In an effort to more efficiently process graduate applications and better serve its applicants, the School of Graduate Studies would like to announce the following changes to its application process effective September 9, 2009.

The minimum number of required letters of appraisal for graduate applications will drop from 3 to 2. All graduate applicants will still be asked to submit at least one letter of appraisal from an academic referee, and applicants for certain professional programs will still be asked to submit at least one letter of appraisal from a professional referee as per departmental requirements.

New letter of appraisal forms will be introduced. In consultation with several units, we have also developed interactive PDF forms for academic and professional referees to replace the existing Letter of Appraisal form. The new forms and instructional copy will be available through the Become website: http://www.mun.ca/become/graduate/apply. Referees will be asked to complete and submit these forms electronically to SGS.

SGS will encourage submission of web applications only. Web applications take less time to process and web applicants are also able to check their status and required documents online. Applicants will be able to request a paper application from SGS only if they are unable to access a credit card to pay the $40 fee (required for web application submission). Applicants attending or having attended Memorial in the past will be asked to submit a web application through Self-Service.

SGS will use a new email address to receive supporting documents electronically. Applicants will be able to send unofficial documents to gradapply@mun.ca (transcripts, degree confirmation certificates, standardized test score reports, etc. must be sent by mail).

SGS will process all applications and supporting documents within 3 to 5 days of receipt.

Applications and supporting documents submitted prior to September 9, 2009 will be processed according to previous requirements. All efforts will be made to accommodate such applicants during the transitional period.

Please contact us at sgs@mun.ca if you have any concerns.