Public Administration Management (MPA) (M)

Electronic unofficial transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended are required, even if a credential was not awarded (including institutions where transfer credits were earned). Transcripts from ��������app University and the University of King’s College are not required, but the dates attended must be included on your résumé and online application.

• Unofficial/partial transcripts:��

  • These are acceptable at the time of application. However, official/final versions must be submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies within��90 days of starting the program, if accepted. A hold will be placed on your account if you do not meet this deadline. Please make a plan ahead of time to obtain and submit your official transcripts.

  • Please upload unofficial transcripts to the��.��

• Official/final transcripts:

  • Must include all final marks, the degree name/type, and the date the degree was conferred (graduation date). If this is not stated on the transcript, documentation must be provided from the university confirming this information.
  • Submission options are: Electronic file-transfers from the issuing institution and from services such as Parchment, National Student Clearinghouse, eScrip-Safe, or TranscriptNetwork. All electronic transcripts must be sent to��dalmpa@dal.ca..
  • If you have completed a non-degree program or certificate at a post-secondary institution, you will be required to have the granting institution email us and provide either a transcript or a letter outlining courses taken with the grades earned (even if pass/fail).

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International transcripts and translations

is the only organization from which ��������app will accept transcript copies and translations. Please note that ��������app completes its own evaluation of the credit hours and GPA calculation of the degree.

Two references are required:

• At least one must be professional, preferably current supervisor/manager  

• Personal/character references are not accepted

• One academic reference is required if the applicant’s undergraduate degree was completed within the past 5 years

Reference submission options

• Preferred option: E-reference system: In the references section of the online application portal, choose “No” to indicate your referee will be using the e-reference system. Enter a valid email address for each referee. Once your application is submitted and your application fee paid, the referees will receive an email request to fill out the online form. Admissions staff will be notified when the reference form is submitted. Please review the information carefully. It cannot be changed or removed once the application is submitted.

• Preferred Option 2: E-mail: In the references section of the online application portal, choose “Yes” to indicate that your referee will be submitting directly to our office. Ask your referees to fill out and sign the Confidential Reference Form [PDF-160 KB]. They may include a separate letter, but it's not required. The reference form must be emailed by the referee to dalmpa@dal.ca. Referees must use their work email. The referee should not include you on the email (references must be kept confidential from the applicant).

MPA Reference Forms

�ʰ��Ǵڱ�������DzԲ���: Employment Reference Form [PDF - 111KB]��
��������𳾾���: Academic Reference Form [PDF - 196KB]

It is mandatory that all applicants have no fewer than 5 years of full-time (35+ hours per week) or equivalent professional experience in order to apply (professional, for this purpose, indicates that an undergraduate degree or specific technical training/certification is typically required for the type of position held.)

The resume is a standard component of most graduate and professional school applications. Omission of the following details may result in your application being delayed or denied consideration.

Formatting requirements:

• ��no more than 3 pages��
• ��includes your name and contact information (email, address, phone)��
• ��saved as a PDF

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Work experience should include:

• job titles
• company name
• detailed job responsibilities
• the start and end dates (month and year) for each job
• at a minimum, your work history for the past 5 years
• applicants submitting part-time work experience to be considered equivalent to the mandatory 5 years of full-time professional work experience, must include:��
• the average number of hours per week
• the number of months the part-time position was held
• if applicable, whether co-op placements/internships were paid or unpaid

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Educational qualifications should include:

• the credential granted (Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration Diploma, etc.)
• the names of all post-secondary institutions attended (even if degree not earned)
• years attended and year credential granted (if earned)

The statement of intent provides an opportunity to explain — through narrative, example, and analysis — aspects of your personal, educational, and professional history that may have led you to pursue an advanced degree at a particular institution. Admissions committees rely heavily on these letters to put a face on impersonal test scores and grade point averages.��

For this reason, it's important for you to use details and thoughtful self-presentation to make your face one that stands out in a crowd. Your essay should demonstrate your ability to make connections between your experience, education, and the program you have chosen. The most challenging aspect of this document is making those connections in a relatively small amount of space.��

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Guidelines

• Be focused. Decide what point you want to make overall: that you are a proven achiever, that you can deal with challenges, or that you have something special to contribute to the program.��
• Be coherent. Being "together" is a quality of writing as well as of character. A clearly organized letter can create a picture of a clear-minded and sensible person. You might want to create an outline or a diagram of main points. Check the topic sentences of each paragraph in your finished piece to see if they flow in a logical sequence.��
• Be interpretive. You need to make an impression concisely, so don't use your letter just to repeat the facts stated in other parts of the application. Provide explicit answers for the questions that may arise in the mind of the reader. Use nouns and adjectives that name qualities (outgoing, curiosity, confident) and verbs that show action (coordinated, investigated, tried). Use ones that suit the evidence you are offering.��
• Be specific. There's no point making claims unless you can back them up. Refer to the facts you have listed in other parts of your application ("as my academic record shows") but be sure to offer enough examples in your letter so that it can stand on its own. Say that they are just instances, not your whole proof ("An incident from last summer..." is an example.). The concrete language you use for these specific references will also balance the generalizing words of your interpretive points.��
• Be personal. Your letter substitutes for an interview. In effect, the readers have asked you to tell stories, mention details, and expand on facts. Mention things you might not have put into the rest of the application — your ethnic background or political interests, even. Don't be afraid to mention problems or difficulties and stress how you have overcome them. Use "I" rather than phrases like "this writer" or "my experience" or "was experienced by me."

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Formatting and content requirements:

• no more than 1.5 pages, single-spaced
• include your name and that of the program to which you are applying
• address it to the Admission Committee��
• explain any gaps in employment and/or poor academic performance
• save it as a PDF��

Send verifiable ESL test results as PDF documents to dalmpa@dal.ca.

You must request that your testing centre make their results available to ��������app University. The Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) will contact testing centres to verify the results.

You will not be able to register for classes until your ESL scores are verified. 

Required only if name discrepancies exist between transcripts/assessments/test scores and other application documents.

Examples of proof:

• marriage/divorce certificates
• 2 copies of government-issued ID that include previous and current name and date of birth