MA/JD Admissions
Application Deadlines for Fall Term
Applications to the MA/JD program for Fall 2027 are now Open. The deadline for applications for the MA/JD program is January 31, 2027.
If you have questions, please get in touch. Our office can be reached by email at npsiaadmissions@cunet.carleton.ca.
Academic Requirements
- All students entering the MA or MA/JD program must have a four year undergraduate degree or the equivalent. As we are an interdisciplinary program, we will accept students from a wide variety of backgrounds such as political science, international relations, global affairs, law, public policy, sociology, anthropology and economics. We welcome students with other backgrounds, for instance in Science, English or Arts, but encourage them to take a few undergraduate courses in international affairs to prepare for NPSIA. In some cases where the student is deemed by the admissions committee to have an insufficient background in international affairs, they may be required to complete up to two additional courses as part of their MA program.
- Under current practice, at least a high honours standing (B+ or 77% minimum GPA) is normally required to be considered for admission to the program.
- Students admitted to the NPSIA MA/JD program must have successfully completed a 1.0 credit standard first year course in introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics, with a minimum grade of B- before starting the program (ECON 1001 and ECON 1002 at Carleton, or an equivalent). Students can be made a conditional offer of admission to complete this requirement prior to starting the MA program. Not all economics courses or grades are accepted, so please contact the School if you have any questions.
Language Requirements
- Given that the ability to communicate is essential to international affairs, all MA/JD students must be able to function in a second major international language by the completion of their degree.
- MA/JD students are required to fulfill the same language requirements as MA students – outlined here.
- Students completing the French JD program are considered to have fulfilled this requirement. However, these students are encouraged to continue their language training while in the MA portion of their program. Please consult NPSIA’s language advisor for more information.
How to Apply
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Students must apply separately to the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, and to the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, and be accepted by both institutions in accordance with the normal admission requirements of each program. Interest in pursuing the combined program must be specified in each application
Applicants to the School of International Affairs are expected to submit completed applications and upload all application documents. Applicants must apply to the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section via the Ontario Law School Application Service and abide by its associated deadlines. Note that MA/JD applications are admitted for the following fall term as Year 1 is the JD program and Year 2 is the MA program. Admitted students will be reviewed for funding in the winter term prior to the start of their admission, and students must successfully complete Year 1 of the JD program.
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In order to apply to the school, and have your application package considered complete, you will need to complete a 2 step application process:
Step 1. Sign up for a Carleton360 account.
Step 2. Complete your application by providing all of the required information and documents.
Completed documents to be uploaded to your account:
- Statement of Intent (to be completed as a word document, and uploaded as a PDF file);
- One official or unofficial transcript from each educational institution attended (unofficial transcripts can be uploaded for assessment purposes and official transcripts will only be required if you are admitted to the program);
- Two Referee Appraisal Forms (will be uploaded by your referees, once the referees have completed their appraisal forms);
- Resume/CV;
- Language Test Scores (if required)
Step 3. Pay the application fee. The application fee is paid directly to Carleton University by Visa, MasterCard or INTERAC Online at the end of the application process. You must submit and pay for your application in order for it to be processed further.
It is your responsibility to ensure that all required supporting documentation is uploaded in order to be considered for the first round of admissions and financial assistance. Hard copies or emailed copies are not accepted.
Applications received will be considered on a rolling basis until the program is filled.
Applicants should recognize that admission to the School of International Affairs is extremely competitive. Late applicants may discover that all places for the next academic year have been filled.
As part of the application process, applicants will be asked to rank their 4 field choices (1-4). Each student admitted into the program will be placed into one of the 4 fields listed. Please visit the Graduate Calendar for a full description of each field:
- International Trade and Economic Policy (ITEP)
- Diplomacy, International Organisations and Foreign Policy (DIFP)
- Conflict, Fragility and Development (CFD)
- National Security, Intelligence and Defence (NSID)
All applications for full-time study will automatically be considered for financial support, which will include a scholarship and a teaching assistantship (the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Carleton University offers a number of teaching assistantships under which students work as teaching assistant during the school year).
Students are encouraged to seek additional external funding apart from any funding they may receive from the school [ie. Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS) or Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)]
Questions?
updated Nov 2026