Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

MGA Admissions Information

Admissions for Fall 2021

Applications for entrance September 2021 are now closed. Please contact mga.admissions@utoronto.ca for information about applying to the MGA program. 

Admission Requirements

  1. Four-year (4 year) Bachelors degree (in any discipline) or equivalent.
  2. A minimum CGPA of mid B (3.0), and a minimum GPA of B+ (3.3) in the final year of undergraduate studies. Admission is highly competitive, and meeting this requirement does not guarantee admission.
  3. International Students: Please refer to the School of Graduate Studies degree equivalency tool to ensure you have the required credentials to apply to the MGA program.
  4.  Students require both qualitative and quantitative skills to succeed in the MGA program. If your undergraduate degree heavily emphasised one but not the other, you can demonstrate competence in other ways. For example, if you have not taken any quantitative courses at your university, you can strengthen your application by submitting quantitative GRE or GMAT scores or high school grades in courses such as AP Calculus, International Baccalaureate, A-Level Further Mathematics, mention très bien in Mathematics in the French baccalauréat, Mathematics at the Cégep, Leistungkurs Mathematik in German-speaking systems, or equivalent courses. Conversely, if you completed a highly technical degree (especially if not in English), the admissions committee would welcome a writing sample in addition to the required short statement.

*If you are applying to any of our combined degree programs, dual degree or collaborative specialization, please ensure you meet the application requirements of both degrees and programs. Applicants to the dual degrees MPP/MGA and MIA/MGA must apply through the partner institution (Sciences Po or Hertie). For more information  please visit Joint Programs page. 

*Are you an international student? Visit our international students page for information on being an international student in the Master of Global Affairs program.

Application Procedure

Please read the following instructions carefully.

Applications to the MGA must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) through the online admissions application, which is housed on a secure server in the University of Toronto. Once you access the SGS online admissions application and enter your contact information, an applicant identification number and a password will be emailed to you. You can leave and return to your application at any point until you move to the application fee payment stage. At that point you can return to check on the status of this application, including whether we have received your supporting documents.  Please ensure that your application is complete by the January 21, 2021 deadline.  No late applications or supporting documents will be accepted.

Payment of your application fee ($125) must be received by the School of Graduate Studies before we will consider your application. You may pay online by VISA or MasterCard. We are unable to consider any requests to waive the application fee.

*IMPORTANT: Once you have submitted an application to the MGA program, you will be assigned a JOINid which will be sent to you via email. Please ensure you keep this JOINid on file as if you are admitted to the program you will need it to log into UofT services before an official UTORid is assigned to you.

We will begin reviewing applications once the deadline passes. First round offers are typically made by mid-March, and admissions continue in rounds until the incoming class is full, at which point unsuccessful candidates will be notified by e-mail. All admissions communications will be done via e-mail including offers of admission and rejections of admission, with prepared offer of admission packages sent in the mail after the email offer of admission has been sent.

For questions related to the SGS online application system please click HERE.

The following components are required to apply to the MGA program and must be uploaded to the online SGS application (or the Kira Talent website in the case of the Online Video Question and Written Response Question). Please note that you cannot make any changes to your Application Summary once you have paid your application fee. Also, please be careful uploading your application documents. You cannot make changes to them once they have been uploaded. 

Click here to begin your application for the MGA program.

 

Transcripts

Transcripts of your academic record from each university attended are required for admission including transcripts from any exchange programs attended.

The University of Toronto now requires applicants to submit an electronic copy of their transcript as part of the application package. Applicants must either scan or take a screen shot of their transcript and upload it to the application. All transcripts must be submitted this way including transcripts for UofT students.

Please do not submit hard copies of transcripts. Only applicants offered admission to the program will be required to submit hard copies of their transcripts.

If your transcripts/documents are in a language other than English, you must also submit notarized English translations. Translations do not replace original documentation. Both the original documents and translations must be submitted.  Exception: French is an official language of Canada and we therefore do not require English translations of transcripts in French.

If academic records do not reflect the completion of studies in progress, official final academic records indicating that the degree has been conferred must be submitted to us as soon as possible and before admission can be finalized. Instructions about clearing these conditions are found on the offer of admission.

Two Letters of Recommendation

All applicants to the MGA must submit two academic letters of reference. We have no specific forms for this purpose. Letters of recommendation should be uploaded to the online application. While completing the online application you will be required to enter an e-mail address for your referee. They will then be sent an e-mail instructing them on how to upload their letter directly to your application only after you have paid your application fee. If referees would prefer to send in a hard copy they may do so to our office. Please have your referees use their own letterhead. If your referee would prefer to send a hard copy please ask your referees to enclose the letter of recommendation in a sealed envelope with a signature across the seal. Do not open the envelopes. Letters of recommendation will be part of the official student academic record; they are confidential and applicants/students will not have access to them. Applicants who have been out of school longer than two years may submit employer references in lieu of academic ones.

Statement of Intent & Optional Diversity Statement

  • REQURIED: Please submit a personal statement of approximately 400-500 words that describes the professional interests or issue(s) which attracted you to the Master of Global Affairs program and what you intend to accomplish or pursue in this field after completing the MGA degree.
  • OPTIONAL: The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy is strongly committed to diversity within its community. We especially welcome applications from racialized persons / persons of colour, Indigenous / Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. We also encourage all applicants to submit an optional 400-500 word diversity statement explaining how they might contribute to diversity through their participation in the MGA program or their future work.
  • Please submit both as one file.

Resume or CV

This should include information not available elsewhere in your application package, including work experience relevant to your scholarly interests, academic awards, conference presentations, and publications.

Online Video Question and Written Response Question

Applicants must log into Kira Talent any time before the application deadline of January 21, 2021 and complete their one online video questions AND one written response question. Visit https://app.kiratalent.com/n/assessment/MpNcaw to access the online video assessment. 

  • Video question: Applicants are required to answer a randomly selected question. The questions are general “getting to know you” questions. Example: “What are your hobbies?”. There is no need to prepare any answers in advance. Applicants have 45 secs to prep their answer and 90 secs to record their response.
  • Once your response has been recorded you cannot go back and record another one. Applicants have the opportunity to practice on five questions before they record their response.
  • For questions related to this component of the application, please contact mga.admissions@utoronto.ca. For questions related to technical support on Kira Talent, please contact support@kiratalent.com.
  • Written response question: Applicants will also need to submit a written response to a randomly generated question. The questions are general “getting to know you” questions. Example “What do you see yourself doing in five years?”. There is no need to prepare in advance for answering these questions. Applicants will have 5 mins to answer the question prompt.

Demonstration of Quantitative Skills

Students require both qualitative and quantitative skills to succeed in the MGA program. If your undergraduate degree heavily emphasised one but not the other, you can demonstrate competence in other ways. For example, if you have not taken any quantitative courses at your university, you can strengthen your application by submitting quantitative GRE or GMAT scores or high school grades in courses such as AP Calculus, International Baccalaureate, A-Level Further Mathematics, mention très bien in Mathematics in the French baccalauréat, Mathematics at the Cégep, Leistungkurs Mathematik in German-speaking systems, or equivalent courses. Conversely, if you completed a highly technical degree (especially if not in English), the admissions committee would welcome a writing sample in addition to the required short statement.

Are standardized tests required?

No. Standardized test scores are not required for the MGA program. If an applicant still chooses to submit test scores, these scores will be considered, and interpreted in light of the applicant’s file as a whole. If you choose to submit a standardized test score, details on each exam are found below. Please submit your scores by the deadline. If you choose to submit scores but are unable to do so by this deadline, you may make arrangements with the program administrator to submit your scores late.

  • GMAT link: Click Here BTD- University of Toronto-School of Global Affairs
  • GRE link: Click Here DI CODE (6237)- Institution Code
  • LSAT link: Click Here

Proof of English Language Proficiency (if necessary)

You are required to submit official English test scores if and only if (a) you do not have a degree from a Canadian university and (b) the language of instruction and examination for your degree was not English.

Equivalently, you are not required to submit scores if and only if (a) you have a degree from a Canadian university (regardless of the language of instruction) or (b) you have a degree for which the language of instruction and examination was English (regardless of the country in which you obtained the degree).

Please note that test scores more than two years old by the documents upload deadline of January 26, 2021 will not be accepted (no exceptions).

Minimum Recommended Scores:

TOEFL iBT Test (min score): Total score of 100-120. Speaking 22-30.

TOEFL PBT Test (min score): Total score between 600-677. Min 5 on the Test of Written English (TWE).

IELTS min score between Band 7-9.

Please click HERE for further information.

Have a question about the MGA application?

Consult our Frequently Asked Questions

Contact the MGA Admissions Office

Rejeanne Puran
Recruitment & Admissions Officer
Master of Global Affairs
mga.admissions@utoronto.ca

Rejeanne is the Recruitment and Admissions Officer for the Munk School’s professional degree programs. Get in touch!

Learn more about the MGA program from current students.

Our MGA Student Ambassadors are happy to speak to perspective students about the MGA program. Email mga@utoronto.ca to speak to an Ambassador.

View the profiles of our current MGA Student Ambassadors here.