The University of British Columbia

What You Need to Apply

A full application to the graduate program involves significant effort and expense for both the applicant and our department. Once submitted, application fees are non-refundable and supporting documents become the property of the university. It is therefore important that you understand the application process and the minimum qualifications required for admission to our graduate program before you apply. There are both university minimum requirements and additional department minimum requirements which must be met before you will be considered for admission. Please familiarize yourself with both before applying.

What are the minimum requirements for admission to the ECE Graduate Program?

For Admission to M.Eng.

Applicants to the M.Eng. program must have an accredited (by UBC) four year Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering or a closely related field. It is preferred that M.Eng. applicants have some industrial experience. Even though the M.Eng. is a course-based program M.Eng. applicants require a supervisor's approval for admission to the M.Eng. program. GPA and language requirements are the same as for M.A.Sc. applicants.

For Admission to M.A.Sc.

Applicants to the M.A.Sc. program must have an accredited (by UBC) four year Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering or a closely related field. It is preferred that M.A.Sc. applicants have a GPA in the first-class range and show some demonstrated aptitude for research.

For Admission to the Ph.D.

Applicants to the Doctoral program must have a course and thesis-based Master's degree, similar to our M.A.Sc., as well as a Bachelor's degree, and references must include a detailed letter from the thesis supervisor. Applicants who have completed a course-based Master's program similar to our M.Eng. are not generally eligible for the Ph.D. program and will normally be considered for the M.A.Sc. Applicants who have completed a degree by research only (such as an M.Phil) may have to complete a year of additional coursework as part of their Ph.D. program.

Minimum University Requirements

The minimum university requirement can be found on the Faculty of Graduate Studies website. * Note that these are university-wide minimum requirements and not specific to ECE. Departments will also have their own minimum requirements in addition to the university-wide requirements. Below are the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department requirements for those countries from which we receive the largest number of applications.

ECE Requirements

What are your language requirements?

Applicants who have recently (within 5 years) completed a degree in one of the following countries do not need to submit a language score: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States and the English-speaking countries of the West Indies. Other applicants, including Canadians, who have completed their most recent degree in other countries must submit a current, official TOEFL score of 600 on the PBT or 100 on the IBT; or an IELTS score of 7/9.  Notwithstanding the above exceptions, the department has the perogative to request proof of proficiency in English from any candidate where there are concerns that a lack of English proficiency may interfere with success in the graduate program.

If your TOEFL score is within a few points of the minimum score (eg. 95+ on the iBT or 590+ on the PBT) you will not be asked to rewrite the test but your lower score will be pointed out on your evaluation and if a prof decides to accept your supervision he will have to provide a low-TOEFL rationale. We do not make exceptions for the IELTS score of 7/9. If you have a score of 6.5 we will not accept it.

The most common question we are asked is whether a TOEFL score is necessary if a degree has been completed in a program where the medium of instruction is English. Unless you completed a degree from one of the countries mentioned above we require an official, current language score and will not waive this requirement for you. Your file will not be processed until we receive the score, nor will you be considered for conditional admission, pending further English language training.

Who sets the minimum standards?

The Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of British Columbia sets university-wide standards for admission to UBC. In addition, faculties and departments across the university are free to set their own requirements for admission above those set by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. The minimum standards set by the department are based on faculty members' experience with many applicants from varied backgrounds. They are designed to increase the graduate student's success in the program.

Can I apply even if I don't meet the minimum requirements?

It is unlikely that you would be considered for our graduate program if you do not meet the minimum standards. Admission to our graduate program is very competitive. Applicants with limited resources should consider whether their applications are likely to be competitive with other applicants before applying as applications cannot be deferred and application fees are non-refundable. Simply meeting our minimum requirements is no guarantee of admission.

* In exceptional cases, the Faculty of Graduate Studies will admit North American students with otherwise very strong qualifications, who do not meet the 76% overall requirement but who do have 12 credits of First class senior course work. This is useful in areas like the Fine Arts, where recognition of a portfolio of work may be more important than grades. The ECE Department does NOT admit students based on this criteria. We require an overall GPA of 3.33 or B+ in your 300 and 400 level courses.