall English Language Centre
520 University Centre
University of Manitoba
Tel: (204) 474-9251
IELTS (Academic module) 
(International English Language Testing System)
6.5 overall IELTS Test Centre
1180 Pembina Hwy, Unit 102
Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2A4
Tel: (204) 415-8660
Email: info@myetc.ca

Internet-based TOEFL (TOEFL-iBT®)
(Test of English as a Foreign Language)
University of Manitoba institutional code: 0973

*Please note if you have taken multiple tests, we will not consider your “best score” for admission. Individual tests only will be considered and must achieve the minimum requirements in each category and in overall score.

 

Overall score of 86
20 in Reading
20 in Writing
20 in Listening
20 in Speaking
For students residing outside of Canada:
TOEFL Publications
P.O. Box 6154
Princeton N.J. U.S.A.
08541-6154
Tel: (609) 771-7100
For students residing in Canada:
Sylvan Learning Centres
Pearson Test of English Academic 61 overall

Pearson PTE

Countries exempt from English language requirements

Applicants holding secondary school diplomas and/or university degrees from the following countries are exempt from the English Language Proficiency Test requirement.

  • Anguilla
    Antigua and Barbuda
    Ascension
    Australia
    Bahamas
    Barbados
    Belize
    Bermuda
    Botswana
    Canada
    Cayman Islands
    Channel Islands
    Dominica
    Ethiopia
    Falkland Islands
    Fiji
    Gambia
    Ghana

  • Gibraltar
    Grenada
    Guam
    Guyana
    Ireland (Republic of)
    Isle of Man
    Jamaica
    Kenya
    Kiribati
    Lesotho
    Liberia
    Malawi
    Malta
    Montserrat
    Namibia
    New Zealand
    Nigeria
    Pitcairn Island

     

  • Puerto Rico
    Saint Helena
    Singapore
    South Africa
    St. Kitts & Nevis
    St. Lucia
    St. Vincent and the Grenadines
    Tanzania
    Trinidad & Tobago
    Tristan da Cunha
    Turks and Caicos Islands
    Tuvalu
    Uganda
    United Kingdom
    USA
    Virgin Islands
    Wake Island
    Zambia
    Zimbabwe

How to calculate  Canadian and US GPAs

Determine the equivalent of two years of study (60 credit hours at UM).  Look at the back of the transcript to determine the system the specific university uses (i.e., credit hour system, quarter hours system, semester hour system, etc.) and count back to the equivalent of 60 credit hours.

Check for any repeated courses. Use the highest grade received for the course in the calculation. Do not include the other grades for that course in the calculation.

If you come to a session that has more credit hours available than you need, use the highest level courses, then courses with the highest grades.

For example, if the student has taken the following courses and only needs six credit hours, Graduate Studies will use PSYC 3070 and BIOL 3340 because they are the highest level courses with the highest grades.

BIOL 3340 - 3 credit hours:  B
ENGL 1200 - 3 credit hours: C+
PSYC 3070 - 3 credit hours: A
STAT 2000 - 3 credit hours: B+
BIOL 2210 - 3 credit hours: C+

Assign grade point (GP) values to each grades, as follows:

  • A+ = 4.5
  • A = 4.0
  • B+ = 3.5
  • B = 3.0
  • C+ = 2.5
  • C = 2.0
  • D = 1.0
  • F = 0.0

If the grades are not letter grades, refer again to the transcript or the Canadian GPA Equivalent Table for the equivalent letter grade.

Multiply the GP value by the credit hour for each specific course. For example, a 3-credit hour course where the grade is B+ would be (3 credit hour) X 3.5 (GP value) = 10.5 (GP sum). Do this for all grades to be included in the calculation.

Add the GP sums and divide by the number of credit hours used in the calculation. For example,  210 (sum of GP sums) divided by 60 (sum of credit hours in calculation) = 3.5 (grade point average “GPA”) in the last two years of study (equivalent to two years).

These guidelines indicate how the Faculty of Graduate Studies would calculate the GPA in the last two years of study.  As the department may be looking for specific courses that have been taken the department’s procedure may differ from these guidelines. 

Canadian university GPA equivalents

Refer to the Canadian GPA Equivalencies document (PDF) to convert the letter grades from many Canadian universities to an equivalent University of Manitoba letter grade and GPA.
 
If the university you need is not listed in the document, please contact a Student Admissions Assistant.