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Admission Requirements

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Master of Science (M.Sc.)

The Biology M.Sc. program is governed by the general graduate guidelines of the College of Graduate Studies' policies and procedures, including its standards for admission of students. Applicants to the M.Sc. program are expected to have a B.Sc. in Biology or a related field, with a B+ (76%) average or higher in their third- and fourth-year classes or at least 12 credits in third- and fourth-year classes in their intended field of study with an A- (80%) or higher average. Their background training must be sufficient for advanced work in their chosen field. For non-native speakers of English, minimum acceptable TOEFL scores are 550 (paper version) and 90 overall with a minimum score of 22 in Reading & Listening and a minimum score of 21 in Writing & Speaking (Internet version).

No applicant will be admitted to the program until a member of the Biology Department faculty has agreed to supervise the thesis research; thus, applicants are strongly urged to identify and contact a potential research supervisor prior to applying.

In exceptional cases, applicants who do not meet the requirements stated above but who have had significant formal training and relevant professional experience to offset such deficiencies may be granted admission on the recommendation of the Biology Graduate Program Committee and approval of the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

The Biology Ph.D. program is governed by the general graduate guidelines of the UBC Okanagan campus College of Graduate Studies' policies and procedures, including its standards for admission of students. Ph.D. applicants will normally have an M.Sc. in Biology or a related field, with a B+ (76%) average or higher in their M.Sc. coursework and thesis. Their background training must be sufficient for advanced work in their chosen field. For non-native speakers of English, minimum acceptable TOEFL scores are 550 (paper version) and 90 overall with a minimum score of 22 in Reading & Listening and a minimum score of 21 in Writing & Speaking (Internet version).

No applicant will be admitted to the program until a member of the Biology Department faculty has agreed to supervise the thesis research; thus, applicants are strongly urged to identify and contact a potential research supervisor prior to applying.

In exceptional cases, applicants who do not meet the requirements stated above but who have had significant formal training and relevant professional experience to offset such deficiencies may be granted admission on the recommendation of the Biology Graduate Program Committee and approval of the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.


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