For the MSc program, the Department’s minimum admission requirements are an undergraduate degree with an admission GPA of at least 3.3 on the 4-point scale from the University of Alberta, or an equivalent qualification and standing from a recognized institution.
For the PhD program, the Department’s minimum admission requirements are a Masters in Linguistics with an admission GPA of at least 3.3 on the 4-point scale from the University of Alberta, or an equivalent qualification and standing from a recognized institution.
The admission GPA will be calculated on the last 60 units of graded coursework completed, or on the equivalent of the last two years of full-time graded coursework.
Candidates for the MSc must have completed, to the satisfaction of the Department, certain core courses in linguistics, or their equivalents. Candidates who lack this preparation may be required to undertake a year as a
Qualifying Graduate Student
All applicants are also required to submit:
Official copies of all transcripts for all previous postsecondary schooling showing marks obtained (submitted in the original language, accompanied by a certified English translation)
Curriculum Vitae (use the form provided as part of the on-line application);
). Any one of the following is acceptable:
A minimum TOEFL (Internet-based) score of:
For tests written before January 21, 2026:
100 or equivalent;
For tests written on or after January 21, 2026:
4.5 or equivalent;
A minimum IELTS overall band score of 6.5, with a score of at least 6.0 on each test band;
A minimum CAEL score of 70 with at least 60 on each subtest;
The Department of Linguistics offers graduate programs in linguistics leading to the degrees of Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy. The Department supports research in experimental phonetics and phonology; psycholinguistics; quantitative linguistics; corpus linguistics; cognitive linguistics; language acquisition and bilingualism; field linguistics and language documentation; typology and language variation.