This is a Master of Arts in Sociology at the University of Calgary, offered as a course-based program rather than a thesis-based one. It combines six courses with a professional seminar and a major research paper course, providing training in sociological theory, research methods and statistics alongside substantive topics such as health and illness, ethnicity and racialization, gender, urban sociology, Indigenous issues, and deviance and social control. The program is based in the Department of Sociology on the University of Calgary campus. Because it is course-based, it is structured differently from the department's thesis-based master's option: students complete a major research paper course rather than an independent thesis with a required supervisor. It suits students who want graduate-level training in sociological theory and methods without committing to an extended independent research project. The department treats this course-based route as the prerequisite for its PhD, and graduates go on to roles in the health sector, education, government, non-profit organizations, or research, analysis and program evaluation positions.
Requirements
Minimum GPA:3.30 / 4.0
Admission Requirements: Admission requires a four-year degree from a recognized institution, plus a minimum GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale over the past two years of full-time study, and demonstrated competence in sociological theory, social methodology and social statistics with a substantive interest in the field. The programme page defers English-language proficiency to the Faculty of Graduate Studies' general requirement, published in the UCalgary Graduate Calendar and How to Apply page: IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0, TOEFL iBT 86 with no section below 20, or Duolingo English Test 125 with no sub-score below 105. Applicants must also submit a sample of written work, a written statement of intent and two reference letters; no standardized admission test is required.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:For Fall 2027 entry, the University of Calgary opens undergraduate applications for domestic applicants on 1 October 2026 and for international applicants on 15 August 2026, both closing on the same firm application deadline of 1 March 2027, with supporting documents due by 15 March 2027 and offers accepted by 1 May 2027. International applicants follow the identical March 1 deadline; the university publishes no separate, later international closing date. Applications are not accepted on a rolling basis after the deadline for most direct-entry programmes, though a small number of programmes (e.g. Nursing) run further selection rounds into the summer while space remains. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
