Students will normally be expected to hold a Master's degree from an accredited post-secondary institution. In exceptional cases, individuals with significant and relevant life experience may be admitted on probation. Normally, applicants must hold a cumulative GPA of 3.33 (B+) from the Baccalaureate and Master's degree, to be calculated over the last 30 credit hours of graded academic work. Acceptance to the PhD program will be contingent upon the prospective student finding a member of the faculty to serve as their advisor.

In addition to a completed UNBC Graduate Application Form, applicants must provide official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended, a statement of intent indicating the student's research interests, possible future career aspirations, and perceived fit within the Faculty mandate and research directions, a recent Curriculum Vitae, three letters of reference (including two from faculty members familiar with the prospective student's academic work), a completed Teaching Assistantship Application, a completed Funding Worksheet, and a sample of written academic work. GRE scores are optional. Only students with high GPAs and innovative research interests are likely to be successful in their applications.
Scanned copies of transcripts for all post-secondary institutions attended (unofficial transcripts).
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 90 or higher in the internet-based test, with not less than 20 in any of the Reading, Listening, Writing or Speaking components, or equivalent other TOEFL score.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Academic score of at least 6.5 overall, with not less than 6.0 in any of the four modules.
MELAB (Michigan English Language Assessment Battery): 85 final score, with 3 in the speaking test.
Duolingo: score of 105 (115 for the MEng program).