Prospective Graduate Students

If you are interested in working with me at the University of Calgary, please send me your CV and academic transcripts (email listed on my university profile) and describe why you want to work with me.
January 15 is when we start reviewing applications for Fall admission. International applicants should apply before January 15. After January 15, Canadian applicants will be given priority consideration.

Admission requirements for Computer Science Ph.D.:

• You should have completed a master's degree before you start Ph.D. (Exceptions can be made for candidates with research experience.)
• Your last two years' courses must have a minimum 3.3 GPA (out of 4), equivalent to B+, which is 16.5 out of 20, or 82.5%.
• GRE is not required.
• For international applicants whose primary language is not English, you must have either 97 on TOEFL ibt or 7.0 on IELTS. This does not apply if you have a degree in a English-language university.
• For my group, successful applicants should have published at least one research paper, related to either virtual reality, gaming, reinforcement learning, or HCI.

Admission requirements for Computer Science Master's:

• Your undergraduate degree should be in computer science or a related field. Other students may be considered if you have taken the courses listed below:
  • Theory of Computation (including NP-Completeness);
  • Systems (OS, Compilers, Distributed Systems, or Networking);
  • Application (Game, AI, HCI, or Graphics);
  • Software Engineering/Architecture
• Your last two years' courses must have a minimum 3.3 GPA (out of 4), which is 16.5 out of 20, or 82.5%.
• GRE is not required.
• For international applicants whose primary language is not English, you must have either 97 on TOEFL ibt or 7.0 on IELTS.
• For my group, successful applicants should have strong teamwork skills, strong programming skills, and knowledge of games or VR (immersive technologies).

We have a guaranteed minimum funding package for our thesis-based M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. We also have funding to support students to attend academic conferences. Our graduate students receive health, dental, and vision insurance. Other benefits include maternity leave, partner leave, etc.

We recognize the importance of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and we promote EDI in research and in the professional development of the students in my research group.

We also offer transdisciplinary Computational Media Design degrees, M.Sc. and Ph.D.:

• CMD is great for students who like both coding and arts/design. Your undergraduate degree does not need to be in computer science.

Prospective students, I would be happy to answer your questions regarding my Serious Games Research Group. Due to the volume of emails I receive, I may not be able to respond to all applicants.

Finally, here are some notes and advice for prospective graduate students.