Overview

The Masters programs develop an awareness of current thought and practice in TESL education. The MA program has a research emphasis and includes a thesis. TESL graduate students gain experience and understanding in such areas as: current issues in TESL theory and practice, second language acquisition, second language reading and writing, language socialization, language and identity, second language assessment, discourse analysis, critical applied linguistics, and research methods.

What makes the program unique?

The program faculty have expertise in TESL methods, applied linguistics, critical applied linguistics, discourse analysis, intercultural communication, second language acquisition and socialization, content-based language education, pedagogical and functional grammar, second language reading and writing, issues of language and identity, language in education, multilingual literacies, language policy, and English in immigrant and international communities.

MA program in the department can be pursued either full time or part time.

 

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Program Enquiries

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Admission Information & Requirements

Program Instructions

Assessments for M.A. applicants are based on:

undergraduate credits (3rd and 4th level coursework) prescribed by the Department as a prerequisite to the program.

minimum GPA of 76% average

In cases where applicants have also completed graduate-level coursework toward a master’s or doctoral level program, or as an unclassified student, this coursework is assessed separately.

A considerably higher standing may be required because of competitive demand.

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement: 92

Reading

22

Writing

22

Speaking

22

Listening

22

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement: 7.0

Reading

6.5

Writing

6.5

Speaking

6.5

Listening

6.5

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is not required.

Prior degree, course and other requirements

Prior Degree Requirements

An approved Bachelor’s degree and, for K-12 teachers, one year of teacher education;* OR

a 5-year Bachelor’s degree in Education; OR

a 4-year Bachelor’s degree in Education or other appropriate area provided the applicant has completed all the necessary prerequisites listed below.

Holders of 3-year Canadian degrees require a fourth or honours year.

Note: Students applying for MA in TESL are not required to have one year of teacher education, although two years of formal teaching experience is required.

Students applying for MA in TESL normally have earned a degree in English, English language education, linguistics, or related areas, or have had coursework in these areas. Two years of formal teaching experience is preferred.

 

Document Requirements
  1. - Bachelor’s degree in relevant Educational discipline or other appropriate area with high standing,

    - Sample of work demonstrating an ability to undertake research and scholarly writing (max. 30 pages).

    - CV or resume outlining work experience and academic background

    - Well-written 500 word (maximum) Statement of Intent to describe your proposed research.  Be sure to indicate how your previous education and professional experience have prepared you to undertake your research, and note which people in the department have expertise in your intended area of study. State any work you have done in this area already (mention specific skills/techniques you have picked up).   

    - Three letters of recommendation; at least one reference letter must be an academic reference by a university instructor

    - Scanned copies all official transcripts (including a key to transcript grades and symbols) and degree certificates from all post-secondary institutions attended outside UBC.

Other Requirements

At least two years of successful teaching experience or equivalent.

Applicants who received a degree from a North American university are not required to submit their English test scores. Similarly, applicants who completed their degree outside North America from an institution in which English was the primary language of instruction of the entire university (not just a program) are not required to provide English test scores as part of their application.

Please note that we can only accept your English test scores if the test has been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of the application. An official test score report ordered from the testing agency has to be sent to UBC. Acceptable English language proficiency tests for applicants to UBC Grad School are:

TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language, minimum score 580 (paper-based) or 237 (computer based), or new minimum TOEFL score of 92 (with a minimum of 22 for each component).

or

MELAB – Michigan English Language Assessment Battery. Minimum overall score 85.

or

IELTS – International English Language Testing System – Academic. Minimum overall band score 7, with no component less than 6.5.

2) Meet Deadlines

September 2025 Intake

Application Open Date
05 August 2024
Canadian Applicants
Application Deadline: 01 December 2024
Transcript Deadline: 06 December 2024
Referee Deadline: 15 December 2024
International Applicants
Application Deadline: 01 December 2024
Transcript Deadline: 06 December 2024
Referee Deadline: 15 December 2024

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest, sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language (MA)
Applicants should browse faculty profiles and indicate in their application who they are interested in working with. However, it is not necessary for applicants to contact faculty members prior to their application.

There is no need to find a supervisor prior to applying for the program. If you are successful in the application process, you will be assigned a pro-tem supervisor whose research is closest to your area of interest. However, if you are interested in working with a particular faculty member, you can indicate it in your statement of interest or in the application form.

Citizenship Verification

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

4) Apply Online

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.

Research Information

Research Highlights

TESL methods

Applied linguistics

Critical applied linguistics

Second language acquisition and socialization

Content-based language education

Pedagogical and functional grammar

Second language writing

Issues of language and identity

Language in education

Multilingual literacies

Language policy

English in immigrant and international communities

Research Focus

TESL methods

Applied linguistics

Second language acquisition and socialization

Content-based language education

Pedagogical and functional grammar

Second language writing

Issues of language and identity

Language in education

Multilingual literacies

Language policy

English in immigrant and international communities

Program Components

The TESL MA program requires 30 credits. A minimum of 24 credits must be in graduate-level courses (including 9 credits for the required MA Thesis competed as part of LLED 599). A maximum of 6 credits at the undergraduate level in courses numbered 300 to 499 (e.g., TESL Certificate Courses) may be counted toward the requirements of an MA degree. All master’s students in LLED must take EDUC 500 as a basic research methods requirement.

Geographic Restrictions

The TESL/TEFL program accepts well-qualified students from around the globe into a richly international and multicultural academic community.

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

FeesCanadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / DiplomatInternational
Application Fee$116.25$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year33
Tuition per installment$2,628.52$5,407.74
Tuition per year
(plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)
$7,885.56$16,223.22
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible) $1,500.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)$1,116.60 (approx.)
Costs of livingEstimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.
* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

Students may be funded with up to $3000 in the first year based on the budget of the department.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union.

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Options

Integrating research and practice, our TESL programs offer professional development to teachers of ESL and prepare researchers and leaders in this field.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language (MA). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

ENROLMENT DATA

 20232022202120202019
Applications12719714
Offers20113
New Registrations10111
Total Enrolment21598

Completion Rates & Times

This program has a graduation rate of 100% based on 8 students admitted between 2015 - 2018. Based on 9 graduations between 2020 - 2023 the minimum time to completion is 1.59 years and the maximum time is 5.12 years with an average of 2.83 years of study. All calculations exclude leave times.
Disclaimer
Admissions data refer to all UBC Vancouver applications, offers, new registrants for each registration year, May to April, e.g. data for 2022 refers to programs starting in 2022 Summer and 2022 Winter session, i.e. May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Data on total enrolment reflects enrolment in Winter Session Term 1 and are based on snapshots taken on November 1 of each registration year. Program completion data are only provided for datasets comprised of more than 4 individuals. Graduation rates exclude students who transfer out of their programs. Rates and times of completion depend on a number of variables (e.g. curriculum requirements, student funding), some of which may have changed in recent years for some programs.

Research Supervisors

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language (MA)
Applicants should browse faculty profiles and indicate in their application who they are interested in working with. However, it is not necessary for applicants to contact faculty members prior to their application.

There is no need to find a supervisor prior to applying for the program. If you are successful in the application process, you will be assigned a pro-tem supervisor whose research is closest to your area of interest. However, if you are interested in working with a particular faculty member, you can indicate it in your statement of interest or in the application form.

 
 

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

  • Ahmed, Anwar (Languages and literature)
  • Duff, Patricia (applied linguistics and sociolinguistics, multilingualism and work, sociocultural and sociopolitical aspects of languages in education, Adolescent issues, adult education issues, English and French as second languages, international perspecives)
  • Early, Margaret (Adolescent issues, English as a second Language, language education, literacy, teacher research)
  • Gunderson, Lee Paul (Languages and literature; reading-research; immigrant-achievement; home literacy environment)
  • Kubota, Ryuko (Specialized studies in education; critical applied linguistics; culture and language; Language Rights and Policies; language education; language ideologies; multicultural education; race and language teaching)
  • Li, Guofang (longitudinal studies of immigrant children)
  • Norton, Bonny (education, ESL, international perspectives, literacy, teacher research)
  • Talmy, Steven (ESL, TESOL, LOTE and sign language curriculum, pedagogy and didactics; teacher education)
  • Wernicke, Meike (Specialized studies in education; Intercultural Education; Language Planning and Policy; Multi-/Plurilingualism; Second Language Education (French); teacher education)
  • Zappa, Sandra (academic discourse socialization of (international) English language learners in higher education, examining the literacy socialization trajectories and the role their individual networks of practice (INoPs, a concept I coined) in becoming aware of the host culture values and expectations; projects examining the intercultural competence development of foreign language teachers studying abroad; foreign language-learning through peer exchange programs; academic English coaching for university-level English language learners; collaboration between language and subject specialists; and student perceptions of academic English language development in CBI courses.)

Further Information

Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) examines the social, linguistic, educational, cognitive, cultural and political processes affecting the teaching, learning, assessment, and use of English as an additional language locally and globally. The program faculty have expertise in TESL methods, applied linguistics, second language acquisition and socialization, content-based language education, pedagogical and functional grammar, second language writing, issues of language and identity, language in education, multilingual literacies, language policy, and English in immigrant and international communities

Faculty Overview

Program Identifier

VGMMAA-XP
 

Apply Now

If you don't have a UBC Campus-Wide Login (CWL) please create an account first.
 

September 2025 Intake

Application Open Date
05 August 2024
Canadian Applicant Deadline
01 December 2024
International Applicant Deadline
01 December 2024
 
Supervisor Search
 

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form.

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