Prospective-Student FAQ

In order to be guaranteed consideration for funding assistance, all documents should be received by February 1. We do consider applications after February 1. Note that consideration for funding is not guaranteed. We have only a limited number of spaces in our graduate programs. In past years the M.A. and qualifying-year programs have been close to capacity by May, so please apply early. Applications from students who require a study permit to study in Canada will not be considered unless they are complete by May 1.

The minimum requirement for admission into the M.A. program is an undergraduate honours degree in economics with a B+ average or higher.

Students who have an of average B+ or higher, and a good undergraduate background in economics, but who lack advanced undergraduate courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, or econometrics, may be admitted into an extended master’s program. An extended master’s program is simply the regular master’s program with up to four additional course requirements.

Students with undergraduate degrees in finance, accounting, law, engineering, physics, or certain other disciplines, as well as students with undergraduate economics degrees that do not follow the standard North American pattern, may be admitted to the PBDE program.

You can apply for the M.A. program without submitting Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. However, it is recommended that applicants with degrees from universities outside Canada (especially from very different university systems) take the GRE so as to enable a more accurate assessment of their backgrounds. A copy of the GRE® Information and Registration Bulletin can be found at www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/bulletin.

GREs are required for application to the Ph.D. program.

M.A. program: Your chances of receiving financial assistance are greatest if your undergraduate degree is from a Canadian university and your undergraduate average is A- or higher.

Ph.D. program: Each year, a small number of outstanding applicants are awarded financial assistance. Generally, we only admit students to our program to whom we can award financial assistance.

Students may be offered: a teaching assistantship valued at $10,000; a graduate scholarship of between $2,000 and $10,000 for M.A. students or between $5,000 and $15,000 for Ph.D. students; and, if eligible, an entrance scholarship of $2,000 for domestic M.A. students or $3,000 for domestic Ph.D. students.

If you have an honours economics degree from a Canadian university, you should be able to complete the M.A. program in two or three terms of full-time study.

Students with degrees from outside Canada and students with undergraduate degrees in business are often admitted to an extended master’s program and are asked to take additional courses in advanced microeconomic theory, advanced macroeconomic theory, econometrics, and mathematical economics. An extended master’s program typically takes four terms of full-time study.

When you receive an admission offer from Carleton, please read the pink “Statement of Standing on Admission” form very carefully. This form tells you exactly what your program requirements are. To work out how long your program will take, look at the total number of credits required. You should be able to complete 2.0 credits in one term of full-time study and 1.0 credit in one term of part-time study. A part-time student has a maximum of six years to complete the program.

Tuition fee information can be found at www.carleton.ca/studentaccounts/tuition-fees.

Visit the Department of Housing and Conference Services at www.carleton.ca/housing or the International Student Services Office (ISSO) at www.carleton.ca/isso.

Registration information and instructions can be found at www.carleton.ca/registrar/registration.

In order to obtain a visa, Citizenship and Immigration Canada requires that you prove that you have enough money to support yourself while studying in Canada. Carleton University estimates the costs of living and schooling at between $29,000 and $34,000 (CAD) per year (this estimate may vary depending on your program of study)—see the information at graduate.carleton.ca/international-students/costs-fees.

If you are interested in studying accounting, marketing, or management at Carleton, you should be applying to the Sprott School of Business at www.carleton.ca/sprott.

Many international students are admitted into the PBD program. Canadian programs place a greater emphasis on microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory, mathematical economics, and econometrics than do most programs outside Canada. If you believe the courses you took as an undergraduate really are equivalent to Canadian undergraduate courses, the best thing to do is to provide the M.A. Supervisor with the course syllabi. This information can be used to evaluate the courses.

There is no formal process for appealing admission decisions. You can discuss admission decisions with the M.A. Supervisor.

Carleton University blocks all e-mail that looks like “spam.” If you are not getting a reply, it may be that your e-mail has been blocked by the spam filter. To increase the chances of your e-mail getting through, write your message as if you were writing a letter. Start off with “Dear Professor Worswick” or “Dear Ms. Brooks,” use lower case letters, and run a spell-check.  Avoid user names and subject titles with numbers in them. If your e-mail does not get through, try sending it at a different time of day or with a different subject heading.

Proficiency in English is necessary to pursue graduate studies at Carleton University. All applicants whose first language is not English must satisfy this requirement in one of the following ways:

(i) by presenting a CAEL overall band score of 70 or higher; or

(ii) by presenting a TOEFL iBT total score of 100 or higher with a score of 24 or higher on each of the four (Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking) sections; or

(iii) by presenting an IELTS overall band score of 7.0 or higher with a score of 6.5 or higher on each of the four (Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking) parts; or

(iv) by having completed ESLA 1900 or ESLA 1905 at Carleton University with a final grade of B- or higher; or

(v) in cases of applicants who have studied (full-time, non-ESL) for the last three years in a university in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, or any other other country in which the primary language is English and where the language of instruction in the relevant educational institution is English, by completing the Confirmation of Language Proficiency form.

Note that applications for admission will be considered incomplete until the English language proficiency requirement has been met.

Your offer of admission is good for one term only. Read the pink “Statement of Standing on Admission” form carefully. If it says “Fall 2012,” you must start in September 2012.

It takes some time to get used to Canada, find a place to live, and so on. It is often better to delay until the following academic year than to arrive late.