How to Apply

Before you start any part of the application process, please check our Admission Requirements.

Completion of the Altus Suite / Casper Test is part of our Admission Requirements. Please make sure you review and complete the test before the application deadline. Applicants are not required to complete the optional Casper Snapshot as part of admission requirements but may choose to do so to provide the program with additional information.

Applicants can use their 8-digit UBC Applicant ID (the same Student Number used in the UBC Application Portal) to distribute their Casper test scores. Applicants who have completed the Casper test before starting an application in the portal may return to the Altus Suite website and enter their IDs retroactively. Applicants who do not have their UBC ID # may opt to use their phone number in lieu.

Start an application online through the Faculty of Graduate and Post-doctoral Studies online application system. You will need to create a new CWL account if you don’t already have one. Existing UBC students or previous UBC applicants can login using their CWL credentials.

When completing your online application, you will be prompted to upload specific documentation. Before you submit any documents, please review the document upload instructions below. 

Questions on the online application will specify which documents need to be uploaded.

Guidelines for upload:

• Accepted document formats: PDF, DOC, and DOCX are accepted. Any other file types will not be accepted.
  • DO NOT upload any JPEG, GIF, or PNG files.
  • If your uploaded document is in an accepted format, but is unreadable or corrupt, you will be asked to re-upload your documentation. Failure to adhere to this request may result in an incomplete and ineligible application.
  • It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide clear documentation that can be used in the application evaluation process.
• Upload files as one (1) document, while uploading multiple pages (e.g. Last Name, First Name – Transcript pg. 1, pg. 2. etc.) is acceptable this will delay the processing of your application.
• If re-uploading a document ensure that the new file is clearly named (e.g. Last Name, First Name – Transcript (new), Transcript (date)).

As part of the application process, you are required to submit the contact information of three unique referees. Two of these referees must provide an Academic reference, and the third referee must provide an Experience reference that vouches for your 70 hours of experience. Please note that referees are only notified by the system to provide an electronic reference AFTER you have submitted your application. The deadline for referees to submit is the same as the application deadline.

Please include their institutional email address. After you submit your application through the online application system, your referees will receive an auto generated email requesting a reference for you. They will have the option to answer questions to fill out the reference form, or submit an electronic copy of a reference letter on official institution letterhead in PDF format. As referee management is the responsibility of the applicant, we advise all applicants to keep in contact with their selected referees throughout the application process. 

If you are applying as a re-applicant, you must submit a new and complete application for the next intake. Re-applicants are free to use referees from past years, but must provide updated reference letters each year.

Once you have completed all of the necessary sections of the online application, please pay the online application fee and submit your online application. 

It is highly recommended that you submit an application as soon as possible. The admissions office suggests that the latest by which your application should be submitted is December 15 as referees will be notified to submit a electronic reference only after you have submitted an application. Please note that transcripts can be uploaded onto your application after it has been submitted.

You are required to submit the most recent official final transcripts from all post-secondary institutions that you have attended (except UBC).

• If you are currently in the last year of your undergraduate degree, submit your most recent transcript. If you have courses that are in progress for the September – December term you may upload transcripts that show courses in progress, or you may choose to wait until final grades for these courses are posted. Please note that any transcript receipt delays made due to waiting for final grades will not exempt applicants from the application deadline. 
• Applicants with credentials from institutions in which English is not the primary language of instruction, or in which documents are printed in a language other than English, are required to have their transcripts evaluated by a credentialing service, such as the BCIT International Credential Evaluation Service. Additionally, applicants with international credentials from non-English speaking institutions must upload transcripts in the original language and certified literal English translations AND official degree certificate in the original language and a certified literal English translation from your institution’s translation service, in PDF format. 

Please note that the new online application system will allow transcripts to be uploaded onto your application after the application has been submitted. You have until the application deadline to submit all of your documents. 

If applicable, the application system will ask if you have completed acceptable English language proficiency tests.

All applicants who completed their degree in an 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. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months of the application deadline.  

After submitting your application, it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all supporting materials are submitted by the application deadline.

You can check the status of your application and supporting materials through the online application system.

Please do not contact the department office for an update on the status of your application.

• Applicants can expect to receive an email on the status of their application, and whether an interview will be offered, by late February. Interviews are typically held in the first week of March and are conducted virtually.
• The purpose of the interview is to determine an applicant’s verbal communication skills, maturity level and personal suitability to the program and profession.
• The Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy will offer a maximum of 3 interviews to any one applicant over a lifetime. If after 3 interviews, an offer of admission is not made, applicants will no longer be offered an interview with the department, regardless of the competitiveness of the admission GPA achieved.
• Fulfillment of the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee an interview.

You will have had the opportunity to indicate your site preference as part of the application process. Following an admissions decision, you will be allocated to a site based on your preferences. Your site choice is given priority, unless the available positions at that site have been filled, in which case you will be added to a waitlist for your preferred site.

Please note that acceptance of admission to the MOT program is site specific.

Applicants must be able to successfully complete the post acceptance requirements as stated on the UBC Academic Calendar in order to finalize their offer of admission. Applicants who cannot complete these requirements may have their offer of admission revoked.