How to Apply

Academic Background

Admission to the MA or MEd program requires one of the following:

• a Bachelor of Education degree, or
• a four-year undergraduate degree in a related field,* or
• a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Fine Arts with an early childhood education minor

In addition, students must have attained a B+ average in 300- and 400-level course work, or at least 12 credits of 300- or 400-level courses in the A- grade range (at UBC 80% or higher) in the field of education or in a related field*.

* Related fields include, but are not limited to, Child and Youth Care, Nursing, Psychology, Social Work and Family Studies. Applicants whose degree is in an unrelated field (e.g., Arts, Commerce, General Studies) may be accepted if they have completed a college or university certificate program in early childhood education or if they have extensive professional experience in early childhood education or a related field.

Relevant Work Experience

Applicants must have a minimum 2-years working experience working with young children in an appropriate setting. Appropriate settings include any paid or volunteer position in a formal workplace setting working with students pre-Kindergarten to grade 3 (e.g., preschool, childcare, Strong Start, etc.).

GPA

Applicants for a master’s degree program must hold the academic equivalent of a four-year bachelor’s degree from UBC including one of the following*:

• A minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC) in 300- and 400-level courses, or
• Academic standing with at least 12 credits of 300- or 400-level courses in the A grade range (80% or higher at UBC) in the field of study.

*Note that this is referring to 300- or 400-level courses from American or Canadian institutions only. For international applicants, we will be calculating the GPA for all courses to ensure it meets the minimum requirement (76%) for admission. Please see the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies’ page on minimum academic requirements for international credentials for more information.

International students requiring English Proficiency Tests

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Note that IELTS or TOEFL are the only scores accepted for this program.  Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

This program follows the Faculty of Graduate Studies’ minimum requirements for both IELTS and TOEFL; please see English Proficiency Requirements for test score requirements and further information on how to submit official scores.

Step 1: Online Application

Complete the online Graduate Studies Application.  In your online application, you will be required to provide:

• CV: A Curriculum Vitae (Résumé) which includes your professional employment experience. Please note that we only accept documents in PDF format.
• Writing Sample: One example of your scholarly writing, such as a substantial scholarly paper or term paper, preferably related to early childhood education. Please note that we only accept documents in PDF format.
  For those students who have no access to a previous paper completed in the last 15 years, or to a publication, or report, please select one of the two articles uploaded here; provide a scholarly summary of the article with your own reflections and connections to practice. This summary has a word count of 500 words, in addition to the reference list that matches references provided in text (preferably using APA format; at the same time, MLA and other formats are acceptable).
  1. Gagné, M., Guhn, M., Emerson, S., Magee, C., Milbrath, C. and Gadermann, A. (2019). “Thriving, catching up or falling behind: Immigrant and refugee children’s kindergarten competencies and later academic achievement”, International Journal of Population Data Science, 4(3). doi: 10.23889/ijpds.v4i3.1222.
     Available here (open access)
  2. Argent, A.L., D. Vintimilla, C., Lee, C. and Wapenaar, J. (2017). A dialogue about place and living pedagogies: Trees, ferns, blood, children, educators and wood cutters. Journal of Childhoods and Pedagogies, 1(2). Retrieved from: https://journals.sfu.ca/jcp/index.php/jcp/article/view/23
• References: Three references (e-references), including, if possible, an assessment by at least one university instructor. Please note that your referee(s) will need a professional email address in order to submit an online reference letter. It is important that your referees are able to comment on your academic ability, general suitability for the proposed program of study and any other pertinent information that supports your admission to the program.
• Transcripts: Scanned (PDF) transcripts from all colleges and universities previously or currently attended (domestic and international). These uploaded copies are considered “unofficial documents” and will be used for initial evaluation of the applicant. Transcripts must be scanned front and back. All pages of one transcript, front and back, should be uploaded as a single file (rather than a separate file for each page). ECED does not accept digital transcripts to be uploaded in any format that is not a PDF (JPGs, etc. will not be accepted).
  Note: If you have attended UBC, we do not require you to upload your UBC transcripts.
• Experience and Interests: Applicants are required to answer the following questions about their professional experience and interests, and academic and professional goals, and how they align with the graduate program in Early Childhood Education:
• MA Applicants:
  • Outline your general career objectives, including both immediate and long-term, academic and professional goals. In your response indicate how you see this aligning with the graduate program in Early Childhood Education. Please limit your response to 400 words.
  • Please describe any research and/or professional experiences you’ve undertaken that are relevant to study in Early Childhood Education. Please limit your response to 400 words.
  • Introduce your specific research interests. What specific issue(s), area(s), or problem(s) would you like to investigate? Why is it important to you, other early childhood researchers, early childhood educators, and the communities with whom and where you hope to work? Please limit your response to 400 words.
  • Considering an inclusive definition of culture (Collins & Arthur, 2010; Kassan & Sinacore, 2016) that includes but is not limited to cultural identities and social locations such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, status in country, Indigenous heritage, religion, spirituality, social class, physical and mental abilities, and disabilities, please describe any experiences and/or training you have with this inclusive definition of culture. Discuss and how it relates to your past, present, and future/proposed work in early childhood education. How do you think your own cultural background and professional experiences have influenced your practice and research goals? In addressing these questions, you may choose to speak to issues such as forms of privilege you have, your own identity, your knowledge of the history of the field of ECE, and/or how your research and professional interests relate to issues of culture, diversity, and social justice. Please limit your response to 400 words.
• MEd Applicants (on-campus/online):
  • Introduce your specific professional experience and interests. What specific issue, area, or population would you like to explore and acquire experience in? Why is it important to you, other practitioners, early educators, and the communities with whom and where you hope to work. Please limit your response to 400 words.
  • Outline your general career objectives, including both immediate and long-term, academic and professional goals. In your response indicate how you see this aligning with the graduate program in Early Childhood Education. Please limit your response to 400 words.
  • Please describe any professional experiences you’ve undertaken that are relevant to study in Early Childhood Education. Please limit your response to 400 words.
  • Considering an inclusive definition of culture (Collins & Arthur, 2010; Kassan & Sinacore, 2016) that includes but is not limited to cultural identities and social locations such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, status in country, Indigenous heritage, religion, spirituality, social class, physical and mental abilities, and disabilities, please describe any experiences and/or training you have with this inclusive definition of culture. Discuss and how it relates to your past, present, and future/proposed work in early childhood education. How do you think your own cultural background and professional experiences have influenced your practice and research goals? In addressing these questions, you may choose to speak to issues such as forms of privilege you have, your own identity, your knowledge of the history of the field of ECE, and/or how your professional interests relate to issues of culture, diversity, and social justice. Please limit your response to 400 words.
• Research Supervisor (MA applicants only): MA applicants are asked to identify core faculty members who they would like to work with given common research interests. See https://earlychildhood.educ.ubc.ca/research-supervisors/ for a list of potential research supervisors.

For International Students (if applicable):

• Translations of Transcripts: If your transcripts are in a language other than English, then in addition to uploading digital copies of the documents in their original language, you must also upload a certified literal English translation of your transcripts from your home university’s translation service or certified English translator.
• Permanent Residency information: Permanent Residents must provide a copy of both the front and back of their Permanent Resident card, or a copy of the Record of Landing Form.
• English Language Test: Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English Language Test. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application. TOEFL test takers can request electronic submission of scores to universities; we accept electronic delivery directly from the test centre to UBC only. For all other tests an official paper test score report ordered from the testing agency is required. Please see the Faculty of Graduate Studies’ site for full instructions on both TOEFL and IELTS score submission.

Step 2: After Acceptance

If you have been offered admission conditional upon receipt of official documentation, you must provide UBC with one set of official transcripts for every postsecondary institution you have attended for the equivalent of one year or more of full-time study. UBC reserves the right to also require any individual applicant to provide official transcripts for study of less than one year duration. Do not send official transcripts before receiving an offer of admission.

Note: If an official transcript does not indicate the degree name and the degree conferral date, then an official copy of the degree certificate must also be submitted.

Documents should be sent directly to:

Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies
University of British Columbia
6371 Crescent Rd
Vancouver, BC CANADA V6T 1Z2

Former UBC Students: You do not need to submit UBC transcripts as part of your graduate application, as this data is already available through the student database system. However, be aware that you are still responsible for submitting transcripts from all other post-secondary institutions that you have attended (e.g., exchange year, transfer year, etc.).

Submission of Official Documents: Common Issues

If your university issues only one original copy of transcripts/degree certificates:

Make photocopies of your original academic records and send them to your home university. Ask your home university to:

• verify that the photocopies are consistent with their records.
• attest that the copies are true photocopies and stamp them with an official university stamp.
• put the attested, stamped photocopies in sealed envelopes endorsed by the Registrar.
• mail the sealed, endorsed envelopes directly to Graduate & Postodoctoral Studies.

If your transcripts are issued in a language other than English:

• arrange to have a set of all official transcripts issued in their original language.
• obtain a certified literal English translation of your transcripts from your home university’s translation service.
• send both the original transcripts and the literal English translation to UBC Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies.

If your home university does not provide English translations of transcripts:

• make a photocopy of your copy of your transcripts. Do not open a sealed, endorsed envelope containing transcripts intended for submission to your program.
• take the copy to a certified English translator and ask them to provide a complete, word-by-word, literal English translation.
• tell the translator to put both the original language photocopy and the English translation into a sealed envelope, and endorse the envelope by signing across the seal.
• send the sealed, endorsed envelopes from the translator to UBC Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies.
• send your original transcripts in the original language to UBC Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies.

Note: Academic records must be translated in their entirety, including any information that appears on the reverse side of any document.

UBC does not accept the following:

• photocopies that have not been stamped, attested and endorsed by the Registrar at your home university
• documents in envelopes that have been opened
• documents that do not arrive in sealed envelopes endorsed by the issuing institution or certified translator
• documents that arrive without the official seal of the university
• photocopies notarized by a notary public
• photocopies endorsed by a lawyer, professor, judge etc.
• unofficial translations
• non-literal translations

Do not send academic records that are not in sealed and endorsed envelopes. It will only delay the processing of your application.