Frequently Asked Questions about the MOT Program

The required minimum academic standing to apply is B+ (76%) average based on ALL senior level courses (300/400 level) for which final grades are reported on your transcript at the time of the application deadline.

The competitive GPA to be invited for an interview for the MOT Program is currently estimated to be around 84%. Competitive GPA is calculated based on the most recent 45 senior level courses (300/400 level) whether they are completed as part of or outside of an undergraduate degree.

Please note that, fulfillment of the minimum requirements does not guarantee an interview. If an applicant’s overall application is deemed to be competitive, they may be invited to participate in an interview.

Yes. Graduate-level courses taken/currently being taken are factored into overall GPA calculation with equal weight to Undergraduate courses.

An applicant’s competitive GPA is calculated using the transcript that is provided to us on your application portal.

If your course(s) will not be finished by the end of the application deadline or if you are unsure of when your final grades will come in (if you are taking coursework in the Fall term), you should submit the most up-to-date transcript available. Your cGPA will only be assessed using the completed coursework listed.

If you are offered an interview/admission to the program your completed transcript will be assessed again at that time.

If your prerequisite course meets the criteria listed on our Admission Requirements page it will be considered admissible.

For Social Science, these are any courses at any level in Sociology, Anthropology or Human Geography.

• Examples of course types outside of Social Sciences departments which meet this requirement:
  Social Psychology, Sport Psychology, Social Psychology, Health Policy & Society, most courses with Socio/Social/Society in their title.

For Behavioural Science, these are any courses at any level in Psychology.

• Examples of course types outside of Psychology departments which meet this requirement:
  Social Psychology, Sport Psychology, Mental Health & Illness, Neurobiology, most courses with Psych/Psychology/Behavioural in their title.

As the Human Anatomy prerequisite can only be met with an extremely specific list of courses, please visit our Human Anatomy Requirement page for more information.

If your prerequisite course is not accepted, we strongly advise you to take a course from our pre-approved criteria listing.

Applying without an approved prerequisite course will result in a rejected application.

We do not calculate prerequisite coursework separately from our 45 most recent senior level credit rule.

If your prerequisite courses are senior level (300/400+ level) and within your most recent 45 credits they will be used to calculate your GPA.
If your prerequisite courses are lower level (100/200 level), or are senior level but not within your most recent 45 credits, they will NOT be used to calculate your GPA.

The MOT program will equate a semester-long (three months) course to a 3-credit course, and a year-long (6 months) course to a 6-credit course.

Please visit your institution’s website for further clarification on credit equivalency with other institutions for the most up-to-date and accurate information.

For the MOT program, you must have completed at least 6 senior-level courses at your institution (an equivalent of 18 UBC credits) at the time of the application deadline.

Only a minimum of 6 senior-level courses (18 credits) must have been completed at the time of the application deadline.
In the event that you have less than 15 senior-level courses, all eligible senior-level courses will be used in the calculation of your GPA.

There is no score that will guarantee admission to the MOT program, however a score of 84% has been the cutoff for an interview invitation in previous years. Please note that fulfillment of the minimum requirements does not guarantee an interview.

No. Unfortunately we do not provide any GPA/Percentage scales as per departmental policy.
Any requests for pre-application calculations will be denied.

Applications open October 15 and close on January 15.

Applicants have from when they apply until January 15 to submit any and all documents (including references).

Please note that applicants can continue to access their application portal after submitting their application and upload documents up until the deadline.

References share the same deadline as applicants to submit documentation.

All reference documents must be received by January 15.

We strongly recommend that you communicate this to your referees and keep in contact with them throughout the application process..

You must upload original transcripts from every post-secondary institution attended.

Official transcripts are the transcripts issued to you by your post-secondary institution.
When applying to our program through the online portal, you should open your sealed transcripts and upload these documents as part of your application (this will then make them ‘unofficial’ as they were not opened by a University official).

Upon acceptance to the program, you will then be asked to submit a sealed version of these transcripts to UBC’s Graduate Studies department.

You must upload original transcripts from every post-secondary institution attended even if only one course was taken/is being taken.

If your courses will not be finished by the end of the application deadline or if you are unsure of when your final grades will come in (if you are taking coursework in the Fall term), you should submit the most up-to-date transcript available.
If you are offered an interview/admission to the program your completed transcript will be assessed again at that time.

No. Your academic references must be able to speak to your academic performance and abilities while you were studying at a post-secondary academic institution. References received from high school teachers, Principals, or guidance counselors will not be accepted for any reason.

An academic reference is anyone is who is able to speak to your current academic ability and your ability to succeed in a graduate-level degree. While this is normally a professor/teaching assistant/lab supervisor/research supervisor, our program will also accept an academic reference submitted from employers.

If you are using an employer as an academic reference, please instruct them to complete the Academic Reference and not the Experience Reference.

If your employer does not have an institutional email address or did not receive the automated link, please them have fill out and submit an alternate Reference Form to mot.admissions@ubc.ca. 

If your references are unable to submit the application through the online system/do not have an institutional email address please have them fill out and submit the alternate Reference Form to mot.admissions@ubc.ca.

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 in PDF format.

If your references are unable to submit the application through the online system/do not have an institutional email address please have them fill out and submit the alternate Reference Form to mot.admissions@ubc.ca.

If your reference is unable to submit on time we suggest you cancel your current reference and submit a new reference using your application portal.

The purpose of the interview is to determine an applicant’s verbal communication skills, maturity level and personal suitability to the program and profession.

Interviews are typically held in the first week of March.

Applicants can expect to receive an email on the status of their application, and whether an interview will be offered, by late February.

Applicants will be interviewed by a 3-person panel consisting of a faculty member, clinical faculty member and current MOT student.
The only information the interview panel will see is your written response.

After interviewing with us applicants can expect to receive an email on the status of their application, and whether admission will be offered, by late March/early April.

No transfer credit may be granted towards the UBC MOT program.

There are no virtual or part-time options for the MOT program.

Deferrals of admission are not granted. Applicants are advised to apply to the MOT program during the year that they are able to attend.