Now that you have submitted your online application and paid your application fee, you need to submit your supporting documents to complete your application file.

Please note that your application is only complete when all your supporting documents have been received by the University and your application fee is paid. As a best practice, you should start your application a minimum 3 to 4 weeks before the application deadline to allow enough time for your documents to arrive in our office by the deadline.

Within five business days after the submission of your online application form, and payment of your application fee, you will receive an email with your student number, username and password.  This information will allow you to log on to your MSVU account to upload your supporting documents and to request references.  While you wait for your account to become active, you should request your official transcripts.

Note: Document upload and document status check are not available between 1:55am and 6:00am AST (extended window on Thursdays and Fridays of 1:55am and 8:00am AST) during nightly backups and system maintenance.

The following steps will guide you through the process of submitting your supporting documents.

Step 1: Request Official Transcripts

Transcript Requirements

You are required to disclose and submit official transcripts for ALL, universities, colleges, or other postsecondary institutions that you currently attend, previously attended, academically dismissed or withdrew from.

This also includes transcripts for:

  • Courses taken on a Letter of Permission
  • Transfer credits
  • Exchange program/Study Abroad
  • Additional bachelor’s or master’s degrees (if more than one has been completed)
  • Professional Certifications
  • Advanced Degrees (e.g. PhD)

Request Official Transcripts

A transcript is official only if it comes directly from your university to our Admissions office. Please have your universities forward your official transcripts to our Admissions Office.

Forward your official transcripts to:

Admissions Office
Mount Saint Vincent University
166 Bedford Highway
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3M 2J6
CANADA

or if your university provides electronic transcripts, you may request that they send your e-transcript to graduate.documents@msvu.ca

Step 2: Request References

Request References

When choosing an Academic or Professional reference, select someone who knows you well and can provide an evaluation of your ability to successfully undertake graduate level studies.  For more information regarding selecting a suitable reference please refer to the Graduate Supplementary Document Descriptions web page.

Contact your intended referee with the request for a reference and receive their agreement to do so on your behalf before you submit their information here. At that time, you should also confirm their professional/academic/institutional email address. References sent from a personal email addresses like, Gmail, Hotmail, yahoo etc. may not be accepted.

To help your referees personalize your reference letter, please provide them with your resume and a draft of your statement of intent.

Inform them of your application deadline and for the need to submit the reference on your behalf before the application deadline.

You are responsible for sending your referee a reference request via the online form and for following up with your referees to ensure that they have received the email reference request and that they have submitted the reference on your behalf before the application deadline. The email is sent from graduate.documents@msvu.ca with the subject line “Reference Letter Request for Student’s Name”. This email may go to their spam or junk mail folders so they may also need to check these folders.

Complete the reference request via the online form early to allow referees to submit their recommendation by the deadline.

Within five business days after the submission of your online application and payment your application fee, you will receive an email with your student number, username and password.  Your student number, username and password is required in order to complete this step.

Complete the reference request form. 

Step 3: Upload Supporting Documents

Upload your supporting documents

Within five business days after the submission of your online application and payment your application fee, you will receive an email with your student number, username and password.  Use your username and password to upload other supporting documents in our Self-Service system.

The supporting documents required to complete your application file vary by program. Please refer to the graduate application checklist for your program for the list of supporting documents to be included with your application.

For more information about what the documents needed for the Graduate Application should look like, visit the Graduate Supplementary Document Description page.

Some general examples of supporting documents required include:

  • Resume
  • Writing Sample
  • Statement of Intent
  • Official Transcripts (from all universities attended)
  • ESL Scores (Add MSVU as a recipient of your scores, submit your pdf copy of your scores)
    • It is your responsibility to have completed a relevant ESL test with the appropriate score before the application deadline. Students conditionally admitted to a graduate program of study, who have an IELTS score between 6.5 and 6.9 or the equivalent, will be required to successfully complete the Graduate Preparatory Program (GPP) BEFORE they can begin their graduate studies.
    • Note that tests are valid for 24 months after the testing date and must be valid at the beginning of your first term of registration in your graduate program.
  • Proof of Work Experience letter (for applicants to the MEd who are non-permanent teachers)
  • Research Master of Arts (Education) Form Part 1 (PDF)
  • Research Proposal Form (MScAHN) and (MScAHN-IEP) (PDF)
  • Confirmation of Completion of a PDEP1 Accredited Academic Program (PDF)

All supporting documents need to be in pdf format for upload.

Note: Document upload and document status check are not available between 1:55am and 6:00am AST (extended window on Thursdays and Fridays of 1:55am and 8:00am AST) during nightly backups and system maintenance

Upload supporting documents.

Step 4: Check Status of Supporting Documents

Your application is only complete when all your supporting documents have been received by the University. As a best practice, you should start your application about a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks before the application deadline to allow enough time for your documents to arrive in our office by the deadline.

It is your responsibility to ensure that all required documents are received by our Admission’s office by the application deadline, or your application will not be considered for admission.

Check supporting documents status.