Information for Indigenous Applicants

The School of Physical Therapy is dedicated to enhancing functional mobility for the attainment of health and wellness of First Nation, Inuit, and Métis People in Canada. To encourage more Indigenous individuals to consider a career in physical therapy, we have created a pathway to increase enrollment into the Master of Physical Therapy (MPT) Program.

We have a minimum of 5 designated seats for Indigenous students who are Canadian citizens and who have fulfilled the necessary admission requirements. We will consider Indigenous applicants with a sub-GPA (as calculated by ORPAS) of 3.4 or higher. You must self-identify as an Indigenous student in the ORPAS application to be considered for these seats. An applicant must self-identify as an Indigenous applicant on the online ORPAS application. If you self-identify as Indigenous and want to be considered for a designated seat, you must submit a consent form and documentation for Proof of Ancestry to the Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII) at Western University. Please contact OII if you have any questions about this process.

Please note, self-identifying or applying for a designated seat does not remove your application from the general applicant pool.

An applicant must self-identify as an Indigenous applicant on the online ORPAS application. Students who self-identify as Indigenous must submit a consent form and documentation to the Office of Indigenous Initiatives at Western University.

Application Process

To ensure that the designated seats within the MPT program are available to Indigenous Applicants, Western requires the following:

  • Consent from applicants to be considered under the Indigenous Applicant Admission Policy and to the collection of personal information by filling out our online consent form which will be emailed out to all applicants.
    • You will need to use your Western Identity to complete the online consent form.
    • Western University will send you an email on how to set this up by the end of January 2023.
  • Proof of Indigenous* ancestry. Indigenous documentation can be submitted through a scanned copy (front and back) of an applicant’s Indian Status, Métis Citizenship or Membership, or Inuit Trust card. Documentation can be emailed to indigenous.admissions@uwo.ca

The consent form and Indigenous documentation must be received by the Indigenous Student Centre by: February 24th, 2024

For any concerns or questions regarding Proof of Ancestry please contact:

Confidentiality

All personal documentation is kept in strictest confidence and securely housed within the Indigenous Student Centre. The personal information is collected under the authority of the University of Western Ontario Act, 1982. The information is collected for the purposes of offering accessible admission pathways for Indigenous applicants and providing additional support to applicants who become students. For further information about this collection, please contact the Indigenous Student Centre, Western University, London, ON, N6A 3K7; Phone 1-519-661-4095.

*Indigenous to Canada/Aboriginal as defined based on the Canadian Constitution Act 1982 as First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people.