Frequently asked questions (FAQs) for applicants to graduate programs

Note that the only authentic transcripts are ones sent to us directly from the university. Although applicants can upload their transcripts to initiate the application process, we will not formally admit a student until all transcripts have been submitted to Concordia by the other university(ies). 

How to submit transcripts

No. All applicants must pay the application fee. 

Generally, no. More specifically, consider this:

• Graduate Diploma applicants: students do not have supervisors. 

• Master’s non-thesis applicants: Students are usually assigned supervisors before they begin their capstone project. If a student has a preference for a supervisor, they can make that known before they begin their capstone project. 

• Master’s thesis applicants: Except for the MA in Child Studies, programs recommend that students complete at least one term of studies to clarify their research goals and to meet the faculty, and then approach a faculty member with whom they feel comfortable and have compatible research interests for supervision. But if applicants would like to explore a relationship with a prospective supervisor, they should look for a supervisor who shares research interests with them. For example, if you are interested in studying the use of technology in primary and secondary education, your prospective supervisor should have had experience with both technology and primary and secondary education. Similarly, if you are interested in second language education in a higher education setting, your prospective supervisor should have experience with second language education in higher education settings.

PhD applicants

• On the one hand, it is not necessary to have identified a supervisor at the time of application. If an applicant does not identify a supervisor, the admissions committee will assign an initial supervisor. 

• On the other hand, students might consider contacting a prospective supervisor before preparing their application. When doing so, they should look for a supervisor who shares research interests with them. For example, if you are interested in studying the use of technology in primary and secondary education, your prospective supervisor should have had experience with both technology and primary and secondary education. Similarly, if you are interested in second language education in a higher education setting, your prospective supervisor should have experience with second language education in higher education settings.

The possibility exists but is something to consider after admission and after completing at least one term of the program. Note, however, that the later you make a decision to switch options, the likelihood of a delay in completing the program increases.

For graduate programs, the most valued references come from former professors, who are in a position to assess your academic abilities. Ideally, these professors will have had experience supervising the graduate studies of other students (even if they taught you an undergraduate course). 

Although work supervisors might be able to assess your professional abilities, they have not taught you in an academic setting and might not be able to accurately assess your ability to perform scientific research and other types of academic tasks. 

Co-workers are even less likely to be able to do so because they have not had to assess your work for the purpose of a formal evaluation. 

Note that we will not consider letters of reference that applicants upload on their own. (The system identifies who uploads all materials.)

All applicants must meet the minimum academic requirements for admission, including the GPA requirements for prior degrees, and language proficiency. 

In addition, the admissions committee looks at the Statement of Purpose closely to assess student interest in the program, awareness of the field and relevance to the students’ long-term goals. The committee also considers the quality of the evaluations especially those from prior professors who are in the best position to assess academic capability.  

For those applying for thesis options at the MA level and PhD programs, the committee also assesses the students’ research capabilities as demonstrated by their awareness of prior research in their proposed area of study as stated in the Statement of Purpose, the quality of any writing samples provided, the novelty of the proposed research and, if a proposed supervisor is named, the relevance of the proposed research to the research agendas of those faculty members. 

Consider these four tips:

State why you are interested in the field in which you intend to specialize

Demonstrate that you have read the academic (peer-reviewed) literature about the field and, ideally, the professional literature, and have a familiarity with the field and current practice in it. Although this admittedly takes a bit of time, consider scanning the tables of contents and abstracts for the past two years of academic journals in the field and also look at news sources.

Note: If you have not previously studied in Quebec, also visit the page, provide hyperlink Teaching in the Quebec Context to gain a basic familiarity with our system.

Examples of sources to check for those interested in: 

State what you plan to do with the degree

If you are applying for a non-thesis option of an MA degree or a Graduate Diploma, describe what will you be doing in 5 years and how will the degree prepare you for that.

Describe your plans for the research and cite the literature you reviewed

If you are applying for a thesis option of an MA degree or for a PhD:

• Only mention a faculty member (a) if you are really familiar with their work (as in, actually have read it) and (b) your work is really relevant to their studies. 
• Don’t copy from our website. At the least, the faculty making admissions decisions already know this information. At the most, it’s plagiarism—and that’s against the academic code of conduct. (It could get you kicked out.)
• Don’t use AI (such as, but not limited to ChatGPT, Claude, Co-Pilot, and similar services) to write your statement. This is also considered a form of plagiarism. 

Consider these additional tips

• Don’t tell us your life story—just tell us why you are interested in our field. 
• Avoid faux praise, like “you’re one of the best programs in ….” Or “your distinguished school.” That false praise usually fails to impress those making admissions decisions. 

Because the university has extremely limited funding for master’s students, we advise prospective students to the MA and Graduate Diplomas to be prepared to pay the full price of the program and PhD applicants to be prepared to make up any shortfall in funding on their own. 

Learn more about graduate funding

Unlike other institutions and departments in ours, admissions letters for the Department of Education do not include Teaching Assistantships (TA) and Research Assistantships (RA). 

Instead, we offer all students the opportunity to apply for these positions. Positions announcements are shared with all graduate students and provide application instructions. The most active hiring times are August and September for the fall term and December and January for the winter term. 

Our PhD and MA programs are in-person only.

Our graduate diplomas are also offered in-person only, except for the Graduate Diplomas in Teaching Certification. These are available exclusively to people currently teaching in primary or secondary schools in Quebec under a special authorization issued by the Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec.

Generally, no. If you believe you have an exceptional case, the time to address that is after admissions. Course exemptions are not considered when reviewing applications. 

Please read the university guidelines for students who must take English Language Proficiency tests. We cannot make exceptions. 

We can accept up to 12 credits of transfer credits. But note: 

• We generally do not accept transfer credits for core (required) courses.
• The university does not accept undergraduate courses for graduate transfer credit nor for exemptions. 
• The university does not transfer credits for courses already used to fulfill requirements for another graduate degree. 

One exception: if you are transferring from a Graduate Diploma program to its associated MA program, all of your courses that have a 600-level (masters) equivalent will transfer if you received a grade of B or higher. If you are transferring from the:

• Graduate Diploma in Adult Education to the MA in Educational Studies, courses that are cross-listed with MA courses (600-level) will transfer. Those cross-listed with undergraduate courses (200-, 300-, and 400-level) will not.  If you transfer to another program, however, your courses might not transfer. 
• Graduate Diploma in Instructional Technology to the MA in Educational Technology, all of your courses will transfer. If you transfer to another program, however, your courses might not transfer. 

The time to address transfer credits is after admissions. Transfer credits are not considered when reviewing applications.