Graduate & Advanced Admission Requirements

In addition to submitting a completed application form and corresponding $70 fee, you must also include the following:

• Official transcripts sent directly from all post-secondary institutions attended (transcripts sent by the applicant won’t be considered official). To prevent any delays in processing your application, we recommend your school(s) send by email. Transcripts in languages other than English or French must be accompanied by an English translation provided by the institution issuing the transcript. Degree and graduation certificates must be included if the transcript does not indicate the type of degree and date granted.
• A 1,000-word personal statement. This should outline why you want to study journalism, your academic strengths/weaknesses, your general interests, any work you may have done in journalism or related fields, what you hope to do after graduation and anything else that would contribute to a well-rounded story about you.
• One letter of reference. For those who completed their undergraduate degree within the past three years, an academic reference is required. For applicants who completed their undergraduate degree more than three years ago, a relevant professional reference may be submitted. Please use institutional, professional, or governmental email addresses wherever possible; personal emails, including those on such services as Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail, may be subject to further verification.

The following pieces are optional:

• A portfolio featuring selected samples of your best-related work (copies of published articles, media files, etc.)
• Resume

In addition to submitting a completed graduate application form and corresponding $115 fee, you must also include and submit the following as part of, or within, your application package:

• Transcripts. For application purposes, unofficial academic transcripts and degree certificates (if degree conferral not stated on transcripts) are required for each post-secondary institution attended. Transcripts should include your first and last name, degree and program type and name of degree-issuing university. Should you be accepted for admission to your program of choice, all official and final transcripts will be required for each post-secondary institution attended within 90 days of the start of your program. If you only completed a course(s) at a university or post-secondary institution, official transcripts are required as well.

Transcript submission for newly accepted students: for students who have been accepted to the MJ program, you can send your final and official transcripts, stating degree completion, in any of the ways provided below:

• • Electronic file-transfers from the issuing institution and from services such as Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, eScript-Safe, MyCreds or TranscriptsNetwork.
  • PDFs sent by email directly from the issuing institution.
  • While official e-copies of your transcripts are preferred, official paper copies can be mailed to the address noted above.

*Note that the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) reserves the right to verify the validity of all documents provided.  

IMPORTANT TRANSCRIPT DETAILS

• • Transcripts in languages other than English or French must be accompanied by an English translation provided by the institution issuing the transcript.
  • Notarized copies of transcripts are not permitted.
  • Degree and graduation certificates must be included if the transcript does not indicate the type of degree and date granted.
  • Transcripts submitted with applications become the property of the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University, are subject to verification, are not available for copying and will not be returned to the applicant.
• Personal statement and project proposal. Your King’s MJ application requires a personal statement, in two parts:

For the first part, you should tell us a little bit about yourself and address at least the following questions:

• • Why do you want to study journalism? What drew you to the King’s MJ in particular?
  • What do you see as the role of journalism in society? Is it succeeding at this?
  • What news media do you consume on a regular basis? Why?
  • How do you see yourself using a journalism degree in your career?

The second part of your personal statement is an initial proposal for your MJ professional project, using the questions below. Your project will be at the core of your MJ studies at King’s, so we look carefully at these project proposals in assessing applicants.

An MJ Professional Project is an in-depth piece of journalism completed over nine months. As the King’s MJ is not theory-focused, the project is not the kind of scholarly research you would do in a communications studies degree.

A Professional Project can be investigative – but doesn’t have to be. If your project is not investigative it still needs deep research, interviewing, storytelling, and compelling characters. Think of long-form articles or multi-part series published by online or print magazines or newspapers, or of longer video documentaries and multi-episode podcasts, and you’ll get a sense of the depth required.

A Professional Project can be investigative – but doesn’t have to be. If your project is not investigative it still needs the deep research, interviewing, storytelling, and compelling characters found in an excellent feature article in the best magazines, and in superb podcasts and video docs.

We would like to know about your anticipated research, prospective interviewees, documents and data you would use, why this is an important project, and anything else we should know about your idea.

The admissions committee will look for evidence of your aptitude to do a large, important work of journalism.

We don’t expect you to know all the details of the project, such as everyone you would interview or all of the documents or data you will use. We also don’t expect applicants for September admission to have more than a basic understanding of journalism. We do want to have a sense of what you would like to do, based on what you know now.

Our experience is that proposals and projects often evolve, and not all students’ projects will be the ones they propose when they apply. That’s normal because you will be learning and perspectives will change. If you are admitted, we will work closely with you to help you make your project the best it can be. The goal is publication at a national level.

Your proposal should be from 500 to 1,000 words in total.

This template can be found and submitted within your application package.

• Portfolio. A maximum of five selected samples of your best-related work (copies of published articles, media files, etc.).
• Resume
• Two letters of reference. Those who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree within the past three years are required to provide two academic references. For applicants who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree three to five years ago, one academic and one relevant professional reference is required or two academic references. Those who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree more than five years ago can submit two relevant professional references, one academic and one relevant professional reference or two academic references.

Reference letters provided to the University of King’s College or Dalhousie University for purposes of determining a candidate’s suitability for admission to an academic program will be kept confidential. This confidential reference may be used internally by either/both institutions for the purposes of considering the applicant for institutional, provincial and federal awards or scholarships.

Referees will submit all confidential reference letters through the secure reference portal. Applicants are requested to provide all contact information for their referees on their application for admission. Please use institutional, professional, or governmental email addresses wherever possible; personal emails, including those on such services as Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail, may be subject to further verification.

Applicants who do not meet the standard admission criteria above may be considered using a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA).

Applicants will be considered for a PLA for September admission under the following circumstance:

• They have a three-year bachelor’s degree in another discipline from a university outside Canada and the United States with a GPA of 3.7 or higher, combined with evidence of substantial interest in and aptitude for Journalism. This interest and aptitude will be demonstrated by professional publication on any platform of journalistic content that, in the view of the graduate admissions committee, meets the standards for work that would earn a grade of at least B+ in senior-level undergraduate journalism courses at King’s.

Applicants will be considered for a PLA for January admission under the following circumstance:

• They have a three-year bachelor’s degree in journalism from a university outside Canada and the United States with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, combined with at least three years of full-time journalistic experience in the last five years with evidence of high achievement;
• They have a three-year bachelor’s degree in any field with a GPA of 3.0 or higher and a one-year post-baccalaureate bachelor’s degree in journalism or an Ontario Graduate Certificate in journalism, such as the Bachelor of Journalism offered by King’s or the Graduate Certificate in Journalism offered by Humber College;
• They have a four-year bachelor’s degree in journalism or equivalent, obtained in the last 10 years, have a GPA between 2.7 and 2.99 in their last two years of study, and three years of professional journalism experience in the last five years with evidence of high achievement; or
• They have at least 10 years full-time experience in the last 15 in professional journalism, with evidence of high achievement. Such applicants could have a college diploma, a degree not captured by the other categories, or in exceptional circumstances, no undergraduate degree.

The University of King’s College School of Journalism, Writing & Publishing conducts the initial application evaluation process and makes its recommendation to Dalhousie University Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS). FGS makes the final decision, and a formal offer of admission is signed and sent out by Dalhousie University.

In addition to submitting a completed graduate application form and corresponding $115 fee, you must also include and submit the following as part of, or within, your application package:

• Transcripts. For application purposes, unofficial academic transcripts and degree certificates (if degree conferral not stated on transcripts) are required for each post-secondary institution attended. Transcripts should include your first and last name, degree and program type and name of degree-issuing university. Should you be accepted for admission to your program of choice, all official and final transcripts will be required for each post-secondary institution attended within 90 days of the start of your program. If you only completed a course(s) at a university or post-secondary institution, official transcripts are required as well.

Transcript submission for newly accepted students: for students who have been accepted to one of the MFA programs, you can send your final and official transcripts, stating degree completion, in any of the ways provided below:

• • Electronic file-transfers from the issuing institution and from services such as Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, eScript-Safe, or TranscriptsNetwork.
  • PDFs sent by email directly from the issuing institution.
  • While official e-copies of your transcripts are preferred, official paper copies can be mailed to the address noted above.

If you are unable to have your official transcripts sent from the issuing institution, you may send an unofficial copy of your transcripts, from your official university email account, to admissions@ukings.ca. You may be required to provide proof of the inability for the issuing institution to send documents directly. Transcripts must include your first and last name, degree and program type, name of degree-issuing university and date of degree completion.

*Note that the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) reserves the right to verify the validity of all documents provided.  

IMPORTANT TRANSCRIPT DETAILS

• • Transcripts in languages other than English or French must be accompanied by an English translation provided by the institution issuing the transcript.
  • Notarized copies of transcripts are not permitted.
  • Degree and graduation certificates must be included if the transcript does not indicate the type of degree and date granted.
  • Transcripts submitted with applications become the property of the University of King’s College and Dalhousie University, are subject to verification, are not available for copying and will not be returned to the applicant.
• Personal statement. This should outline your educational/professional experience, your goals for the program and your reasons for wanting to attend the MFA in Creative Nonfiction program. Explain any gaps or deficiencies in your academic record, and any other factors you wish to have considered.
• Project Idea. Description of the idea(s) you want to pursue as your major Creative Nonfiction or Fiction project.
• Portfolio. A maximum of 25 double-spaced pages of your best nonfiction/fiction-related work.
• Resume
• Two letters of reference. Those who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree within the past three years are required to provide two academic references. For applicants who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree three to five years ago, one academic and one relevant professional reference is required or two academic references. Those who completed their undergraduate (or related graduate) degree more than five years ago can submit two relevant professional references, one academic and one relevant professional reference or two academic references.

Reference letters provided to the University of King’s College or Dalhousie University for purposes of determining a candidate’s suitability for admission to an academic program will be kept confidential. This confidential reference may be used internally by either/both institutions for the purposes of considering the applicant for institutional, provincial and federal awards or scholarships.

Referees will submit all confidential reference letters through the secure reference portal. Applicants are requested to provide all contact information for their referees on their application for admission. Please use institutional, professional, or governmental email addresses wherever possible; personal emails, including those on such services as Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail, may be subject to further verification.

Applicants who do not meet the standard admission criteria above may be considered using a Prior Learning Assessment (PLA).

Applicants will be considered for a PLA under the following circumstance:

• They have a three-year undergraduate degree more than five years old;
• They have a four-year undergraduate degree more than five years old and whose GPA is below the minimum acceptable level (B); or
• They do not possess an undergraduate degree.

The MFA Admissions Committee will determine if an applicant meets the standard admission criteria during the admission evaluation stage, or if a PLA is required. If additional supporting documents are required, the admissions team will be in contact with the applicant directly.

PLA candidates should explain, in the personal statement, their motivation for seeking entrance to the program and expand upon why they think their life and work experience and/or related formal education and courses merit adjudication.

Creative Nonfiction

PLA candidates are required to provide a significant body of published or produced work, in formats including magazines, newspapers, online, screenplays, radio and other broadcast media, documentaries, books, journals, etc. and/or a substantial related work experience in a writing or publishing-related business enterprise; evidence of diplomas or other accredited and relevant study programs; attendance at workshops, seminars or other professional development programs; membership in one or more relevant professional organizations (CAJ, EAC, CNFC, TWUC, regional writers’ organizations, peer writing groups, etc.); delivery of speeches, presentations or other public addresses relevant to the program. PLA candidates should provide evidence of any writing-related diplomas or credentials awarded will also be considered by the admission committee.

Fiction

To be considered for PLA, applicants are required to provide a significant body of published or produced work, in formats including magazines, newspapers, online, screenplays, radio and other broadcast media, documentaries, books, journals, etc. and/or a substantial related work experience in a writing or publishing-related business enterprise; evidence of diplomas or other accredited and relevant study programs; attendance at workshops, seminars or other professional development programs; membership in one or more relevant professional organizations (EAC,TWUC, regional writers’ organizations, peer writing groups, etc.); delivery of speeches, presentations or other public addresses relevant to the program. Evidence of any writing-related diplomas or credentials awarded will also be considered by the admission committee.

The University of King’s College School of Journalism, Writing & Publishing conducts the initial application evaluation process and makes its recommendation to the Dalhousie University Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS). FGS makes the final decision, and a formal offer of admission is signed and sent out by the Registrar of Dalhousie University.