How to Apply

A completed application consists of the following components, in detail:

Completed application, accessed online.

Your resume or CV.

Statement of Intent.
This should outline your qualifications for graduate school, your research interests, and your reasons for applying to Western specifically. The statement should be in the format of a research proposal, providing background information to position your proposed research within the context of the current knowledge in the field. Your objectives, hypotheses, approach, and methods should be noted if you know them, as well as the significance of the research you are proposing. If you have not discussed potential projects with a faculty supervisor in advance, you must still provide a detailed description of a research project that interests you. You will not be bound to the research statement, it just allows the admissions committee to assess your research objectives, your background for graduate school, and your written communication skills in English. The statement should also include the names of potential supervisors with whom you have been in contact.

The statement of intent should be no more than one single-spaced page. If you are including references, they may spill over to a second page.

A minimum of three references from those persons who are most familiar with your academic abilities.
By entering your referees’ email addresses on the application, they will be sent an online reference form to complete and submit electronically. Two of your referees must be academic; the third may be academic or professional. If you are using a professional reference, they must be from a previously held position related to the earth sciences.

Scans of transcripts from all college and university studies.
These transcripts should be uploaded as a part of the online application. Official transcripts in a language other than English should be provided in their original language, along with a certified translation into English. French language transcripts from schools within Canada are acceptable without an official translation. We do not require transcripts from high school. If your application is judged to be successful, you will need to provide official transcripts to the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies as a condition of admission.

English Proficiency Scores if your first language is not English.
If your first language is not English, we require proof of English proficiency as a condition of admission. If you have completed a minimum of two full years of study at an accredited university where English is the medium of instruction, and that university is located in a country where English is the primary language of use in the region in which you studied (e.g. Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, etc.), we do not require a proficiency test.

In all other cases, applicants must complete the TOEFL or IELTS test.

Our required scores are:
TOEFL IBT: minimum of 92, with no individual score falling below 20, and a minimum of 23 in the speaking component
IELTS: minimum of 6.0, with no individual score falling below 6.0

Scores more than two years old as of the date of proposed admission will not be accepted. We also can accept MELAB, CAEL or TOEFL PBT scores; please contact the department for more information. A waiver of the English proficiency test may be granted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the graduate committee, in cases where the applicant has studied at an English-language university in a region where English is not the language of daily use, and in which the applicant demonstrates exceptional proficiency in communication with members of the Department. No waiver will be granted in cases where the applicant has previously taken a proficiency test and failed to meet the Department's standard. All decisions of the graduate committee regarding proficiency tests are final.

TOEFL results should be sent electronically using the institution code of 0984 and the department code of 71. IELTS scores can be sent electronically, by uploading a scanned copy as a part of the online application. Your TRF (Test Report Form) number must be legible in the scan so that we can verify the results with the British Council.

For students who fail to meet the minimum required proficiency standard, we can consider conditional admission subject to successful completion of Western's English Language Proficiency Program, but only in exceptional circumstances.

There is an application fee as per instructions in the online application.

Note: We do not require the GRE. If you are a Permanent Resident of Canada or a Canadian citizen originally from another country, please also supply a copy of your PR card (front and back), or your proof of Canadian citizenship, with your application materials.

Students who have voluntarily withdrawn or who have been withdrawn and wish to complete their program must formally re-apply for admission via our application. Credit for previous work completed must be approved by the program and SGPS.

Applicants who have been offered admission to the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies can accept or decline their offers of admissions online through the Western Student Center.

1. Login into the Student Center with the information provided with your Western Personal Computer Account and locate the Admissions box
2. Select "Accept or Decline" to begin the decision process

Our application is open year-round. However, our primary round of admissions (For May and September starts) is done based upon all completed applications (with all letters of reference received) by January 30.

Standard SGPS processing time for applications to be released to the Department of Earth Sciences is approximately one week, and applicants will need to allow time for their referees to submit their letters of reference. We would estimate that applications should be submitted by early January at the latest to ensure they are complete by the deadline.

Students who apply after January 30 can still be considered for admission, but may be limited by available resources. We can continue to make offers for applications received after the January 30 deadline, but we encourage all applicants to apply by the original deadline when possible, specifically for international applicants.

Once an application is completed applicants with interested supervisors will have their applications assessed by the departmental graduate committee. If a student is successful a decision will be communicated on the Student Centre and via email. In cases where a supervisor has not been found, the application will remain open until the start of term in which they applied, at which point it will be closed as unsuccessful. If a student does not meet minimum grade requirements their application may be closed sooner.

Supervisors remain one of the most essential pieces of the admission process and it is important that students reach out to faculty members early to find an appropriate match.