How to Apply

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Application Deadlines

Canadian Applicants

  • November 1st - Winter term
  • March 1st - Spring term
  • July 1st - Fall term

International Applicants

  • June 15th - Winter term
  • November 15th - Spring term
  • March 15th - Fall term

Please note that while applications are kept open as long as possible to accommodate applicants, vacancies in research groups often fill well in advance of deadlines. As such, applicants are strongly encouraged to contact supervisors before applying and to consider applying early.


Finding a Supervisor

As a graduate student, probably the most important professional relationship you will have is with your supervisor. Thus, although applications are processed centrally and individual faculty members do not admit students directly, applicants must identify one or more potential supervisors and are only accepted into the program with supervisor support. You are strongly encouraged to contact individual faculty members with whom you are interested in working to discuss research interests and graduate opportunities before applying. Faculty research interests are available on the collaborative research page. A full listing of faculty, including adjunct and cross-appointed faculty,  can be found for each of the research streams of Cell and Molecular Biology, Ecology and Evolution and Physiology and Biochemistry pages. Some Biology faculty also supervise students in the Collaborative Programs in Environment and Sustainability and Developmental Biology.


Application Procedure

Once the application is submitted and the payment cleared, the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) will forward your application for consideration by the department.

The online application will collect the following information:

Additional documents uploaded directly to your application in Portable Document Format (PDF):

  • Transcripts from all post-secondary institutions
  • Supplemental Application Form - Please download this form, complete it, and upload it to your application. Do not open without downloading, e.g. in Mac viewer, as changes will not be visible when submitted
  • Publications (if applicable)
  • Landing papers (if applicable). For permanent residents of Canada only, please include a photocopy of both sides of your Permanent Resident Card or a photocopy of your Record of Landing. If you are applying to be a permanent resident, but have not been granted landed-immigrant status, you must apply as an international applicant. If you have received notification of being an "In Principle Permanent Resident", please upload an electronic copy of the document confirming this status to your application.

Transcripts

To support your application, you must attach one electronic copy of your academic transcripts from each post-secondary institution attended. At the time of application, official transcripts are not necessary, and it is sufficient to upload an electronic copy of all grades from each post-secondary institution attended to the application as a PDF. As such, if your grades are available electronically, as through Western's Student Centre, you may save them as a PDF and eliminate the need to purchase transcripts for the purpose of applying for graduate studies.

If you are successfully admitted to graduate studies in the Department of Biology, you will then need to send an official 1 transcript to the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) for each post-secondary institution attended to confirm that the grades provided on the application are in agreement with those issued by the institution.

  • Past or current Western students do not need to provide transcripts for their academic history at Western. This information will be obtained internally.

1Western considers a transcript official only if it is received in a university envelope that is sealed and signed on the flap by the official person in the office issuing the transcript. If the transcript and degree certificate are not in English, a certified translation must also be included. (Non-English transcripts from institutions within Canada do not require a translation.)

All documents and transcripts submitted to Western University become the property of the University and will not be returned.


Electronic Reference Systems

Upon receiving an application, our electronic Reference System will send reference form information directly to your referees. The reference will be collected electronically and distributed alongside the application once it arrives at Western. No paper reference letters are required.


Readmission/Reactivation

Students who have voluntarily withdrawn or who have been withdrawn and wish to complete their program must formally re-apply for admission via our application. Credit for previous work completed must be approved by the program and School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS).

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