Frequently Asked Questions
Before I Apply: What Do I Need To Know?
Click on any question below to see the response. Updated October 30, 2008
What can I do with a Masters in Education?
I want to become a teacher – will the M.Ed. degree allow me to do this?
Do you have a combined B.Ed./M.Ed. or M.Ed./Ph.D. program?
Do you have any programs on-line?
Are there any plans to introduce more on-line programs?
Can I take an on-line course if I’m not in the on-line program?
Can I complete a Masters degree part time?
Can I complete the Ph.D. program part time?
How do I set up a meeting with an academic counsellor?
Do I need to contact a faculty member in advance/find my own faculty advisor?
How can I receive information in the mail?
Where can I get a paper copy of the application?
Do you have an information night that I can attend to learn more about Graduate Education programs?
What is expected of me as a graduate student?
How much does it cost to take a Graduate Education program?
Is there funding available for Masters students?
What kind of funding is available for Ph.D. students?
What scholarships/forms of financial aid are available?
How many students apply to your programs and how many are accepted?
What is the cut-off mark by which students are usually accepted?
Does it matter if I took some of my courses on-line (e.g. Athabasca University)?
How are admission averages calculated?
I don’t have a B.Ed. degree (or other teaching qualification), can I still apply?
I don’t have any teaching experience; can I still apply?
What are your minimum required test scores for TOEFL/MELAB/IELTS?
How long will it take me to complete the program?
What does a typical program of study look like?
Do I have to write a Masters Thesis or are there other options?
What decisions about my program do I need to make before I apply?
What if I don’t meet the minimum requirements?
Will the Counselling Psychology program help me become a school counsellor?
Can I get certified after taking the Counselling Psychology Program?
I want to become a teacher – will the M.Ed. degree allow me to do this?
No. In the province of Ontario, you need a B.Ed. degree to be qualified to teach. You can take a M.Ed. degree once you are a teacher to be eligible for advancement opportunities (including sometimes an increase in pay); however the M.Ed. alone does not qualify you to teach. You can find information about the B.Ed. program at http://www.edu.uwo.ca/preservice.
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Do you have a combined B.Ed./M.Ed. or M.Ed./Ph.D. program?
Currently the B.Ed., M.Ed. and Ph.D. programs are all separate programs. You would need to apply and go through the competitive process for each program and you would need to complete each program separately before being eligible to apply to the next. In fact, the Admissions Committee prefers that you have at least one year of work/teaching experience before applying to the M.Ed. program after completing the B.Ed. program.
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Do you have any programs on-line?
There is currently one on-line program: the M.Ed in Educational Studies, in the field of Curriculum Studies.
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Are there any plans to introduce more on-line programs?
Not at this time. We receive many inquiries as to whether the Counselling Psychology program will be offered on-line in the future, or whether the Ph.D. program can be taken on-line. Counselling Psychology will never be offered on-line due to the nature of the program. Interpersonal interaction is very important in this program, both one-on-one and in a group setting.
UWO did participate in a Joint Ph.D. program with Brock, Lakehead and Windsor, and this program was part-time and on-line some of the time (there was also a full-time residency component). UWO is withdrawing from this program and the last intake of new students was September 2004. The program still exists without UWO’s participation, so you may wish to contact one of the other three universities for more information, or visit the Joint Ph.D web site http://www.jointphdined.org.
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Can I take an on-line course if I’m not in the on-line program?
Required/core courses for the Curriculum Studies on-line students are restricted to these students (i.e.9580 and 9678). Elective courses are available to onsite (or other graduate) students depending on space availability.
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Can I complete a Masters degree part time?
Yes. The M.Ed in Counselling Psychology is offered part time; however, classes are held during the day. The M.Ed in Educational Studies is geared towards in-service teachers, so we have many part time students in that program and classes are held at night.
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Can I complete the Ph.D. program part time?
The UWO Ph.D in Education Studies program is a full time, onsite program. Students are expected to be in residence in full time studies for 4 years or until completion of the program.
How do I set up a meeting with an academic counsellor?
Please use the Graduate Education web site (http://www.edu.uwo.ca/graduate) as your first source of information. If your questions are not answered by the information on-line, your next point of contact is the Graduate Education Office: graded@uwo.ca or (519) 661-2099. If we cannot answer your question, we will direct you to someone who can. If you have a program specific question (as opposed to a question about applying), you are welcome to contact a faculty member in your area of interest. You can find email addresses for Faculty on our web site on the "faculty research" page: http://www.edu.uwo.ca/research/directory.html They are listed in alphabetical order and by area of research.
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Do I need to contact a faculty member in advance/find my own faculty advisor?
It is a good idea to review the faculty research page of our web site (http://www.edu.uwo.ca/research/directory.html) to ensure there is someone at UWO suitable for you to work with in your research area of interest. You are not required to contact faculty in advance, nor are you required to find your own advisor in order to be admitted. The Admissions Committee assigns faculty advisors at the time of application, based on the information in your application (namely your letter of intent, which details your research interests). If you have had contact with a faculty member and would like to request to work with him/her, please indicate this in writing with your supporting documents. We will do our best to accommodate these requests; however, we cannot make any guarantees.
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How can I receive information in the mail?
We do not produce printed materials since all of our information is on our web site. This includes program and course descriptions, Faculty research information, fee and award information, information for International students (including English proficiency tests), admission requirements, and application procedures.
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Where can I get a paper copy of the application?
We do not have paper copies of the application. You must apply on-line and you can access the the application from the "how to apply" page of our web site: http://www.edu.uwo.ca/Graduate/interested/apply_newOct08.html
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Do you have an information night that I can attend to learn more about Graduate Education programs?
We don’t have a pre-admission information night but we do participate in the Graduate Studies Showcase each year. This year's Showcase is being held on Saturday, November 8, 2008. Information and registration can be found at http://www.grad.uwo.ca/showcase2008/
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When are classes held?
Actual timetables are set each term approximately one to two months in advance of each term. You can see in which term classes will be held on the 3-Year Plan of Course Offerings: http://www.edu.uwo.ca/graduate/courseDesc.html. Generally speaking, Ph.D and M.Ed (Counselling Psychology) classes are held during the day, and M.Ed (Educational Studies) classes are held at night, since most students in that program are in-service teachers.
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What is the workload like?
Masters programs typically involve either 3 hours of in-class time per week for part time students (one class), or up to 9 hours of class per week for full time students (three classes). M.Ed (Educational Studies) classes are held at night since most of these students are in-service teachers. Half courses normally run over 12-14 weeks, depending on whether any missed classes have to be made up (36 hours is the minimum number of hours for a half course). Onsite students spend 36-39 hours in class and then 2.5 to 3 hours for each hour of class time in reading, researching, and writing papers.
Curriculum on-line students are expected to be online at least four times each week of their course. Each course is designed to equate to 135 – 160 hours to equal the time onsite students spend in class and doing course work. Hours will vary for online students but we know that it will take at least the same amount of time as onsite students. Your online courses will normally run over 12-14 weeks and will be divided into modules.
M.Ed (Counselling Psychology) classes are held through the day since most of these students study full time. Full time Counselling Psychology students typically have 12 hours of class per week in the first (fall) term and 9 hours of class in the second (winter) term. In the summer term, full time Counselling Psychology students either begin work on their thesis proposals or take an additional course. Internships take place in the fall and winter terms and are 20 hours per week for 28 weeks. Students not writing a thesis typically take their last course in the second fall while doing their internship.
Most graduate courses do not have exams. Students are expected to contribute to class discussions in order to critically analyze concepts and theories presented, and course work typically involves, reading, research, and writing research papers. Course work may also include projects (individual or group)and presentations.
Doctoral students have either 6 or 9 hours of class (depending on if they do an elective course in the first fall or winter terms), as well as 10 hours a week in a GTA or GRA position. It is a full time, onsite program and students are expected to be in residence. The workload is heavy in the first 2 terms, with a lot of reading, research and writing. This includes writing research proposals for scholarships (namely OGS and SSHRC) and narrowing down your field of research as you work towards beginning your research proposal. A description of the core Ph.D courses ED700, 701 and 702 can be found online at http://www.edu.uwo.ca/graduate/PhD.html. These courses are held during the day, while M.Ed electives are held at night.
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What is expected of me as a graduate student?
For most Masters students, this is your first step into graduate studies and each of you has a different reason for seeking a master’s degree. For some it is to become a better teacher; for some it is to gain a credential to become a school administrator; for others this may be the first step toward a doctorate and a career in the academy. Whatever your reason for embarking on this exciting period of your life, you will find your next two or three years stimulating, invigorating and exhausting.
The main purpose of a graduate program is the development of research skills and each graduate student is required to become involved in some form of academic research in order to graduate. Graduate studies programs in Ontario are licensed by the Ontario Council of Graduate Studies (OCGS), an organization that reviews and evaluates each and every graduate program offered in an Ontario university every seven years. Thus, we must follow guidelines and procedures as per OCGS. There should be no doubt that the development of your research skill is a priority in this program. Masters students who plan to pursue a Ph.D should talk to their supervisors about the thesis route of study.
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How much does it cost to take a Graduate Education program?
Fee information can be found at: http://www.registrar.uwo.ca/FinancialServices/Fees.cfm Fees are charged by term and by program (not by course), based on your part time or full time status. Graduate students must be continually enrolled each term until they complete all program requirements. There are 3 terms per year: fall, winter and summer. Graduate Education offer 2 sessions in the summer term (Intersession – May/June and Summer Session – July); however, you only pay one fee for Summer term regardless of which session(s) you take courses in.
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Is there funding available for Masters students?
There is a limited number of Western Graduate Research Scholarships (WGRS) for students applying for a full time program, who plan to do research (i.e. a Thesis or Directed Research Project) and who have a minimum average of 80% as calculated by UWO (typically the last 10 full or 20 half courses or equivalent). WGRS covers the cost of full time tuition, minus ancillary fees. This process is competitive, but there is no application; those who qualify will automatically be considered. All M.Ed. applications must be assessed before determining WGRS recipients so you may receive your offer of admission before an offer of funding. M.Ed. funding decisions are typically made in mid to late April.
What kind of funding is available for Ph.D. students?
Qualified doctoral students will receive a funding package that includes the cost of annual tuition plus an additional $12,000. A portion of this funding package involves either a graduate research (GRA) or teaching assistantship (GTA) requiring 10 hours of work per week for 28 weeks (September to April) in the Faculty of Education.
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What scholarships/forms of financial aid are available?
There are a number of sources you can check for financial assistance including OSAP (http://osap.gov.on.ca/eng/not_secure/contents.htm), bursaries, and for international students Commonwealth Scholarships and awards provided by your government to study abroad. You can find information about financial support on the the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies’ web site: http://grad.uwo.ca/financial_support.htm Also check your government's web site before you leave home. Enrolled students have scholarships they can compete for, usually based on their research (i.e. one they have completed their course work). Information on these opportunities can be found on our web site: http://www.edu.uwo.ca/Graduate/feesFunding.html
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How many students apply to your programs and how many are accepted?
Programs differ from year to year as to how many applications we receive; however, it is safe to say that we regularly receive more applications than there are spaces. We typically admit up to 15 students per program with the exception of the PhD program which is slightly less than this. The most competitive program we have is the M.Ed. in Counselling Psychology for which we typically receive up to 120 applications. This unfortunately means that we have to turn away applicants who meet the minimum requirements. Graduate Education programs are competitive; while we will consider applications that do not meet the minimum requirements if space permits, you should AT LEAST meet the minimum requirements and endeavour to exceed them as much as possible in order to submit a competitive application.
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What is the cut-off mark by which students are usually accepted?
Since grades are not the only criteria considered, there tends to be a range of grades by which applicants are admitted. The best advice we can offer is to try to exceed all minimum requirements, and if you don’t have at least a B average (A for PhD), do some upgrading to make your average more competitive. We won’t be looking for specific courses; however, you should take upper year (equivalent to UWO 200 level and above), academic courses at an accredited university in order to upgrade. Research and statistics courses are highly regarded as these assist you in designing, collecting and analyzing your research.
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Does it matter if I took some of my courses on-line (e.g. Athabasca University)?
As long as the university is accredited and the courses are academic courses there should be no issue with us being able to use the grades.
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How are admission averages calculated?
This will depend on what country you studied in. For those applying to a Masters program, the last 10 (or equivalent) courses you completed at the undergraduate level, including upgrading or multiple degrees (excluding B.Ed and AQ courses) are used to calculate your admission average. This typically means your last 2 years of study, based on upper year courses. PhD student admission is based on M.Ed grades only.
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I studied overseas – how will my average be calculated? Do I need an independent assessment of my transcripts?
For those who studied outside of Canada and the United States, most transcripts come with a legend explaining the grading system. You do not need to get an independent assessment of your transcripts; we will do our own assessment and do not look at outside assessments. For transcripts that do not have legends, we have set standards to use that have been set by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies . We are accustomed to assessing International transcripts.
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I don’t have a B.Ed. degree (or other teaching qualification), can I still apply?
You do not necessarily need to have a B.Ed. degree; please refer to the minimum admission requirements as outlined on our web site to ensure you are eligible to apply (http://www.edu.uwo.ca/graduate/admis_req.html). If you do not have any academic background in Education, you will need to provide a sound rationale for choosing educational studies. If you are accepted into the program without an educational background, you may be required to complete some courses as a condition of acceptance/before being admitted as a degree student.
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I don’t have any teaching experience; can I still apply?
The admissions committee prefers applicants with at least one year of successful teaching experience. We have admitted students in the past directly from an undergraduate program (including the B.Ed program); however, this is not the norm. To be as competitive as possible, you should have at least one year of teaching or related experience (paid or volunteer).
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I am interested in applying to your Ph.D. program, but I do not have a Masters in Education (I have a Masters degree in another subject).
The admissions committee will consider Masters degrees from other programs; however, you will need to complete the question on the on-line application that asks why you are applying to a degree in Education without the related background. You will have to make a strong case for yourself as to why you should be considered over those who have a M.Ed. degree and teaching experience. If you are accepted into the program without an educational background, you will likely be required to take a number of courses as a condition of acceptance/before being admitted as a full degree student.
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I studied overseas (and I’m not sure my degree is accredited) – how do I know if I’m eligible to apply?
We will consider foreign transcripts on a case-by-case basis. If you are not sure your institution is accredited, if your degree is equal to a three or four year degree, or whether you have enough academic courses to be used in an average calculation, you are welcome to fax us your transcript with a covering letter requesting an assessment to determine whether or not you are eligible to apply. You will still need to submit 2 official transcripts in order to apply for admission. PLEASE NOTE: This will not guarantee your admission.
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What are your minimum required test scores for TOEFL/MELAB/IELTS?
Please refer to the information on our web site, on the page for International Students: http://www.edu.uwo.ca/graduate/int_stud.html.
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How long will it take me to complete the program?
This will vary, depending on the program you are in, your route of study, and whether you study part time or full time. Full time Masters students typically finish in two years. Part time Masters students typically finish in three years. PhD students typically finish in four years, and this is the maximum length of your funding package.
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What does a typical program of study look like?
This information is outlined in the program information on our web site (http://www.edu.uwo.ca/Graduate/interested/). Each program has core/required courses and elective courses.
M. Ed Educational studies students have the option of writing a Thesis, Directed Research Project, or Comprehensive Exam (Curriculum and Policy only). M.Ed Counselling Psychology students complete an Internship and have the option of writing a Thesis.
Ph.D students take 2 full and one half core/required courses (700, 701 and 702a) plus three M.Ed elective courses. This is followed by Qualifying Papers (789 in course descriptions), development and presentation of a Thesis proposal, and writing of a Thesis.
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Do I have to write a Masters Thesis or are there other options?
M.Ed. Counselling Psychology students complete an Internship, and have the option of writing a Thesis. M.Ed. Educational Studies students have several options, depending on their program. Policy, Curriculum and Educational Psychology/Special Education students can write a Thesis or Directed Research Project. The Curriculum on-line program is set up for students to write a Directed Research Project, but writing a thesis is also an option.
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What decisions about my program do I need to make before I apply?
Applicants need to determine whether they wish to study part time or full time (M.Ed.) and which field of study (M.Ed. Educational Studies) or research area (Ph.D.) they wish to pursue. Those admitted will be assigned a faculty advisor who will assist them in determining their route of study (thesis, directed research project or comprehensive exam) and course selection. Faculty advisors are assigned according to the program you apply to and the information you provide in your letter of intent on the on-line application (i.e. your research interests). If you wish to work with a particular faculty member, please indicate this in writing at the time of application. We will do our best to accommodate; however, we cannot make any guarantees.
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Do you admit students under "Mature Student" conditions (i.e. those who have been out of school for a period of time and do not meet the minimum requirements)?
Graduate Study is not the same as undergraduate; it is competitive regardless of your background and it is expected that you will meet the minimum admission requirements as outlined on our web site: http://www.edu.uwo.ca/graduate/admis_req.html.
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What if I don’t meet the minimum requirements?
You can still apply but due to the competitive nature of our programs, there is no guarantee that applications that do not meet the minimum requirements will be reviewed by the admissions committee.
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What is the difference between the Counselling Psychology Program and a Clinical Psychology Program, Educational Psychology, or Social Work Program?
In general, counselling psychology deals with more intact personalities and more “normal” problems, has a focus on people’s strengths and assets, uses relatively brief interventions, emphasizes person-environment interactions, deals with educational and career development, and practitioners tend to work in educational and community settings as counsellors. In our program, there is an emphasis on learning specific individual and group counselling intervention skills and all courses are taught from a social justice perspective.
In contrast, clinical psychology deals with more abnormal or maladaptive behaviour, with greater attention being paid to underlying pathology, a tendency toward longer treatment, and clinicians tend to work in in-patient psychiatric and hospital settings. At the same time, there is a great deal of overlap between the two disciplines.
Educational Psychology/Special Education deals with learning theory, child development, and students with special needs. Graduates tend to work in the school system as classroom or learning resource teachers or in community agencies as educational consultants.
Social Work programs deal more with theory and legal issues of working with children and families in need. Many graduates work in child protection agencies. Although some practitioners may work in settings where they do ongoing counselling with clients, they rarely do psychological testing, research, or educational and vocational counselling.
There is much less opportunity in these last three programs to receive intensive training in counselling skills.
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What does "helping profession" mean/what type of experience are you looking for to meet the requirements for Counselling Psychology?
We are looking for experience where you have been in a helping capacity with people of any age group. Although we accept positions such as teacher and tutor you will be better prepared for the program if you also have experience in a more counselling capacity, such as working for a distress line, being a peer counsellor at your university’s counselling centre, being a support for one client over time at agencies such as Canadian Mental Health Association or Probation and Parole, helping special needs children, adolescents, adults, elderly, people with disabilities, cross-cultural work. It is important that you know you can tolerate working with intense emotions in people before entering our program.
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What if I’ve only worked/volunteered part time or in different positions – will you add up all my experience so it equals a year?
We accept a combination of paid and volunteer work over several years (including summer jobs) to meet the one year equivalent work experience requirement for entrance into the Counselling Psychology Program.
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Will the Counselling Psychology program help me become a school counsellor?
The Counselling Psychology Program is designed for people who want to counsel in community mental health agencies for all age groups. To be a guidance counsellor in a secondary school in Ontario (there are no guidance counsellors at the elementary level in Ontario), you need to obtain a Bachelor of Education degree and have enough university credits to teach two different subjects at the secondary level. Then people who want to be guidance counsellors take Additional Qualification (AQ) courses in Guidance to qualify to become a guidance counsellor. The Ontario College of Teachers does not accept our M.Ed in Counselling Psychology to meet the requirement of Guidance Part I; Guidance Part II and Guidance Specialist courses.
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Can I get certified after taking the Counselling Psychology Program?
Most of our students get certified with the Canadian Counselling Association. This is a very straightforward process and detailed information about it can be obtained at http://www.ccacc.ca.
A recent, more difficult process is to become registered as a Psychological Associate with the Ontario College of Psychologists. This process is described in detail at their website: http://www.cpo.on.ca/Registration/PsychAssociate. There are not enough courses in our program to meet all of their requirements nor do we have courses in some of the areas they require, such as biological bases of behaviour or cognitive-affective bases of behaviour. You would need to have upper level bachelor level courses for these areas or take Master level courses from the Psychology Department while you are in our program. So far only one of our graduates has begun the process of becoming registered as a Psychological Associate.
