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Admission Requirements

To be confirmed. 

Applicants for Graduate Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University must have:

  • Four-year honours Bachelor's degree (or equivalent).
  • Minimum C/GPA of 3.00 / 4.33 (B), or equivalent.

For further details, please also visit YSGPS - Admission Requirements. 

However, to be competitive for admissions to the PPA MA program, a minimum C/GPA of 3.33 / 4.33 (B+), or equivalent, is strongly recommended. YSGPS Admissions calculates both the GPA of the last two years as well as the CGPA of the entire four years when assessing a file.

Please note that transcripts (or grade rosters, where applicable) are required from all accredited post-secondary institutions you have attended. This relates not only to your Bachelor’s, Masters and/or Doctoral degree(s), but also to post-degree transcripts (i.e. university-level certificates/coursework), which must also be provided. Such additional coursework, which is considered outside of your Bachelor’s, Masters and/or Doctoral degree(s) may be taken into consideration but does not guarantee eligibility for admission.

Applicants to the MPPA part-time stream are expected to have two years of professional, full-time experience working in a public service at the municipal, provincial, national, international levels, or in the non-profit sector, or in a private sector organization where tasks or responsibilities relate to government or international organizations.

The MPPA Program considers all application components. To review a listing of all required documents, please refer to the Required Documents page of the YSGPS website.  Please read carefully the instructions there, as well as the instructions on this page (below)!

Note in particular that the listing of “Required Documents” on the YSGPS website contains items that do not pertain to applications to the MPPA program.  Specifically, applicants to this program need NOT submit the following materials:

  • Supplementary Tests
  • Sample of Work
  • Portfolio/Dossier
  • Statement of Authorship for Portfolio/Dossier
  • Professional Designations/Employee Verification Forms

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Yeates School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University, the Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration program requires the following materials:

1. A Statement of Interest

You are required to submit a statement (maximum 500 words in length) explaining why you would like to join the program and why you are a good candidate for the program. Your statement should address the following:

  • your reasons for wishing to pursue graduate-level study in Public Policy and Administration;
  • topics of interest you may wish to examine in the program, including in a major research paper or thesis (if these are program options you are considering);
  • how your previous studies and/or professional experiences (if applicable) have prepared you for the program; and
  • how the MA program relates to your career objectives. 
  • PART-TIME APPLICANTS ONLY: your professional experience and how the part-time MPPA stream relates to your future career goals.  
  • Please include the following originality statement and sign your statement of interest: I declare that this statement of interest was written independently and is my original writing. I further certify that Artificial Intelligence software was not used to generate the substance or content of my statement of interest.  

Please note that the Department of Politics and Public Administration may submit statement of interests to an AI-software detection tool, which can generate a probability that Artificial Intelligence was used to generate a statement of interest. A student’s statement of interest that shows a very high probability of AI use will be negatively assessed for admission.

2. A CV/Professional Resume

Please submit an updated CV or professional resume that clearly highlights and includes previous studies, professional and volunteer experiences, and any other awards, recognitions or skills relevant to graduate studies at Toronto Metropolitan University.

3. Letters of Recommendation

Every program applicant must provide two Letters of Recommendation. Who provides an applicant with a letter depends on the stream they are applying (full or part-time) and the length of time since last completing a university degree. All letters of recommendation should be able to clearly explain an applicant’s capacity for advanced, independent, critical analysis and communication and the link between those capacities and potential success as a graduate student. The program has the following expectations for different applicants:

1.      Full-time applicants who graduated from a post-secondary institution within the past five years should:

a.      Provide two letters of recommendation from previous university course instructors, professors, or research supervisors; if two letters from university staff (instructor, professor, supervisor) are not possible, one letter can be from a professional, non-university source, though they should still be able to explain a student’s capacities in an academic setting. Two letters from academic/university references are preferred.

2.      Full-time applicants who graduated from a post-secondary institution more than five years ago should:

a.      Ideally, submit one or two letters of recommendation from previous university course instructors, professors or supervisors; one or two letters from professional, non-academic sources are acceptable, provided they can clearly speak to an applicant’s capacity to complete advanced graduate studies. 

3.      Part-time applicants should:

a.      Submit one or two professional references or one or two academic references (former course instructors, professors or research supervisors familiar with your abilities).  At least one letter should speak directly to the applicant’s work experience as it relates to the study of public policy and/or public administration.  

The priority of consideration deadline for the MPPA program for possible entry the following September can be found under Application Dates. Please follow the instructions on this page and also those in the Admissions Process section of the YSGPS website.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their completed application by the deadline for first consideration in order to be competitive for limited admission and scholarship considerations. Only applications deemed admissible and complete will be forwarded by the Yeates School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (YSGPS) to the program's Admissions Committee. Please note that once you have submitted your online application, you will be emailed instructions within 2-3 business days on how to create your online identity and upload your required documents electronically.

After the "priority of consideration" deadline, applications will be considered on a rolling basis. However, as soon as the program is full, the YSGPS will post a notice on its main admissions website stating that applications to the MPPA program, for admission the subsequent September, will no longer be considered.

Once you have submitted your online application, you will receive an automatic e-mail from the Graduate Admissions Office acknowledging receipt of your application and giving you instructions on how to create an account on MyServiceHub. You will need to log in to MyServiceHub periodically to verify that all your application materials have been received and to check the status of your application.

Make sure to check your junk mail files/folders on a REGULAR basis because emails are sent within 2-3 business days from the time you submit your application payment.

Ensure you have confirmed Toronto Metropolitan University as a safe sender/recipient to avoid any notices ending up in your junk email folder.

Each applicant is responsible for ensuring that all correspondences from Toronto Metropolitan University are delivered to an appropriate inbox and NOT a junk mail folder.

For further information on deadline dates, English language proficiency requirements, and the online application process (including links), please visit Graduate Admissions Office.

 

Deferrals

Applicants are strongly discouraged from applying to the program if they cannot begin the program in the forthcoming September. On rare occasions, deferrals are granted, but only on a case-by-case basis.  If a deferral is granted, it will be because an applicant has experienced an unexpected personal matter that inhibits their ability to start the program and engage in the program successfully. Only one deferral will be granted and only so the applicant can start the program the academic year that follows the original expected start date (i.e., two-year deferrals or a second deferral will not be provided).