Graduate admission requirements

Master’s Programs

To be considered for admission to a Master’s program, a student will normally hold a four-year degree, or its equivalent, from an accredited university with a minimum 75% (mid-B) average over the last two years of full-time undergraduate study.

Some graduate programs may have additional or higher admission requirements. Check the specific admission requirements for the graduate program to which you wish to apply. You can also refer to the graduate calendar for additional information.

Candidates who do not meet the admission requirements may be recommended to upgrade. At the successful completion of the upgrading year, students may be reconsidered for admission into the master’s program.

Doctoral Programs

To be admitted to a PhD program, a student should hold either an appropriate master’s degree or, students with a bachelor’s degree already registered in a master’s program, may convert to PhD studies in year 2 of some of the master’s programs. Students will normally be expected to have attained an 80% average and have achieved significant research progress as determined by their supervisory committee.

In exceptional circumstances, a student may be admitted directly to Doctoral studies with a four-year Bachelor’s degree, or the equivalent; his or her academic standing and research potential must be demonstrably commensurate with readiness for doctoral study. Please see the specific program calendar entries for further information.

For specific graduate program admission information and criteria, please refer to the specific program or graduate calendar.

Transfer Students

Students admitted to a graduate program may be granted transfer credit, at the time of admission, to a maximum of one-third of graduate degree course requirements, for graduate courses completed at another university that are approved by the graduate program. (For the MBA the maximum number of transfer credits is 5.0.)

Only graduate courses completed with a grade of B+ or higher, within the last five years, will be considered for transfer.

Credit will not be granted for courses that have been credited toward another degree or diploma at Brock or another university.

Candidates must submit official transcripts, course descriptions, and other supporting documentation before consideration will be given to granting transfer credit.

Exceptional Admission

The Dean of Graduate Studies may approve admission for an applicant who does not meet minimum admission requirements if requested by the graduate program.  Normally conditions related to early performance in the program are attached to exceptional admissions.

Applicants with four-year Applied Degrees from Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, accredited by AUCC, will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Advanced Standing

The MBA program will automatically assess a student’s transcripts for completed undergraduate credits that would be considered to be equivalent to those normally completed in the first year of the MBA.

Subject to the student’s performance in the undergraduate courses, up to a maximum of five credits (ten half-credit courses) may be granted as advanced standing credits.

To note: applicants will not be admissible to a graduate degree program at Brock University if they have previously obtained a similar or identical degree.

The University regulations for admission specify minimum requirements only. Possession of the minimum admission requirements is not a guarantee of admission. Individual graduate program admission requirements may exceed the minimum University admission requirements. The University reserves the right to refuse admission to any candidate.