The Department’s minimum admission requirements for the course-based and thesis-based MA programs in sociology and population and life course dynamics are a four-year undergraduate degree with a major in Sociology (honors preferred), or a related discipline, and a minimum grade-point average of 3.5 in the last two years of undergraduate study at the University of Alberta (20 single-term courses), or equivalent qualifications from a recognized institution. The Department requires as part of the application package a clearly defined statement of research interests that will be developed into a r
Minimum admission requirements for the MA in criminal justice (course-based) are a four-year BA (Criminology), or equivalent, or a four-year undergraduate degree in sociology or a related discipline and a minimum of one year of full-time work experience in the criminal justice system. Students must have completed introductory courses in criminology, criminal justice administration, statistics and research methodology prior to admission. The minimum average is 3.2 (on the 4-point letter grading system), or equivalent, in the last two years of undergraduate study.
For admission to the PhD program, the minimum requirements are a master’s degree with an average of 3.5 on all graduate courses and undergraduate coursework taken in the final two years (20 single-term courses) at the University of Alberta, or equivalent qualifications from a recognized institution.
Where applicable (refer to
), applicants require a TOEFL (Internet-based) score of 100 (for tests written before January 21, 2026) or a TOEFL (Internet-based) score of 5 (for tests written on or after January 21, 2026) or equivalent, or higher to be considered for admission.
Graduate program application deadlines
to see deadlines for all programs in Sociology.
The Department of Sociology offers programs leading to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. Four MA programs are available: (1) a course-based MA; (2) a thesis-based MA; (3) a course-based MA in criminal justice; and (4) a thesis-based MA in population and life course dynamics. The PhD in Sociology strives to educate scholars with a breadth of knowledge of the discipline and specialized in-depth knowledge of particular fields within the discipline. Detailed graduate program information is available on the Department’s home page at www.sociology.ualberta.ca