The Biology Department does not have application deadlines for graduate studies. Applications will be considered at any time during the year, but admission is restricted to the beginning of a regular semester or session (January, May, September).

Finding a Supervisor

Finding a supervisor is the first step in getting started in a graduate program (the graduate programs in Biology are exclusively thesis-based, and each program requires a researcher who acts as supervisor). We highly recommend that, prior to formally applying for admission to the Faculty of Graduate Studies & Research (FGSR), prospective graduate students should identify a potential supervisor with whom they share research interests. The research interests of potential Biology supervisors can be found on our People pages: Academic Staff & Researchers, Associate & Adjunct Members.

Once you've identified faculty, associate or adjunct member(s) with whom you share research interests, contact those persons directly to inquire if they are currently looking for new graduate students; describe your research/education background (you can include copies of university transcripts if you'd like), research interests, and attach a CV/résumé. Depending on your research interests, there may also be potential supervisors in the Dept. of Chemistry & Biochemistry or the Faculty of Kinesiology & Health Studies.

Graduate applications that do not have a supervisor lined up are circulated through the Biology Department, but these applications are typically not successful (because a supervisor cannot be identified), thus we strongly suggest that prospective graduate students don't apply for entry into the Faculty of Graduate Studies & Research until they've lined up a supervisor.

Academic Requirements and Application Process

Applications are submitted online via the FGSR website; please allow several weeks for the processing of applications. This website also has useful information about admission standards, thesis requirements, and many other topics related to graduate programs at the University of Regina.

In general, the minimum academic requirements for entry into a Master's program, for both domestic and international students, are either: 1) a four-year Bachelor's degree, or 2) a three-year Bachelor's degree plus a Master's degree (a limited number of three-year Bachelor's programs are accepted as equivalent to four-year programs). Lastly, we receive many more inquiries and applications each year from excellent candidates than we have positions available, which means that meeting the minimum FGSR admissions requirements does not guarantee admission into a Biology graduate program; we strongly recommend finding a research supervisor prior to applying for admission via FGSR.

As well, the FGSR website has a section providing guidelines for international students, including minimum GPAs for degrees from different countries. For applicants that must provide evidence of English language proficiency, the IELTS minimum requirements are an overal score of 6.5, with no band lower than 6.0 (English language proficiency tests other than IELTS are also accepted; see the complete list). The exemption criteria for English language proficiency tests are also found on the FGSR website.

Neither a GRE test result nor a formal WES evaluation of educational credentials are required for application to the Biology graduate program, but GRE results and WES evaluations may be submitted as part of the application (this is completely optional).