Master's of Community and Regional Planning (MCRP)

GPA Requirements

SCARP adheres to the minimum academic requirements established by the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Please review the minimum requirements by country. The requirements are not based on your citizenship, but where you received your academic credentials that will most likely form the basis for admission to a UBC graduate program.   

English Language Tests

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the three most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below: 

While some UBC programs require additional test scores (e.g., the Graduate Record Examination), UBC SCARP does not.  

The link to the Application Form will appear on this page during the application season (November 1 - January 5). 

You may, if you wish, indicate in your application that you wish to apply for the Indigenous Community Planning concentration, MCRP’s only official concentration. The Faculty Advisor for the ICP concentration is Maggie Low, who does not supervise students outside of ICP.  

All MCRP students will be assigned a Faculty Advisor, taking into account your interests, availability, and preference. If your application is successful and you become an MCRP student, you will work with your Faculty Advisor to develop a specialised focus of courses showcasing your interest area.  

All available Faculty Advisors will be listed in the dropdown menu of your application. You will select three faculty members with whom you would be interested in working in your application. If you are applying to the Indigenous Community Planning (ICP) concentration, please only select Dr. Maggie Low. 

In the Statement of Interest (maximum 500 words), you are asked to outline your academic and professional objectives, as well as your motivations for applying for a graduate planning program. 

(In the Personal History Statement described below, conversely, you are asked to narrate how your identities and life experiences have shaped your interests, strengths, values and futures goals.)

The Statement of Interest must be 1 page maximum with 11pt font, single-spaced, 1inch/2.54 cm margins. The statement should outline the following points related to your interest in the field of planning: 

• What academic, professional and personal experiences have motivated you to pursue planning; 
• What experience has prepared you for a graduate degree in planning; 
• What are the planning issues, areas and questions you would like to explore more in the planning program and why; 
• Why you have chosen SCARP to pursue a planning degree and how SCARP fits your long-term professional goals. Please indicate faculty members with whom you are interested in working.

(Whereas in the Statement of Interest described above, you are asked to outline your academic and professional objectives, as well as your motivations for applying for a graduate planning program),

In the Personal History Statement (maximum 300 words), you are asked to narrate how your identities and life experiences have shaped your interests, strengths, values and futures goals. 

The Personal History Statement offers the opportunity to share your personal, educational, cultural, economic, and social experiences—including challenges, obstacles, unique identities, and strengths—that have shaped who you are, informed what you believe in, and enabled your personal growth. The document must be about half a page maximum with 11pt font, single-spaced, 1inch/2.54 cm margins. The Personal History Statement should not recreate your resume or your Statement of Interest. It should offer your reflective narrative about your journey and formative experiences that have inspired you to pursue planning.  

You can develop your statement using some of the following prompts:  

• What barriers to academic achievement have you faced in higher education, and how has the experience of overcoming these barriers shaped your personal growth, strength and perseverance?  
• How have you come to understand systemic barriers to equity in planning — such as issues of poverty, structural racism, gender inequality and other forms of oppression — and what action, if any, have you taken to contribute to redressing them? 
• Have you been involved with or undertaken initiatives in the service of equity, social justice, and reconciliation? If so, how does such experience relate to your motivation for planning? It can be a research project, a volunteer experience, or professional work. 
• Through your leadership experience, how have you contributed to advancing the experience, voice and strength of historically marginalized communities and underrepresented groups in planning?  
• What other experiences (e.g. community engagement, activism, creative artistic practices, professional work) demonstrate your ability to bring together and collaborate across different communities?  

You can also discuss other information you feel would be important to the Admissions Committee in assessing your application. If there are some aspects of your application that do not necessarily reflect your potential, then you can discuss, through your work and life experiences, your readiness to undertake graduate study. 

Upload your resume detailing:  

• Educational background 
• Work and/or volunteer experience 
• Publications (if any) 
• Any academic or professional awards earned 
• Any travel experience.  

• Applicants are required to scan and upload digital copies of all official transcripts, including transcripts for study abroad semesters, non-degree studies, or credential programs.   
• Please ensure that the uploaded documents are official transcripts and include a transcript key. (Transcript keys are often printed on the reverse sides of official transcripts.)   
• Grade reports, marking sheets, and transcripts marked “unofficial” are not acceptable and will not be considered for review.   
• Degree certificates are required only if the degree conferral is not listed on the transcript.   
• Transcripts in a language other than English or French must be accompanied by certified translations. If applicable, transcripts that do not have an indication of the date the degree was conferred must be accompanied by a degree certificate (and translation, if appropriate).  
• Uploaded transcripts should be in PDF format, with each transcript complied as one PDF document. Include only one copy of the transcript key. Any additional or extraneous documents will be excluded from the final application file.  

Please note that applicants are not required to send hardcopies of official transcripts to the School of Community and Regional Planning office at the time of application.  

For more information, please visit the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies sections on Canadian Official Transcripts or International Official Transcripts.  

Reference timeline 

References are submitted separately by your referees. They can only be submitted after the rest of your application is officially submitted. However, references have the same deadline: January 5. Because of this, you are strongly advised to submit your application well in advance of the application deadline, to avoid too narrow a window for your referees to complete your application. 

Requirements 

Exactly two references are required for you to apply. Additional references will not be considered as part of your final application file.  

References should be from individuals who can assess your academic or professional qualifications and your communication skills. In most cases, at least one reference should be academic. If you have been away from school for several years, all references may be from non-academics who are capable of assessing your professional and, if possible, your potential academic performance.  

*For Indigenous applicants, one of those reference letters can be a letter from their Community/Nation.   

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their references submit documentation by the deadlines specified. Contact references in advance of submitting an application to ensure they have adequate time to provide a letter. Reference letters may be addressed to the "MCRP Admissions Committee".   

Reference format 

There are three possible formats for references: electronic references, paper letters of reference, and paper reference forms. SCARP strongly prefers that references utilise the electronic reference system in the online application to submit a letter of reference.  

Letters should be in PDF format, on letterhead, with signature. For more information, please visit the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies section on Letters of Reference. Remember that an online application must be submitted before referees receive a request to provide a reference.  

Please note that the system is unable to accept e-mails from Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, MSN or other free e-mail accounts for referees. Letters should be in PDF format, on letterhead, with signature.  

If using the electronic reference is not possible, please send paper letters of reference and reference forms to:   

School of Community and Regional Planning  
Faculty of Applied Science  
The University of British Columbia - Vancouver Campus    
433 - 6333 Memorial Road  
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z2  

For more information, please visit the UBC Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies section on Letters of Reference.