Graduate Admissions FAQ

Our application period opens at or near the beginning of September each year for the following year’s intake. For example, applications for September 2025 study will open at or near the beginning of September 2024. The deadline for submitting an application for September 2026 admission will be on December 1, 2025.  However, it is strongly recommended that applicants submit their applications prior to November 15, 2025, to provide ample time for their referees to submit the required references to the College of Graduate Studies (as directed within the applications).

UBC Okanagan is located in Kelowna, British Columbia, in the southern interior of the province. It is a wholly separate campus from UBC Vancouver, which is located in the lower mainland of the province.  The city of Kelowna is 390 KM east of the city of Vancouver.

No. Applicants must submit (and pay the corresponding fee) for separate applications to each campus. Applications cannot be shared between campuses. Our Psychology graduate programs operate fully separately and independently from one another.

No. Our graduate programs are structured as full-time study and are residence-based.

No, neither the GRE General scores, nor the Psychology Subject Scores are required for the graduate applications.

The Psychology Department at UBC Okanagan has two separate and distinct graduate streams; Clinical Psychology and Psychological Science. The application process is separate for each stream. Any applicants who wish to be considered for both streams must apply (and pay the corresponding application fee) for each stream.  Information regarding each stream is found here.

Unfortunately, due to the extraordinarily high volume of applications to our Psychology graduate program, we simply do not have capacity to provide individual advising services, nor pre-qualification of prior credentials for prospective applicants.  All admissions-related information can be found on our website here and applicants are expected to review the information in detail.  Additional applications and admissions information is also posted on the College of Graduate Studies website.

Generally speaking, all prospective applicants should consult with their current/recent professors, as well as with postdoctoral students, and/or senior graduate students who have directly provided research supervision and mentorship during the applicant’s undergraduate or graduate studies where applicable.  Such individuals will typically be able to provide informed guidance regarding the applicant’s preparedness for graduate study in Psychology.

For prospective Clinical Psychology applicants, another highly recommended resource is Applying to Graduate Programs in Clinical Psychology: A Guide for Prospective Students, Advisors, and Faculty – Part One and Part Two.

Please do not send your transcripts or curriculum vitae (CV) to our Psychology Department, as we cannot pre-assess nor pre-qualify any credentials. Admissions requirements are outlined on our website here.

The College of Graduate Studies at our campus governs the admission and application requirements.  All application materials must be submitted directly to the College of Graduate Studies, via the online application system. Further information is available here.

Completed applications will be reviewed by our Psychology admissions committee following the published application deadline of December 1 for the next (September start) intake.  Each application is reviewed against our stated admissions criteria.

All prospective applicants to the Okanagan campus are expected to review the Contact and People section of the Psychology department website to learn more about Psychology faculty members and their research areas here.

Prior to applying, all applicants must  name 2-3 prospective, available research faculty supervisors from the Department of Psychology (see web link below) to determine alignment of research interests, and mentor/ mentee fit. Please view Psychology graduate supervisors who are considering new students, here: https://psych.ok.ubc.ca/about/contact/ We unfortunately cannot consider applications that name UBC Vancouver faculty. As indicated above, our programs/campuses operate independently and we cannot share applications between campuses.

Direct contact with a prospective supervisor is not required prior to application.

Applicants may name a prospective Psychology faculty research supervisor who is not in the clinical core faculty group, provided that the given Psychology faculty member is available to supervise a graduate student’s research, as indicated on our above-linked Contact & People page. Again, applicants are required to list 2-3 prospective faculty research supervisors on their graduate applications (see previous section above).

Any admitted student whose approved Psychology faculty research supervisor is not in the clinical core faculty group will need to receive mentorship from an available core Clinical faculty member for the duration of their program.

For each of our program streams, we do not admit students who intend to complete only the MA degree. Our MA and PhD curriculums have been designed intentionally to be completed as a continuous program. However, on rare occasions, students may exit after the MA, or may not be recommended to continue to the PhD.

If you have an undergraduate degree (BA or BSc) in psychology and are interested in completing a PhD, then you should apply to the given MA program — provided you meet the stated admissions requirements. If you already have a research-based Master’s degree (MA or MSc) in psychology that is similar to ours in terms of written thesis requirements, graduate-level statistics & research methods, and relevant coursework, with a first class standing (80% or better, using UBC grade scales), then you should apply directly to our PhD program.

If applying to the Clinical Psychology program stream and you have completed a thesis-based Master’s degree in psychology at a different university, unless the prior Master’s degree is from a CPA or APA accredited clinical psychology program, you are strongly encouraged to apply to our MA program for admissions consideration. The time to PhD completion is truncated (i.e., 4 years to complete PhD instead of 6 years) if entering at the clinical MA level and completing the standard MA-PhD course schedule.

Admission to our Clinical PhD program without the aforementioned thesis-based Clinical MA or MSc degree is exceptionally rare. Such students are at a disadvantage, as they would be required to complete the majority of clinical core coursework and practica from the clinical MA level before beginning PhD coursework. Extending PhD completion time (to complete additional courses and practica) can have a significant impact on depth and breadth of training experience and eligibility for/ duration of funding.

Some students with Master’s level education from a different discipline may be required to complete our MA program, with certain requirements possibly exempted (in exceptionally rare cases) if deemed appropriate by the respective Psychology graduate program stream, and by the College of Graduate Studies. Eligibility for any such exemptions would only be assessed following program admission (not pre-application).

Transfer credit requests at the MA level and/or course exemption requests at the PhD level (as/where may be applicable) are considered on a limited basis only and can be reviewed for eligibility only after an applicant has been admitted. Such requests are subject to both the given Psychology graduate program stream’s policies as well as those of the College of Graduate Studies. Such requests, if granted, do not typically shorten the length of the given degree program’s duration, and substitute coursework is typically required.

Our Psychology graduate programs are rigorous. In addition, admission to both of our graduate program streams (Psychological Science and Clinical Psychology) is very competitive. The admissions review process is comprehensive, and several factors are considered by the Psychology graduate admissions committee when reviewing and ranking completed applications.  A number of criteria will lead to an applicant package being top-ranked, including if an applicant has:

• an eligible undergraduate (Honours recommended) degree in Psychology, or a related area, from a recognized institution (plus a relevant thesis-based Master’s degree if applying to the given PhD stream);
• clear evidence of scholarly work (i.e., posters/presentations/publications);
• a thorough but concise letter of intent/personal statement, with clearly articulated research plans;
• relevant research-related and/or mental health-related work and/or volunteer experience;
• awards/ scholarships/ scholarly recognition;
• a curriculum vitae (CV);
• demonstrated proficiency in English (where required, per the College of Graduate Studies).

All applicants should also have -identified 2-3 available, prospective UBC Okanagan Psychology research faculty supervisors in our Psychology department (prior to applying) to determine alignment of research interests, mentor/mentee fit.  The applicant must name 1-3 available faculty research supervisors within their application for admission.  See faculty research supervisor listings regarding availability, here: https://psych.ok.ubc.ca/about/contact/

Only a small number of strong candidates, as selected from the applicant pool by the admissions committee, will be invited to undergo a comprehensive, full-day virtual (i.e., via Zoom) interview process at our campus, prior to any admission offer being extended.

Due to the very high volume of applications we receive each year, many qualified applicants will not be not granted an interview.

If your undergraduate degree is in another field, or if you had a minor in psychology, there may be some options to consider that can increase the strength of your application.  For example, if you have little to no Psychology coursework in your undergraduate degree, it is recommended that you complete additional university courses to achieve the equivalency of a psychology major prior to applying to either of our graduate streams.  However, if you do have a Psychology minor as part of your undergraduate degree, you may be well advised to enhance your competitiveness by completing a thesis-based Master’s degree in general psychology at a recognized university elsewhere, prior to applying to either of our graduate program streams.

To increase competitiveness for consideration, applicants to our programs should have completed university-level psychology coursework (with strong grades) in the areas of: biological bases of behaviour; cognitive/ affective bases of behaviour; social-cultural aspects of behaviour; human development; history and systems of psychology; psychometrics; statistics and research methods (third-year level of course recommended); personality; psychopathology/ abnormal psychology.

As indicated in #11 and #13 above, several factors in addition to Psychology coursework will lead to an applicant being competitive for admissions consideration. Information on becoming an unclassified student can be found here.

Possibly. Our College of Graduate Studies assesses international credentials. If your degree is a three-year Bologna-compliant degree from a research-intensive European university, it may be acceptable as a basis for admission to graduate studies at UBC. Check the Minimum Academic Requirements for International Credentials Guide to locate your institution’s information here.

If your international credential does not meet the accepted standards in the guide above, then you should complete the equivalent of ten courses per one year of full-time study (the equivalent of 30 course credits at UBC) in Psychology as an unclassified student at an eligible university prior to applying for admissions consideration.  Courses should mostly be at an upper level, and include research/ laboratory experience.  Recommended content areas include: biological bases of behaviour; cognitive/ affective bases of behaviour; social-cultural aspects of behaviour; human development; history and systems of psychology; psychometrics; statistics and research methods (third-year level of course recommended); personality; psychopathology/ abnormal psychology.

Generally, your GPA over the last two years of full-time upper-level coursework, 300 level (third year) and higher of the international credential must be equivalent to a first-class standing (80% or better, using UBC grade scales).  Please note that GPA assessments can be complex and calculation processes may vary by how the source institution has reported the grades.  Applicants must supply the given international institutions’ grading scales/ explanations along with their transcripts as part of their completed application package, for comparison against UBC standards.  Our College of Graduate Studies has final ruling on all GPA calculations and their equivalency to UBC scales.

Both the BA and BSc degree in psychology will be accepted, and an Honours degree is not required provided you have clearly demonstrated scholarly research experience in the form of lab courses/experience and/or directed studies as well as publications, posters, and/or presentations.

Reference letters help to provide insight into your potential to succeed as a graduate student, beyond the academic information supplied by your transcripts. Three references are required, and at least two references must be of an academic nature. Personal references are not accepted.

References must meet the content and submission requirements set by the College of Graduate Studies, as to what is considered an academic reference versus a professional reference. These details can be found here.

Referees are required to use their institutional email addresses to complete the online reference form.  It is advised that applicants do not enter personal email addresses of their referees.  Submitted references will be subject to verification for authenticity.

Rest assured that applicants can and should fully detail any exceptional circumstances within their applications, such as within their personal statement/letter of intent.  Factors are considered carefully and reviewed by the admissions committee within the context of an applicant’s entire application package, provided it is complete (i.e., contains required transcripts, letters of reference, etc.). Incomplete application packages will not be considered.

No. We do not have set guidelines nor a specific template for applicants. Generally, the letter should concisely summarize the applicant’s qualifications as they relate to the given Psychology graduate stream, and must include a clearly articulated research plan. Most letters are 1-2 pages in length.

Please visit the College of Graduate Studies website to view current application fees here.

For the Fall 2025 application period (for September 2026 admissions): to increase the diversity of our Psychology graduate application pool and to offset the cost of application fees for eligible applicants, the Psychology department is offering a first-come, first-served Application Coupon Code* process on a limited basis for eligible persons who self-identify as being a member of a group or groups that have been marginalized on one or more grounds including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race or ethnicity, Indigenous peoples, mental or physical disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, and/or age.

Please review the following important Coupon Code restrictions:

1. The Application Coupon Code request MUST HAVE BEEN MADE/RECEIVED DIRECTLY BY THE APPLICANT IN ADVANCE of submitting an application. In no case can coupons be applied retroactively to applications that have already been submitted;
2. Application Coupon Codes are valid for one (1) prospective applicant for a ONE-TIME USE ONLY, to cover the cost of one (1) application fee, to either the Psychological Science graduate program stream (MA or PhD) OR the Clinical Psychology graduate program stream (MA or PhD) at UBC Okanagan campus only;
3. The request and/or use of an Application Coupon Code by an applicant does notguarantee admission to any graduate program/ stream;
4. Application Coupon Codes are subject to internal budgets/ limited availability and are not guaranteed to be available at any point during a particular application period;
5. Application Coupon Codes must be used by the recipient by November 15 for the corresponding application cycle for the upcoming (September 2026) intake year.  Coupons cannot be applied to a future application cycle/ year;;
6. Application Coupon Codes are non-refundable (no cash value) and are non-transferable between people, other programs or sessions.

HOW TO REQUEST AN APPLICATION COUPON CODE

TO APPLY FOR AN APPLICATION COUPON CODE, APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA STATED BELOW, AND FOLLOW THE OUTLINED PROCESSES PRIOR TO SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION:

1. Email the Psychology graduate programs at:  psych.gradstudies.ok@ubc.ca with the subject line “Request for Application Coupon Code”.

In the body of your email, you must include the following:

• A clearly-articulated statement that you self-identify as being a member of a group or groups that have been marginalized on one or more grounds including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race or ethnicity, Indigenous peoples, mental or physical disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, and/or age;
• Your first name and your last name;
• Your email address;
• Program/degree stream being applied for (must choose one): Psychological Science (MA or PhD) OR Clinical Psychology (MA or PhD);
• Confirmation of intake year you are applying for (September 2026);
• If you are a domestic (Canadian), or an international applicant (required information to generate the correct coupon code, since domestic and international application fees differ)
• International applicants whose citizenship and correspondence address is located in one of the world’s least developed countries, as declared by the United Nations as listed heredo not need a Coupon Code to apply.Coupon recipients: please follow the instructions from the College of Graduate Studies, to enter your application coupon code.

Troubleshooting:  any software questions or technical issues with entry of the provided Coupon Code and/or the application software, must be sent to the College of Graduate Studies directly, at:  gradask.ok@ubc.ca

UBC Okanagan is committed to meeting the challenge issued to Canadians by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada to engage in an ongoing process of reconciliation. To reduce barriers and support the recruitment of Indigenous graduate students, effective April 1, 2022, the College of Graduate Studies introduced application fee waivers for Indigenous applicants.

Graduate student applicants who self-identify as Indigenous (i.e., First Nation, Métis, or Inuit), and whose traditional territory resides primarily within Canada, are eligible for an application fee waiver for January 2023 and all future admission intakes.

Please see more about the graduate application fee waiver processes for Indigenous graduate applicants here: https://gradstudies.ok.ubc.ca/indigenous-graduate-students/

The application deadline is December 1 each year, for the following September intake.  Applicants are expected to begin their application process several weeks in advance, in order to provide them with the ability to submit a thorough and complete application with all required supporting documentation from third parties (i.e., official transcripts, test scores, reference letters) well before the deadline (by November 15, is strongly recommended).

Once applicants have submitted their application and paid the application fee through the College of Graduate Studies application portal, they will receive an automated notification regarding their application, in terms of being Complete or Incomplete, and/or if other information or documentation is required, from the electronic application system.  Applicants are responsible for checking their email regularly to determine if any further information is required for their application.

The Psychology Department cannot accept any application documents directly; all application materials must be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies as directed via the online application system’s instructions.

Unfortunately, due to the extremely high volume of applications we receive each year, the Psychology Department is not able to follow up with applicants individually with application status updates.

It is each applicant’s responsibility to ensure that their application is complete and submitted prior to the December 1 deadline. The Psychology graduate admissions committee reserves the right to begin review of completed applications immediately following the application deadline. Documents that are submitted or updated after the application deadline may not be accepted. Incomplete applications cannot be reviewed.

Questions regarding application documents, including references, should be sent to the College of Graduate Studies, at: gradask.ok@ubc.ca

Only those candidates who have been shortlisted and invited by the Psychology graduate admissions committee to attend remote interviews, will be contacted directly by email invitation by the Psychology Department as part of the selections process.

The virtual interviews are typically completed by the end of February.

Following the comprehensive, full-day, virtual interview processes in the Psychology Department, the interviewed candidates are ranked for selection by the Psychology graduate admissions committee. The selected candidates are then recommended by the committee for admission to the College of Graduate Studies (CoGS). CoGS then verifies that the recommended candidates have met the admission offer requirements, and subsequently extends the formal offer letters of admission to eligible candidates via the online application system.

Admission offer letters almost always contain certain conditions, such as requirements for receipt of official documents (i.e., official transcripts, English test scores) where applicable.  Further, those applicants offered admission to the Clinical Psychology program will be required to submit to, and clear, a vulnerable sector Criminal Record Check process in British Columbia, prior to being permitted to register in the program. (Instructions will be provided within the admission offers.)

Common reasons for an application to be declined for admission include: unavailability of appropriate faculty research supervisor(s); and/or unavailability of funding for the applicant; an applicant’s less competitive academic record; and simply the limited number of spots available in our Psychology graduate programs.

In addition, another valid reason for decline may be that the applicant pool of any given year was extraordinarily competitive, such that the declined student may have easily met the minimum standards but was considered less strong compared to other applicants for that particular year.

Applications not completed by the application deadline will also be declined.

Psychology graduate admissions officially close April 15 each year for domestic students and on March 15 each year for international students. The College of Graduate Studies will provide all official decline notices via the online application portal to all applicants who were not selected for admission for the following September.

For Psychological Science students, the MA takes two years and the PhD takes four additional years. Students in the Clinical program take an additional year in the PhD program for completion of their required pre-doctoral CPA- or APA-accredited clinical internship. Students are recommended to adhere the noted timelines to maintain eligibility for various types of funding.

Licensing requirements for Psychologists across Canada vary, since the practice is provincially/ territorially regulated. Students should check with the governing body in the region in which they wish to practice to determine specific requirements. We do not admit students who intend to complete only a MA in Psychology, and the MA in the Clinical Psychology program curriculum is not designed to adequately prepare students for independent practice as Psychologists.

The College of Graduate Studies governs the application and admission requirements for all applicants, domestic and international.

Information for International Student minimum academic requirements can be found here.

The required Grades and Credential Guide for International Students/ Credentials may be found here.

Please review the above-noted links regarding international students/international credentials carefully.  The Psychology department is not able pre-qualify any international applicant or international credentials.

Support for Psychology MA and PhD students typically comes from three primary sources:

1. External awards such as CGS, SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR.  Prospective students must apply for these awards directly.  Students are expected to continue to apply for external funding throughout their graduate studies.
2. Internal funds for MA and PhD students; these include the UBC Okanagan Graduate Research Scholarship (OGRS) for new students in MA and PhD and for continuing students. Amounts vary annually.

• On-campus employment; includes Graduate Teaching Assistantships (TA wages are governed by the BCGEU) from September-April each year, from the Psychology Department (up to 2 years for MA students, and up to 4 years for PhD students).  Some research supervisors are also able to offer their students Graduate Research Assistantships, based on a supervisor’s available funding (not guaranteed, and wages vary).

In addition, the university has a Minimum Funding Policy for PhD students*: as of September 2021, all full-time PhD students (domestic and international) enrolled at UBC’s Okanagan campus will be guaranteed the minimum level of funding for up to the first four years of their program. The policy ensures that PhD students receive at least $25,000 per year, starting September 2025.

Funding sources can include any combination of external or internal scholarships, research assistantship, teaching assistantship, or other academically related work at UBC (e.g., Graduate Student Academic Assistantship, lectureships). This four-year period will exclude any official leaves of absence. Students are deemed eligible for these awards by the College of Graduate Studies, based on academic excellence. See more about the PhD Minimum Funding policy here:  https://gradstudies.ok.ubc.ca/tuition-awards-and-finance/minimum-funding-policy-2/More information about various Graduate Awards and Scholarships can be found here.

Tuition fees information for domestic and international graduate students may be found in the Academic Calendar here.

Graduate study in Counselling Psychology is not offered at UBC Okanagan.  Persons interested in Counselling Psychology programs are encouraged to explore the Canadian Psychological Association’s website here for a listing of accredited Counselling Psychology programs in Canada.

If you have a question that is not addressed above, please inquire by email to: psych.gradstudies.ok@ubc.ca