Application Procedures

Deadlines:

Admission to the School of Social Work is only available for the Fall term. Unfortunately, if an applicant selects a term other than Fall, the University will not refund application fees.

Application Procedures

1. Submit a graduate application online through Slate. You will need to create a username and password the first time you login.
   • Applicants will be asked in uApply to identify three referees (two academic, and one professional/work). An email is automatically sent to each referee with a link to a standardized reference form to complete.
2. Upload all required documents through Slate. For more information, see the McGill uploading documents page.

Supervisor Assignment 

Applicants are not required to have a designated supervisor at the time of application. Applicants are requested to identify one or two faculty members with whom they would be interested in working in the Research Proposal which is attached to their application. Students who are deemed eligible for entry into the doctoral program will be matched with an available supervisor at the time of the offer of admission. Students for whom a match to a suitable and available supervisor is not possible will not be granted admission into the doctoral program.

Required Documents

• PhD Prerequisite Form
• Personal Statement (maximum length one page, single spaced), see guidelines.
• PhD Curriculum Vitae Form
• PhD Research Proposal (maximum length 2 pages, single spaced, plus references), see guidelines. Students can also refer to these Tips for Writing a Research Proposal. 
• One writing sample (ex. first-authored article, Master's thesis)

Not quite ready? Check out the Application Guide.

Admission Decisions

You will be notified of the admission decision by early February. 

Transfer of Credits

In exceptional cases, a maximum of one PhD-level course taken at another university may be credited to the student's program under the following conditions:

• It may only replace an elective courses, for example courses on social work practice, or social policy;
• It may never replace courses SWRK 720 Thought&Theory Development in Social Work, or SWRK 721 Advanced Integrative Seminar, which must be taken in the Joint PhD program.

The procedure for transferring courses is as follows:

• The student presents his/her request and necessary documents to the Joint PhD Program Director;
• The Joint PhD Program Director considers relevant policy to determine if the request is acceptable, and may discuss the matter with the student;
• The Joint PhD Program Director makes a decision and informs the student and the Student Affairs Coordinator in the Social Work Office;
• If necessary, the Joint PhD Program Director may request a decision from the Joint PhD Advisory Group.