Admission information

We require that you have completed an acceptable bachelor's degree in (a) Psychology (b) Educational Psychology (c) Education* from an academic institution recognized by the University of Victoria. All applicants normally must have earned the equivalent of a B+ average over the last two years (or equivalent of 30.0 UVic units) of their degree to be considered. Practicum, non-graded (pass-fail) courses, credit granted on the basis of life or work experience, or credit earned at institutions not recognized by the University will not be used in determining an applicant's grade point average or units completed.  

*Applicants without a Bachelor’s degree in (a) Psychology, (b) Educational Psychology, or (c) Education must satisfy the following pre-requisite course requirements to apply:

• Two senior undergraduate courses covering content in educational psychology, learning, cognition and/or human development.
• For the Special Education focus area: at least one of the courses must be in special education, developmental psychopathology or related course. Applicants with 2-years of related field experience providing services to people with special needs in school or community contexts can use their experience in lieu of the Special Education course prerequisite.

International students must meet the minimum degree type, degree length and GPA by country. 

All applicants must fill out the provided statement of purpose form provided here. This document is also sometimes called a "letter of intent." You do not need to write a separate letter, just complete the form. 

All applicants must fill out the first page and Part A: Program purpose. In addition, all MA applicants must fill out the 3^rd page, Part B: Research purpose.

Previous relevant field experience is valued in all our programs, particularly in the MEd degree programs. Experience may be in more than one setting, paid or voluntary, and does not need to be continuous.

Please include:

• Date of the resumé.
• Past degrees, awards and distinctions.
• All relevant field experience should be clearly documented. Each applicant has an opportunity to document in what way they believe their experience is relevant and successful. Whether the candidate has been working or not, all gaps in the history should be included and explained.

Due 15 days after the application deadline.

Assessment reports are required from at least one academic reference and the second maybe a professional reference or another academic reference who is familiar with your work. 

You will provide the names and email addresses of your chosen assessors as part of your online application. UVic will email the assessment report link directly to your referees after you submit your application. It is important that you contact your referees prior to listing them here, to confirm their willingness to provide you with an assessment.

You can log in your application and return to the assessment section check whether the assessment reports have been completed by your referees, make changes to your referee information, or re-send the link to your referee if necessary.

Due 15 days after the application deadline.

If your first language is not English, you must provide proof of English language proficiency, in the form of a TOEFL, IELTS or MELAB test result (some students may be exempt from this requirement; please see the link below). No other tests are accepted. We do not accept Duolingo. 

Official test score reports must be sent directly to the University of Victoria by the testing agency. Scores older than two years are not acceptable. 

Minimum scores 

Given that the counselling profession requires an excellent command of the English language including emotion-based vocabulary and subtle understanding of nuance communications, minimum scores for general University of Victoria graduate admissions are not sufficient for entrance to the counselling psychology program. Visit the following page for details on minimum required scores for this program: EPLS English proficiency requirements

Exemptions

This page also provides a list of exemptions such as for specific countries or students whose prior degree was instructed in English: EPLS English proficiency requirements