Dear Hamed:
This information is intended to describe the admission process the way I
see it.
Admission at our department has two steps in series.
Admission regulations by the University (Faculty of Graduate Studies):
Here you need to satisfy a series of requirements. The key items are:
(a) A minimum GPA during the last two years of your B.Sc. program. This
minimum GPA is currently 15/20. If you have M.Sc. degree, there is some
flexibility on this. (Note that for final letter of admission to be given
the University requires the transcripts to be sent by the Iranian
University. You could not bring them along.)
(b) Satisfying English requirement, which is proved by obtaining a minimum
TOEFL score or obtaining 7.0 in IELTS exam, which is being held in Iran.
(c) Completing the application package, which includes three
recommendation letters. These need to be filled in the designated forms
included in the application package. Note that as a practice, the faculty
of graduate studies confirms the authenticity of the letters with the
people who have written and signed the letters.
To do this first step, you could fill your application on-line by visiting
https://gradapplication.ucalgary.ca or you could download the application
and fill the hard copy using
http://www.grad.ucalgary.ca/fac/forms/application_sm.doc which gives you
the full application package. The first site has also some information
about the application process, etc.
Only after this first step is completed, you will be considered by the
department (step 2). In this step, the professors who have a position
open go through the completed applications, and choose their desired
students.
Most of the financial support of the student comes from the professors;
therefore it is a professor who asks for the admission to be given. (Your
being selected would depend on the individual professor, but factors that
count are your research background, your marks, your recommendation
letter, your English score, and whether or not the professor knows you.)
To increase your chances for selection in the second step, you could
contact the professors, ideally those that have an interest in the area
that you have focused on. The best time is possibly after you have
completed the initial stages of your application and possibly right before
your application is complete. Make sure that you present your BARG-E
BARANDEH right in the e-mail that you send to the profs. BARG-e BARANDEH
is what distinguishes you from others. Your GPA, your ranking, number of
publications, any major distinctions, something that would encourage the
prof to open the attachments (which should include enough details for easy
access). To become familiar with the profs in our department you could
visit:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/ench/node/52 My website is:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/ench/MehranPooladi-Darvish
A couple of other important points:
Each professor has an average of about two positions per year. Therefore
the competition is quite hard. You either need to impress the prof
somehow, and/or apply to many schools. And secondly, allow at least 8 to
12 months for the process from your first correspondences to when you
could start at your desired department. It takes time.
A note for Ph.D. applicants: Our department does not give admission for
Ph.D. directly (unless you have M.Sc. from a University in the North
America.) The admission will be given for M.Sc. with possibility of
transfer to Ph.D. after one-year upon satisfactory performance in the
course and research work.
If you have any other questions, please refer to
http://www.eng.ucalgary.ca/Chemical/Chem_gradstud_files/FAQ.pdf where many
of these questions maybe answered. Ms. Andrea Cortes
acortes@ucalgary.ca
is the designated person in the department for the admission process. If
you have any further questions, please contact her.
I hope this has helped.
Movafagh baashid.
Mehran