Two-Year Community-Based Bachelor of Education After-Degree

To gain admission to the After-Degree, all applicants must present:

• A degree with a least 90 units (30 semester-long courses) from an accredited post-secondary recognized by the University of Calgary
• The competitive entrance GPA for their desired teachable
• A course in English or French Literature
• The course requirements stated for your desired teachable subject area

Geographic Eligibility

Preference for admission is given to students in rural and remote areas of Alberta. Students across Alberta, the Territories, and in rural and remote British Columbia may also be considered.

Competitive Entrance Grades

Admission to the program is competitive, and with admitting grades varying between teachable subject areas. Competitive GPA is taken from your 10 most recent university-transferable courses. Because admitting GPAs vary from year to year with different applicant pools, students are encouraged to check out Admissions' Explore pages for more information on average ranges.

Applicants with graduate degrees should be aware that your entrance GPA will be calculated based on your 10 most recent, graded courses. These can be taken across degrees, chronologically back.

English or French Literature Requirement

Applicants must present an English or French Literature course for the purposes of admission. Unfortunately, language, technical writing, creative writing, composition, or communications courses do not meet this requirement. If you are unsure whether a class you took meets this criteria, please connect with us via upe@ucalgary.ca. At minimum, we would want to see the full course title and a description; a detailed course outline is even better (and, for the purposes of admission, may even be necessary). Please note that course outlines must be for the year in which you completed the course, as changes may mean that a newer outline is irrelevant. For course ideas, visit our page on acceptable literature courses offered at the University of Calgary.

Mount Royal University applicants should be aware that, unfortunately, the GNED courses do not meet the Literature requirement.

In Progress Admission Requirements

Courses being taken for the purposes of admission should be apparent when you submit your application, as it will be evaluated 'as is' when received. As such, if you have not registered in a course when you initially submit your transcripts, you may be denied admission on the basis of lacking a requirement.

Outlines and Back-Up Options

Course outlines may be necessary for the application process, particularly if a class’ content is not made clear by the title – for example, a course labelled ‘English’ alone may refer to a course in which you learned the language, gained basic writing skills, or analyzed literature. In order to ensure that the course included sufficient literary content, a course outline must be provided. Said outline must be received by Admissions' document deadline.

We highly advise that you select a first and second choice Teachable Subject Area upon application. If not deemed admissible to your first choice, you will then be evaluated for your second choice. You are able to pick both an elementary and a secondary route area upon application; a first and second choice do not have to be in the same route.

Police Information Check

A current, clear Police Information Check, with a Vulnerable Sector Check, is required of all Bachelor of Education students for the field experience component of the program. Students who are unable to present a current and clear check will not be placed in their field experience courses – a graduating requirement of the degree – and be asked to leave the program.

Check out our Police Information Checks page for more details.

Routes and Teachables

When applying, you will need to select a route and a teachable subject area. Each route and teachable has differing admission requirements: find out what options you have, below, and then check out the associated admission requirements (note: not all listed teachables via the Calendar are available in the Community-Based pathway - please ensure to refer to the options below). Elementary route areas focus on grades kindergarten through six, and secondary on grades seven through twelve. Visit our Teachable Subject Areas page for more details!

French teachable subject area applicants are required to demonstrate language proficiency in an interview. French Proficiency interviews are held via Zoom. As applications are processed, students who meet all other admitting requirements will be emailed with interview details. 

The interview is comprised of two parts: an oral conversational interview, which lasts approximately 20 minutes, and a written assessment. Please note that we do not accept, nor require, any other French language test, program, or fluency attestation in lieu of this requirement. 

Fall 2022 interviews will be held on the following dates:

December 5th, 8th, 15th, and 16th

Winter 2023 dates will be posted closer to January.

Please note that applicants may not complete the interview prior to application assessment. 

The following information is for students applying with education completed outside of North America, regardless of whether the student is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or an offshore applicant.

When students with international credentials apply, their transcripts are first assessed by our central Admissions office to ensure that they present a recognized, accredited degree that is equivalent to the number of units/hours studied in a University of Calgary degree. Please note that this evaluation is not done until a formal application has been submitted, due to the volume of applications and inquiries that Admissions receives.

Assuming the applicant's prior coursework meets the minimum required standard (in this case, the degree must present 90 transferable units, or, 30 semester-long courses), their file would then be assessed for coursework requirements, and competitive admitting grade point average (GPA).

Applicants should thoroughly review the admission requirements detailed in the associated tab, above. Please note that the literature requirement is not the same as meeting English Language Proficiency. All applicants must present the course in literature (English or French); students presenting degrees completed in countries where English is not the primary language must present both the literature requirement, as well as prove English Language Proficiency.

For more information on converting your grades to the University of Calgary’s 4.0 GPA scale, please visit this information hosted by the Faculty of Graduate Studies (although the Bachelor of Education After-Degree is an undergraduate degree, not a graduate degree, the grade conversion information below is useful for applicants to self-gauge their approximate GPA). Applicants to the University's graduate programs must present at least a 3.0 GPA, but students should be aware of the fluctuating competitive GPAs that vary across teachable subject areas. Applicants may also want to chat to Admissions regarding the grade-conversion process.