Faculty of Architecture Environmental Design applicant admission requirements (2025-2026)

April 1, 2025

This information is available with, and constitutes part of, the application. It is assumed that all applicants have read and understood it prior to submitting the completed application.

Programs offered

Bachelor of Environmental Design (B.Env.D)

The University of Manitoba will require graded coursework to fulfill all admission requirements as outlined in this bulletin. Pass grades will not be considered for meeting any of these requirements unless otherwise stated.

A. Academic Requirements

1. Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA)

The minimum Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA) for consideration for admission to Environmental Design is 2.50 (C+). An AGPA higher than the minimum may be required to be successful in the annual competition for admission (see Section 4: Selection Process).

All applicants are advised that this is a competitive program with limited spaces and that applicants meeting minimum eligibility cannot be assured admission.

2. Qualifying Year Requirements

Applicants must successfully complete the required Qualifying Year coursework. The term Qualifying Year is used to describe the 30 credit hours of university coursework required for eligibility. This work can be completed in one academic year or over several years but must be completed by the end of the April examination period of the year of application to Environmental Design program.

All applicants must have successfully completed the below coursework at the 1000 level or higher, as indicated:

Required courses

1. Open Electives
   EVDS 1660 and EVDS 1670 (History of Culture, Ideas and the Environment 1 & 2) are required prerequisite courses for progression and graduation in the Environmental Design degree program. Please note: It is highly recommended that applicants take all five EVDS first year courses prior to admission or in the summer term immediately prior. 
    
2. University Written English Requirement (W) and Mathematics Course Requirement (M)
   The University of Manitoba requires all applicants to complete a minimum of 3 credit hours in Written English or its equivalent, and 3 credit hours of Mathematics. The W and M courses must be at the 1000 level or higher and meet the minimum grade requirement.
   
   Applicants who have completed the W requirement at an institution external to the University of Manitoba should carefully review the below requirements of the W course. The W course syllabus must reflect that all of the following requirements are met within the course expectations:
   1. A minimum of 3 papers of at least 3-5 pages each OR a minimum of 2 papers of at least 6-8 pages each with a minimum total word count of 3000.  One paper with a word count of 3000 words or more will not meet this requirement.
   2. The written work must include a written description or argument that is clear, concise, and logically structured and that reflects an appropriate awareness of the audience or readership being addressed.
   3. There must be feedback given to the student on the style as well as content of written assignments.

External applicants who believe their course meets the above stated W criteria or who require assessment of the M requirement can submit a detailed course syllabus to admissions.environmentaldesign@umanitoba.ca after the application has been submitted and before the listed deadline for syllabus submission (see Section 3: Application Process & Deadlines, B. Deadlines and Important Dates).

Acceptable University of Manitoba courses that satisfy the Written English (W) and Mathematics (M) requirements can be found in the University of Manitoba Academic Calendar.

• Review the General Academic Regulations page

The Faculty of Architecture does not allow students to use 0900 level English courses or their equivalent either for the Written English requirement or as open elective.

All applicants who have completed a Baccalaureate Degree or were admitted to the University of Manitoba prior to September 1997 are exempted from the above requirement. Such applicants are still required to present the 30 credit hours of Qualifying Year coursework, with additional elective credits in lieu of the W and M requirements.

3. Applicants with External Post-Secondary

Applicants presenting studies external to the University of Manitoba should be aware that external courses must be evaluated as direct equivalents to meet the EVDS course requirements for admission. Additionally, the Written English and Mathematics Requirements must be transferable and must meet the criteria outlined in University Written English Requirement (W) and Mathematics Course Requirement (M). Please review the Transfer Credit Equivalency Database for previous assessments of these courses. If your course(s) are either not listed or are not a direct equivalent, a syllabus must be submitted for evaluation after the application is submitted and before the listed deadline (see Section 3: Application Process & Deadlines, B. Deadlines and Important Dates).

Applicants presenting college level studies should be aware that the Faculty of Architecture accepts credit for community college, technical college, or other accredited college course equivalents as assigned by the relevant discipline departments at the University of Manitoba. Such courses will be considered for meeting admission criteria and for potential transfer credit to the program and only those courses deemed “university level” will be used in establishing eligibility and in the calculation of the AGPA.

4. Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Credit

Effective September 2005, Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) coursework completed after 2005 that have been awarded transfer of credit may be used to fulfill the eligibility requirements, and will be included within the most recent 60 credit hour count and the Adjusted Grade Point Average (see Section 4: Selection Process, B. General Applicant Category). Those who present AP or IB coursework completed prior to 2005 cannot use these courses to fulfill eligibility or AGPA requirements.

B. English Language Proficiency Requirements

All applicants whose primary language is not English and do not qualify for a waiver under the University of Manitoba’s English language proficiency regulations will be required to demonstrate proficiency in English.

Additional information regarding specific proficiency requirements, waiver information, and test options can be found on the English language proficiency requirements page.

• English language proficiency requirements

Results for most language tests, including TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo, expire two years from the test date. Test scores must be valid at the start of classes. Please confirm the validity of your test results.

C. Categories of Applicants

1. General Applicants

Applicants to this category must meet all eligibility requirements and will be selected based on their AGPA (see Section 4: Selection Process).

2. Canadian Indigenous Applicants

The Canadian Indigenous Applicant Category is for self-declared Canadian Indigenous peoples who have met the minimum eligibility requirements but may not be competitive in the General Applicant Category.

Indigenous Peoples are defined as all Indigenous peoples of Canada including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.

3. Individual Consideration Applicants

The Individual Consideration Applicant Category is for applicants who have met the minimum eligibility requirements but may not be competitive in the General Applicant Category.

Individual Consideration Category will be applicants who:

a. are Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents, and

b. meet the minimum Eligibility Requirements for admission to Environmental Design, Faculty of Architecture, and

c. are considered by the Selection Committee to be worthy of Individual Consideration under the following categories:

• Exceptional Circumstance: those who have academic records that are not a true reflection of their academic and intellectual merit because of exceptional circumstances, or
• Work Experience: those who have been employed or self-employed full-time for a period of not less than three years in a related field and display skills and attributes which give an indication of potential contribution to the discipline. The characteristics that may be considered when evaluating Individual Consideration Applicants include the applicant’s motivation, occupational background, ability to work with people and demonstrated initiative relevant to a career in a design or planning profession.

A. Application Fees

Applications are not considered received until the application is submitted and the non-refundable application fee has been paid by the posted deadline.

All correspondence, including decision release information will be sent via email and posted to your application portal.

Please ensure your email account remains current and will accept emails from the University of Manitoba. Check your filters.

It is important to check your email and application portal regularly and specifically around the deadlines and important dates listed below.

B. Deadlines and Important Dates

Faculty of Architecture Environmental Design deadlines

C. Required Application Documentation

The following documents will be required to complete your application:

Please send all admission documentation to the following address:

Admission for Environmental Design
University of Manitoba
424 UMSU University Centre
65 Chancellors Circle
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2

Electronic transcripts should be submitted to applicant.services@umanitoba.ca.

In order to be considered official, electronic transcripts must be sent directly from the email of the office responsible for issuing transcripts. Transcripts emailed or forwarded by the applicant are considered unofficial.

The University of Manitoba is a registered receiving organization with MyCreds^TM. Applicants from participating member universities and colleges can release their transcripts to the University of Manitoba through their MyCreds^TM portal. Applicants should select 'Share' and then 'Organization' instead of opting for 'email'.

Applications are not complete until all necessary documents are received. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that our office receives all required information.

D. Assessment of External Coursework

At the University of Manitoba, all coursework from a recognized prior post-secondary institution will be considered as part of the application for admission process for all undergraduate degree and diploma programs.

The Faculty of Architecture accepts credit for community college, technical college, or other accredited college course equivalents as assigned by the relevant discipline departments at the University of Manitoba. Such courses will be considered for meeting admission criteria and for potential transfer credit to the program and only those courses will be used in establishing eligibility and in the calculation of the AGPA.

Students presenting only college or diploma level credentials may need to present additional university coursework to meet the required 30 credit hours.

Students who are successfully admitted may be eligible to receive transfer credit. Only courses completed within the most recent ten years prior to registration in Environmental Design with a grade of C or better will be considered for transfer of credit towards the degree in the form of block credit.

Enrolment in the Environmental Design program is limited. Applicants satisfying the minimum entry requirements (see Section 2: Eligibility Requirements) are eligible for consideration, but selection is academically competitive.

Students will be admitted on the basis of an annual competition. Each year’s admission cycle is a separate process and there is no carryover from one year to the next.

A. Calculation of the AGPA

Admission to the Environmental Design program is determined by an annual academic competition. An Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA) will be calculated for each applicant, with the AGPA determining the relative placement of the applicant on the rank-ordered selection list. All applicants must have successfully completed the minimum entrance requirements within the Qualifying Year to be eligible to apply (see Section 2: Eligibility Requirements).

The AGPA is calculated to take into account the student’s most recent academic work and to allow for some elimination of the lowest grades within this work. Only the student’s most recent 60 credit hours of university level work will be used in the calculation of the AGPA. If an applicant has completed a total of 36 - 60 credit hours of university level work, the lowest marks will be dropped from the calculation of the AGPA in accordance with the table below.

Notes

a. It is the applicant’s responsibility to inform the Admissions Office in writing of any deferred exams or grade changes. All final grades, including grade changes must be submitted to the Admissions Office by the document deadline in order for them to be included in the final selection process.  Grade changes will not be accepted after the documentation deadline date.  If a grade is not available by the documentation deadline date, an ‘F’ grade will be used in the final admission determination and calculation.

b. If it is not possible to clearly identify the most recently completed 60 credit hours of work, the average of the term containing the least recent of the 60 credit hours will be used as a representative grade for the remaining hours. Full 6 credit hour Fall/Winter spanned courses count as part of the Winter Term grades.

c. In the calculation of the AGPA, all courses that have been assigned a final grade are considered “Completed” university work, including failed and repeated courses. Such courses will be used in the AGPA should they fall within the most recent 60 credit hours.

d. Courses graded “Pass/Fail” or “Satisfactory”, and courses that have been assessed and awarded as university credit from either the Advanced Placement (AP) program or the International Baccalaureate (IB) program prior to September 2005 will be excluded from both the AGPA and from the most recent 60 credit hour count.

e. Courses completed on a full or part time basis, in all undergraduate and graduate programs, and in Regular and Summer terms (except the work taken after April 1 in the year of application) will be included in the AGPA calculation.

f. Courses completed at a college, which have been deemed equivalent to university level courses will be included in the AGPA.

g. Should a grade be retained on your record yet excluded from your institutional GPA calculation, that grade will be used to meet admission requirements and the GPA calculation for your application to the University of Manitoba.

B. General Applicant Category

The Selection Committee will select applicants from the General Category by ranking of highest AGPA. International applicants on Study Permits will be rank ordered as a separate group with approximately ten to fifteen percent (10-15%) of the annual places available allocated to the top candidates in this group.

C. Canadian Indigenous Applicant Category

A Sub-Committee of the Faculty will consider applicants in the Canadian Indigenous category on an individual basis. The Sub-Committee will have Canadian Indigenous representation. The characteristics that will be considered when evaluating Canadian Indigenous applicants will include such factors as life history, work experience, community service and maturity.

A holistic review of these characteristics along with all required documentation is used for consideration of applications in the Indigenous Applicant category, with no particular weight to any one requirement. Decisions are necessarily subjective; reasons are neither recorded nor given.

Up to five percent (5%) of the places may be offered to Canadian Indigenous applicants.

Applicants applying for admission in this category must submit the following supplemental application documentation by the deadline listed in Section 3: Application Process & Deadlines, B. Deadlines and Important Dates.

Applicants will be asked to submit the following documents electronically in their application portal:

• A typed autobiographical sketch (a description of yourself), no longer than five double-spaced typed pages which includes life history, work experience, community service, and statement of academic intent.
• A creative portfolio containing representative works illustrating the applicant’s creative potential through various modes of cultural production is required. Refer to the Portfolio Guidelines page for more details on the content requirements for the portfolio.
• Three confidential evaluations from persons who are professionally positioned to supply information relevant to the applicant's eligibility for inclusion within the Canadian Indigenous Category.  Applicants will be required to submit their referee contact information upon submission of the application. Evaluations from referees must be submitted by the documentation deadline. This information is collected in the strictest of confidence and will not be released to the applicant. This is done to ensure the integrity of the recommendation process.

Submission of Indigenous persons interested in applying should contact the Environmental Design Program for further information at env.design@umanitoba.ca.

D. Individual Consideration Applicant Category

Applicants in the Individual Consideration category (Exceptional Circumstances and Work Experience) will be reviewed by a Sub-Committee of the Faculty on an individual basis.

Up to five percent (5%) of the spaces may be offered to Individual Consideration Applicants.

Note that a holistic review of all required documentation is used for consideration of applications in the Individual Consideration category, with no particular weight to any one requirement. Decisions are necessarily subjective; reasons are neither recorded nor given.

Applicants applying for admission in this category must submit the following supplemental application documentation by the deadline listed in Section 3: Application Process & Deadlines, B. Deadlines and Important Dates. Applicants will be asked to submit the following documents electronically in their application portal:

• A typed autobiographical sketch (a description of yourself) no longer than five double-spaced pages, which includes specific reasons why you, as an applicant, merit consideration within the Individual Consideration Applicant Category.
• Three confidential evaluations from persons who are professionally positioned to supply information relevant to the applicant’s qualifications for inclusion within the Individual Consideration Applicant Category. Applicants will be required to submit their referee contact information upon submission of the application. Evaluations from referees must be submitted by the documentation deadline. This information is collected in the strictest of confidence and will not be released to the applicant. This is done to ensure the integrity of the recommendation process.
• A creative portfolio containing representative works illustrating the applicant’s creative potential through various modes of cultural production is required. Refer to the Portfolio Guidelines page for more details on the content requirements for the portfolio.
• A Curriculum vitae (CV) is required by applicants applying under the Work Experience Category only. The CV should include the dates of employment and a detailed description of actual duties and responsibilities.

E. Citizenship and Residency

Preference for admission is given to Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents of Canada who are residents of the province of Manitoba. Applicants will be considered on the basis of their citizenship and residency status as of June 1st of the year of application.

F. Tie Breaking Procedure for Offers

In the event of a tie, the following procedure will be used:

1. Increase the number of significant figures used in the calculation.
2. Where a tie still exists, the application that was received first will be used to break the tie.  All completed applications are time stamped upon submission; in the case of a paper application, these applications will be time stamped after they have been entered into the system by a University of Manitoba Admissions Office staff member.

G. Notification of Decision

Decisions will be posted to the applicant’s portal. Applicants must log into their application portal to view the decision and to accept or decline their offer. If the offer is not accepted and the subsequent deposit paid by the deadline date indicated in the letter, the offer will lapse. Lapsed offers will be considered a declined response. It is imperative that email accounts remain current and that emails and application portals are regularly checked.

Applicants offered admission will have 5 (five) business days to respond and pay a non-refundable deposit of $200.00 to indicate their acceptance (this deposit amount is subject to change). The deposit will be applied to tuition fees at the time of registration.

Individuals who wish to have their applications reconsidered should submit their request to the Chair of the Selection Committee. Past experience has shown that most inquiries can be satisfied at this level without further reference. Persons wishing reconsideration of the decision of the Selection Committee shall direct their request in writing to the Chair within ten (10) business days of the posted decision date. All appeals must come directly from the applicant and not a third party (e.g. parent, sibling, friend, agent, etc.).

Should the student wish to pursue the reconsideration decision further, such an appeal will be made in accordance with the Senate Committee on Appeals Procedures.

• Review the Senate Committee on Appeals policy and procedures

Applicants are advised that appeals of reconsideration decisions by the Senate Appeal Committee focus on questions of correct adherence to published policies and procedures by the Committee of Selection, and not on subjective issues or the relative merits of the application.

The Faculty of Architecture and Admissions Office are able to assist applicants who seek counselling regarding admission to the Faculty of Architecture. However, it is policy not to instruct applicants as to a specific course of action they should follow, but rather to provide the information needed for applicants to make their own choice with respect to the alternatives available. The following points require special attention:

1. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their plans with all who can usefully advise them, but they should be aware that second and third hand information about admission policies may not be accurate.
2. No official at the university can guarantee the admission of any applicant. Admission is determined by the Committee on the basis of an annual competition.
3. All applicants are advised to supplement any personal enquiries with a written request so that an official written response can be made. It is only these written responses, which will be considered as evidence of any advice given (see Section 8: Contact Information).

The University of Manitoba is committed to providing all students equal access to learning opportunities. If you are a student with a diagnosed disability (permanent, chronic, or temporary) who may require academic accommodations, please contact Student Accessibility Services at 204-474-7423 or by email at student_accessibility@umanitoba.ca to learn more about the confidential supports that are available.

The following other contacts may also be useful.

The Bachelor of Environmental Design degree is a four-year program of studies consisting of one qualifying year plus one year of common ‘Foundation Studies’ (ED2), followed by two years of pre-professional ‘Intermediate Studies’ (ED3 and ED4). The third and fourth years are referred to as the ‘Option Years’ and include Architecture, Interior Environments, and Landscape + Urbanism. The Bachelor of Environmental Design degree program requires students to declare a specific program option after the second year of studies (ED2) in the program.

Students who already have earned a degree prior to applying for admission to Environmental Design may be eligible to apply directly to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for admission to Architecture, City Planning, Interior Design, or Landscape Architecture or may want to review the requirements for the Environmental Design Architecture Masters Preparation Option (ED AMP). Information regarding admission requirements to the graduate programs is available on the Faculty of Architecture website.

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