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Note Your Level

This page is for applicants to the Master of Architecture program (the final two years of the professional program). Before proceeding, please note your current level:

1. If you have a pre-professional architecture degree that is fully equivalent to AV¾ãÀÖ²¿'s BEDS degree, please follow the steps below. If you are not certain that this applies to your degree, contact the Architecture office, arch.office@dal.ca.
2. If you already have a AV¾ãÀÖ²¿ BEDS degree, please follow the steps below and contact the Architecture office (grad.arch@dal.ca) for additional instructions.
3. Most graduates of a pre-professional architecture program (BA-Arch, BAS, BArchSci, etc.) should refer to the instructions for transfer architecture students.
4. Students who have not yet studied architecture should submit an undergraduate application to the BEDS program.
5. Students from outside Canada who are thinking of applying to the MArch program: Please fill in an questionnaire and send it to arch.office@dal.ca. This will help us determine if you are eligible to apply.

Steps to Follow

These steps are only for applicants in sections 1 and 2 above.

1. Go to the
• Term: 2026 Summer
• Type: Master's degree
• Faculty: Faculty of Architecture and Planning
• Select Architecture (MArch)

2. The application pages will guide you through the steps and indicate where to submit the application fee. 

3. Along the way, you'll need to specify:
• Program Details: Full-time
• Do you have a professional architecture degree that qualifies you to practice in your home country? If your answer is no, continue with your application. If your answer is yes, you should not continue with your application, as the School of Architecture does not offer a post-professional architecture program.

Items to Submit

Please upload the following items to the admission portal. For each item, indicate your surname at the start of the file name. A complete set of files might be named, for example,
• carney-reference-biden.pdf
• carney-reference-harris.pdf
• carney-transcript-toronto.pdf
• carney-transcript-mcgill.pdf
• carney-statement.pdf
• carney-portfolio.pdf
• carney-resume.pdf
• carney-english.pdf

a) Official academic transcript from each post-secondary institution you have attended
Print or digital transcripts are acceptable. You can also order a digital transcript from . A transcript in a language other than English or French must be accompanied by a certified translation into English. Independent test scores (e.g., SAT, GRE) are not required.

b) Statement of intent
This letter to the Admissions Committee (1–2 pages) should describe the general subject area that you wish to emphasize in the MArch program (e.g., housing, urban design, history/theory, building technology, environmental systems), and your previous experience in this area. The statement also should mention your anticipated thesis topic and eventual career aspirations.

c) Digital portfolio of architectural design work
The portfolio should include advanced architectural design work. Additional design work (drawings, furniture, construction projects, etc.) also may be included. Items should be submitted in a single PDF, max. 20 MB, with your name on the first page. For any collaborative projects, include a list of the team members and a description of your role. In the PDF, please do not include animations or links to external files or websites. To keep the PDF file size small, please adjust the resolution of your images first. Do not include your statement of intent, resumé, or reference letters in the portfolio; they must be submitted as separate PDFs.

d) Resumé
1–2 pages

e) Two letters of reference
At least one letter should be from an academic instructor. If your referees have a university, government, or teaching hospital e-mail address, they can use AV¾ãÀÖ²¿'s electronic reference system. (See the link in the online application.) If not, they may download a or prepare their own letter.

f) Evidence of English language competency (if required)
If your first language is not English, an official test result must be submitted. Please refer to the the English Language Proficiency page.
For MArch admission, the minimum is IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL 92 iBT (in-person or online). Other acceptable scores are TOEFL 580 PBT, MELAB 85, CanTest 4.5 (with no band score lower than 4.0), CAEL 70 (in-person or online, with no band score lower than 60), and Pearson English Test PTE Academic 65 (with no score below 54). Completing AV¾ãÀÖ²¿'s English Language Studies Department EAP Level 2 course with a grade of A– or higher is also acceptable. A Duolingo test is not acceptable. A certificate from a language college also is not acceptable. If you have completed a degree at an English-language university, this requirement may be waived.

Application Deadline

For MArch applications from Canada and the United States, all items must be received by February 1. For applications from other countries, all items must be received by December 1. The MArch program begins in early May.

Confirming that Items have been Received

To confirm that all of your items have been received by the Registrar's Office, please check the AV¾ãÀÖ²¿ .