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 components for Casper 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.

The final test date for Casper is always prior to that of the MOT Application deadline, please ensure that you visit the Casper website as soon as applications open.

Find out more about what you need and how to complete the test.

Start an application online through the Faculty of Graduate and Post-doctoral Studies online application system. The system will prompt you to create a CWL 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. Applicants should have any physical documentation sent directly to themselves for upload, please do not send any physical documents to our offices as they will not be accepted.

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

As part of the application process, you are required to submit the contact information of two unique referees. Referees cannot be a family member of the applicant. We recommend submitting your application by December 15th to provide referees with enough time to complete their references comfortably.

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.

Reference #1: Academic Reference

Reference #2: Experience Reference

Additional Experience References

Applicants who have completed their minimum 70 hours of experience at two organizations/facilities will have a supplemental referee (for a total of three references: one academic and two volunteer/work), please have them fill out and submit the Volunteer & Work Experience Reference Form via email only to mot.admissions@ubc.ca. 

Please do not send more than 1 (one) supplemental reference as additional references will not be accepted.

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 documents can be uploaded onto your application after it has been submitted.

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.

Interview selection

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.

Applicants who meet the minimum requirements will have their application evaluated for interview consideration. The MOT program is highly competitive and only qualified applicants will be invited for an interview. Fulfillment of the minimum requirements does not guarantee an interview. The selection of interview candidates is based on a review of an applicant’s overall application for admission including their competitive GPA, Casper test score, volunteer hours, and other metrics.

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 application.

Interview Format

Interviews for the UBC MOT program use the Multiple-Mini Interview (MMI) format. The purpose of the MMI is to assess an applicant’s communication skills, maturity level, and personal suitability to the program and profession.

The MOT MMIs follow the standard MMI model in which an applicant encounters a series of interviewers and is required to deal with carefully pre-selected scenarios within a determined time frame. The stations are designed to engage and challenge  applicants to demonstrate their communication and critical thinking skills, as well as their personality. The interviewers typically consist of a  diverse combination of academics, clinicians, and community representatives representing broad geographic areas of British Columbia.

Interviews take place during the first week of March.

MMI format

• Online interviews conducted via the Kira Talent Platform.
• 9 interview stations and 1 rest station.
• Each station includes a series of prompts and follow-up questions.
• Total duration of an interview cycle is approximately 60 minutes.
• Each interview station includes a 1-minute reading period and 5-minute interview.

Interview offers

The Department aims to interview around 200 applicants per admissions cycle, and admits up to the number of seats available for that application year (please refer to the number of seats listed at the top of this page). The Department will not provide details regarding an applicant’s place/rank on the waitlist.

Applicants to the program who are offered and accept an interview, but who do not respond to the confirmation email will be refused any future interview offers should they chose to re-apply to the program. If the applicant feels a late cancellation or no show is due to a valid and unavoidable reason (i.e. medical) supporting documentation must be provided within 24 hours of the interview date. The department will not offer make-up interviews for any reason whatsoever, applicants who provide supporting documentation will be allowed to re-apply to the program. Please note that future interview offers are not guaranteed for those who re-apply.

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.