You Made a Great Choice

The first step on your to do list is to request official transcripts from universities you attended. Applicants are required to disclose and provide ALL official transcripts from every post-secondary institution attended and/or are currently attending. This includes institutions attended on a Letter of Permission, Exchange programs, and non-Canadian institutions, whether or not they are related to the graduate degree applied to. Official transcripts should be sent even if courses are incomplete, and grades do not appear on the transcript.

It is your responsibility to ensure that all courses (e.g., completed, in progress, transfer credit, continuing education) and degree status appear on your transcript that is sent by your institution.

1. If you attended an Ontario university, use the online transcript request, and submit it with your Grad Studies application. If you did not order your transcript at the time of application you will need to contact each institution to request your transcript(s) be sent directly to the Office of the Registrar – Admissions, Nipissing University. 
2. If you attended a non-Ontario university, contact the institution(s) to request your transcript(s) and have them sent directly to the Office of the Registrar – Admissions, Nipissing University.
3. If you attended a postsecondary institution outside Canada and the United States, you must have your foreign transcripts assessed by World Education Services (WES). We require a WES Credential Evaluation Report, including a course-by-course analysis. This requirement cannot be waived. WES evaluations must be sent directly to the Admissions Office. Transcripts for courses taken while on an exchange do not have to be evaluated by WES.
4. If you currently have courses in progress, you should send a transcript no earlier than January and no later than the deadline indicated above, showing progress to date. A conditional offer of admission may be made based on results to date. A final transcript must be submitted once current studies are completed and degree has been awarded.
5. High School transcripts are not required.
6. College transcripts are only required if you have completed undergraduate courses and/or an undergraduate degree.
7. If your name is different than what appears on your official transcript(s), submit legal proof of name change (if applicable) to Nipissing University by the deadline indicated above.
8. Faxed and emailed transcripts will only be accepted when we can verify that they come from us directly from the issuing institution.

Please Note

• Current Nipissing students and Nipissing graduates do not need to order or send Nipissing transcripts.
• If you attended Nipissing University prior to 1992, you are considered a Laurentian University student and must request that transcript.

* Applications will continue to be accepted after January 12, 2024 and documentation after January 19, 2024. Late applications will be considered if room remains in the program; funding consideration is not available for late applications and late documentation. Late documentation must be submitted no later than August 1, 2024. Please note that applications can close at any time once program is full and waitlist has been established.

All supplemental documents should be submitted directly to the Office of the Registrar at Nipissing University. Supplemental documentation can be emailed to admissions@nipissingu.ca, mailed directly to Nipissing University (see address listed in the FAQs below) or dropped off in person to the Office of the Registrar. Documents submitted by mail or in person may be paperclipped together. No staples or folders please. Do not bind documents in any other manner. Please note that the Recommendation forms along with the reference letter are confidential; therefore, they must be sent directly by the Referee to Nipissing University either by mail, given to the applicant in a sealed envelope (referee must sign the seal of the envelope), by email to admissions@nipissingu.ca (referee must use their professional email account), or they can be dropped off directly to the Office of the Registrar.

1. Recommendations

Applicants are required to submit two (2) confidential recommendations from professors OR other appropriate professionals who can speak to the applicant’s level of preparation and readiness for graduate studies. The references must be from someone qualified to address the academic ability and competence of the applicant to undertake graduate studies. References cannot be completed by anyone who is personally related to the applicant.

Recommendations are to be confidential; therefore, they must be mailed in sealed envelopes with the referee’s signature over the seal or emailed by the referee using their professional email address and sent directly to admissions@nipissingu.ca.

Please indicate to your referee that a comprehensive letter included with the recommendation form would be most beneficial in determining your eligibility for admission.

2. Statement of Intent

A typed Statement of Intent of between 1000 and 1500 words is required. Statements should provide the following information:

• A description of your study and/or research interests (you might choose to identify four or five key words or phrases that relate to your proposed study); and
• An explanation of how/why you became interested in this field of study; and
• Awareness of peer reviewed research (minimum of 2-3 articles) in your intended field of study; and
• Reasons for seeking admission into this particular program in the Schulich School of Education at Nipissing University; and
• The names of two or three faculty members with whom you would be interested in working with. Please refer to the MEd Research Supervisor/Faculty website to review faculty members’ research interests and methodologies.

3. Résumé

Applicants are required to submit a comprehensive résumé detailing your educational and professional experience. Please include scholarships and awards, significant academic accomplishments, internships, research projects, involvement in student organizations, volunteer work and publications and presentations.

* Applications will continue to be accepted after January 12, 2024 and documentation after January 19, 2024. Late applications will be considered if room remains in the program; funding consideration is not available for late applications and late documentation. Late documentation must be submitted no later than August 1, 2024. Please note that applications can close at any time once program is full and waitlist has been established.

Proof of Proficiency in English for internationally educated applicants whose first language is not English is also due by the documentation deadline. Nipissing University accepts the following tests as proof of proficiency in English:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) 93 with a minimum score of 20 in reading and listening and a minimum score of 22 in writing and speaking.
• International English Language Testing Services (IELTS) with a minimum overall score of 6.5 with no band less than 6.5.
• Pearson Test of English (PTE Academic) with a minimum overall score of 63, with a minimum score of 60 in each subsection.
• Canadian Academic English Language (CAEL/CAEL Online) with a minimum overall score of 70 with no band less than 60.
• Cambridge English Qualifications with a C1 minimum overall score of 176 with a minimum score of 169.

Official results must be sent to Nipissing directly by the testing company and received by the supplemental document deadline. The required minimum scores must be submitted before the candidate can be considered for admission. Duolingo is not accepted.

Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)

To apply for Ontario Graduate Scholarship funding, please visit the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) website.

The OGS application is due January 12, 2024 and is to be submitted electronically to the Graduate Studies Department at sgs@nipissingu.ca. OGS applications received after this date will not be considered for scholarships.

The OGS application requires two Academic Assessment Reports with an academic reference for each. The forms in the OGS application are different than the recommendations required for the admission application. Should you choose the same academic referees for both the OGS application and the admission application, your referees will be required to fill out both the admission recommendation form and the OGS academic reference and attach a separate letter to each form. Your referees should make note of what is to be addressed in each reference.

For questions pertaining to scholarship criteria, please contact sgs@nipissingu.ca or 705-474-3450 ext. 4292.

Other Funding Opportunities

For other funding opportunities, please visit the Graduate Studies Awards and Funding website.

All required documents must be submitted by the deadline dates indicated. It is the applicants’ responsibility to log into “My Nipissing” and check WebAdvisor to verify the required documents have been received. Login information and instructions was provided to you in your acknowledgement email. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Transcripts and supporting documents can be submitted either in person, by mail or by email to:

Nipissing University
Office of the Registrar - Admissions
100 College Drive, Box 5002
North Bay, ON P1B 8L7
Email: admissions@nipissingu.ca

Documents submitted by mail or in person may be paperclipped together. No staples or folders please. Do not bind documents in any other manner. Please note that the Recommendation forms along with the reference letter are confidential; therefore, they must be sent directly by the Referee to Nipissing University either by mail, given to the applicant in a sealed envelope (referee must sign the seal of the envelope), by email to admissions@nipissingu.ca (referee must use their professional email account), or they can be dropped off directly to the Office of the Registrar.

More program information can be found on the Master of Education website.

Decisions typically take approximately 1 to 2 months AFTER the documentation deadline or after all documentation has been received for late applications. Applications will only be considered if ALL required documentation has been received. Decisions will be emailed to the applicant's email address listed on the application.

Carefully read the details of the admission decision and any conditions (if applicable). You will need to accept your offer of admission by the deadline indicated in your offer documents. Instructions on how to accept your offer will be included in your offer letter. Your offer of admission package will contain all the information you need regarding conditions and important deadlines.