Graduate FAQ

The department welcomes applications from Canadian and international students with strong backgrounds in sociology or related fields. Students who did not major in sociology for their undergraduate degrees are encouraged to contact the department's Graduate Advisor for advice early in the application process.

Admission to the PhD program normally requires a Master's degree in Sociology or a related social science discipline with a minimum average of 7.0 to 7.5 (A- to A) in graduate courses.

To be admitted to the program, an applicant must have excellent letters of reference, present a clear statement of research interests and submit an example of strong scholarly work.

Typically, between eight and ten Master's students, and two to three PhD students are admitted to the program each year. Because of our size, students selected for admission benefit from relatively small seminar classes and gain ample access to professors.

Admission to the Master's program requires a Bachelor's degree, with a minimum overall average of B+ (6.0) in the final two full years of credit units or undergraduate work.

Admission to the PhD program normally requires a Master's degree in Sociology or a related social science discipline with a minimum average of 7.0 to 7.5 (A- to A) in graduate courses.

Yes, the department requires this as part of your application package.

Your statement of intent should specify the area of study that you are interested in and any potential research topics that you would like to work on. It should explain how your academic background and achievements have prepared you to undertake graduate study in this area and why you believe that you would be successful. You should also explain why the graduate program at UVic would be a good fit for you. You should identify which faculty member(s) you would like to work with as a potential supervisor and state whether you have already been in contact with this person. In sum, the statement should take the form of a one- to two-page essay that clearly states and situates your research interests (with references to relevant academic literature) and explains why you are a good candidate for admission.

The GRE is not necessary for our department.

Applicants for admission whose first language is not English and who have not resided in Canada for at least three consecutive years immediately prior to the beginning of the session applied for must demonstrate competency in English. Most applicants qualify by providing results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum acceptable score is 575 on the paper-based test or an overall score of 90 on the Internet Based TOEFL (IBT), with the following minimum section requirements: Listening 20; Speaking 20; Reading 20; Writing 20. Alternatively, an overall score of at least Band 6.5 with no score of less than 6.0 on each academic component of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or a score of 90 on the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) will also be accepted.

Details of required documents are listed on the Faculty of Graduate Studies: Submission of Documents website.

All students who submit applications by the funding deadline are considered for financial support. We normally fund master's students for two years. To qualify for second-year funding, a student needs to make adequate progress in the first year.

Doctoral students are normally funded for four years. The department strives to support doctoral students with funding approaching $20,000 a year. International students must have first class degrees in order to be eligible for full funding. Sources for funds can include teaching and research assistantships, grants and fellowships from the Faculty of Graduate Studies, external grants and fellowships, and sessional teaching work for doctoral students in their third or fourth years of study.

All eligible students are encouraged to apply for funding from provincial, federal and external sources.

You can get more information on the Faculty of Graduate Studies site.

Assessment reports from a minimum of two professors or other academic authorities who are familiar with your work are required.

Once you apply online, your assessors will be sent a email with the online asessment report to be completed. Letters of reference may be supplied as part of the assessment reports. Students will not be permitted to see these documents.

You can view the checklist on your My UVic application page for a list of received and outstanding documents. Submit any outstanding documents not already uploaded as PDFs as part of your application to graddocs@uvic.ca.

Once your file has sufficient information for evaluation, a Graduate Admissions and Records Officer will review it to determine if you meet the minimum requirements for the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Once this is confirmed your file will be forwarded to the specific program department for their assessment. You will be advised of the decision as soon as possible, usually this will be by the end of March.

Once you have been accepted to your program and authorized to register, you should review the registration information for continuing students.

Tuition fees are explained on the UVic Registrar website.

Review the course listing in the Sociology calendar.

This is the link that lists specific courses offered per term.

Visit the housing information site.