Masters admission process in North America i.e. (US/Canada)

Step by Step guide towards your Masters Admission

Step 1: First and foremost, you have to give an IELTS/TOEFL exam which is required by almost every university. I say almost because some university exempt it for specific universities in Pakistan. After that, you have to give GRE, in case its required by where you’re applying. In Canada, only some universities require GRE, but in US its the opposite.

Step 2: You can either apply directly at university’s website or else you can contact a professor first. Some universities require you to contact a professor first, they mention this directly on their website, but most of them don’t.

Applying directly means you’ll be evaluated in a large pool of candidates all on your academic credentials. But applying with a professor’s support means that this professor who has agreed to supervise your Masters will support your application during admission process.

A lot of brilliant students apply without professors consent i.e. they apply all by their own because they don’t want to get tied up with a professor just from the beginning of their masters. They get admission explore different su jects and then choose a prof.

Note: This guide is for Thesis based masters as for Course based masters, a professor’s consent is not required at all.

Step 3: References matter. In Pakistan, we are sometimes careless about references, but references matter a lot in your application abroad. Make sure you get good academic references.

That’s pretty much it. The Masters admission process is way simpler than a Ph.D. Best of luck!

Expenses conditions :-

First thing to understand is that there are top ranked universities, middle tier and then low ranked institutes. Almost all, i.e. around 99% top and middle ranked universities offer funded Masters position. While low ranked offer self-funded opportunities.

In funded opportunities, the admission is obviously tough, but if admitted, you don’t need a bank statement for visa at all.

In self-funded admission, you have to show expenses of one year ( tuition + living ). That is mostly around 40 to 60 lac Pakistani Rupees.

Funded position means that normally you get the opportunity to TA or RA under a professor in the compensation of which you get a lumpsum amount from which you can pay off your tuition+living costs. In some universities, funding is less, so you might have to do a part-time job. Check each university’s specific department’s graduate funding page for details.

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