Application Procedures
The process to apply for the MSc or PhD program in our department takes several months. The first step is to contact the Graduate Administrator, Lynne Hermiston, and submit copies of your transcripts for evaluation. Her email is hermisto@cs.umanitoba.ca.
Once the initial assessment has been done, the next step is to find a faculty member in this department to supervise your program. You are encourage to visit individual faculty member's web pages and learn about their requirements and research areas before asking for support from a potential supervisor. You MUST have a supervisor before you can be considered for admission to the thesis MSc program. If you are applying for the coursework Master's program this step can be skipped. The final step is to submit an application to the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Application Deadlines
To be considered for admittance to our programs, completed applications with all supporting documents must be received by the Computer Science Department by the deadlines listed below. Note that deadlines to be considered for funding opportunities are often much sooner. For example, to be eligible for a Guaranteed Funding Package (GFP), all thesis-based students should have their complete applications in by January 1st at the latest.
| Start Date | International Students | Canadian Students | For GFP consideration |
| September | February 1 | June 1 | January 1 |
| January | May 1 | October 1 | June 1 |
MSc Application Guidelines
Admission to the MSc program in computer science is competitive and meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Students interested in pursuing a thesis-based program must also arrange for supervision by a faculty member, which is also not guaranteed even upon meeting the minimum requirements for admission.
These guidelines are intended as a summary of the major requirements for admission to the MSc program in Computer Science at the University of Manitoba. These are not the official entrance requirements: please visit umanitoba.ca/calendar for the full description of the admission regulations.
Admission to an MSc program in computer science requires equivalence to the University of Manitoba Honours BSc degree in Computer Science. In particular, prospective applicants should note the following partial requirements:
- three consecutive courses in Algorithms and Data Structures.
- one senior course in Software Engineering.
- one senior course in Operating Systems.
- two senior courses in Computer Systems.
- seven fourth-year courses in Computer Science.
- the equivalent of at least 120 credit hours.
Please consult cs.umanitoba.ca/undergraduate for course descriptions.
Qualified students lacking in some aspect of the background requirements may be considered for admission to the graduate program. However, such students will be required to take undergraduate courses to complete these background requirements. Students with undergraduate course deficiencies may also be admitted to the Pre-Masters program to complete background requirement.
The final decision for admission and course equivalence rests with the Department of Computer Science.