Admissions
General information
You do not need to contact or secure a supervisor before applying to our programs. However, we recommend you list a potential supervisor in your application. At the time we review applications (late January), we match up prospective students with (interim) supervisors who have similar research interests. Having said that, we encourage you to research our unit before you apply, to make sure that we are a good fit for you and that you have a sense of who you might work with if you come here.
As you prepare your application, you are likely to have questions. Some of these may be answered on our FAQ page.
For university-wide admission requirements and guidelines (e.g. minimum GPA; English proficiency), you can also consult the Admissions information in the Graduate Calendar.
If you cannot find the answers you are looking for, you can always contact us directly:
- Graduate Advisor: Dr. John Archibald ( linggradadv@uvic.ca)
- Graduate Secretary: Emmanuelle Guenette ( linggradsec@uvic.ca)
Finally, here are some tips for applying for graduate school that might be helpful as you start thinking about the process.
Application deadline
All applications, for both international and domestic students, must be completed by January 15 for admission the following September. Applications submitted by this deadline are considered for the Graduate Fellowships, which are awarded to incoming students each year by the University, and for other sources of funding within the department.
Application requirements
To apply to any of our graduate programs, you will need to submit:
- A Letter of Intent (maximum 2 pages) outlining a) why you chose to apply to the UVic Linguistics graduate program, b) how your background has prepared you for this program, and c) what area of study you hope to specialize in.
- Transcripts from the post-secondary institutions at which you have studied
- Two assessment reports (= letters of reference)
- Your most up-to-date curriculum vitae (resume)
- A writing sample: maximum 5 pages of a publication or major term paper (research-based if possible). Note: partial papers are acceptable, the idea is to give us a sense of your experience in Linguistics (and/or related fields), as well as of your writing style.
- Evidence of your language proficiency if you do not come from a designated English speaking country. Note that the requirements of the Linguistics department are stricter than the general UVic requirements. Here are the minimum required scores to be admitted to one of our graduate programs:
- TOEFL: the minimum score is 600 on the standard paper-based test, 250 on the computer-based test, or 100 on the internet-based test
- IELTS: the minimum score is 7 on all components of the test
Please note: Because of limitations on funding and capacity, we admit a very small number of PhD students every year. In assessing PhD applications, we look for three key things:
- An excellent track record (e.g., first-class GPA), with at least some background in Linguistics
- A clear letter of intent, specifying area(s) of interest and possible research project(s)
- A clear fit with our unit, and especially a clear fit with a prospective supervisor
How to apply
When you apply for one of our graduate programs, you do not send your application directly to Linguistics. Rather, you apply online to UVic's central Graduate Admissions and Records Office (GARO). GARO checks that your files meet minimum academic standards, and then forwards your application to us for consideration.
Below you will find links to the UVic Graduate Studies website, which provide an overview of the application and admissions process, from planning to next steps once you're admitted.