Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy is a collaboration between the University of Regina and University of Saskatchewan. To share information between the two universities, please complete and upload the student waiver form.

Upload unofficial transcripts for all post-secondary education, that is, from each accredited institution you’ve attended where you’ve received at least one grade for one course for academic credit. If you are registered in such a course presently, upload a transcript even without the course completed.

Do NOT upload University of Regina transcripts. FGSR staff will access these internally.

JSGS will evaluate applications based on unofficial documents. JSGS only requires official documents after an acceptance letter is issued.

International applicants may need to submit proof of English proficiency in the form of a recognized test. Search for your post-secondary institution on the WHED database. If this database clearly indicates solely English as language of instruction, this will suffice as proof of English proficiency.

The University of Regina’s online application form includes a personal statement section where applicants are asked to answer the following four questions:

1. Please describe your specific area of academic interest, and explain what motivated you to choose this area.
2. Describe how your past education, professional and other experiences have prepared you to be successful in this graduate program.
3. Describe what you hope to achieve in this graduate program.
4. Describe why this particular graduate program at the University of Regina may help you fulfill your long-term aspirations/objectives.

As you answer these questions, please keep in mind the Admissions Committee is assessing your ability to write in a clear, coherent and professional manner. You should make every effort to ensure your personal statement is free of spelling and grammatical errors, is properly referenced (if applicable), and is concise. Please limit your response to each of the questions to no more than 200 words.

The PhD is a research degree and is the highest degree awarded in Public Policy. It denotes an advanced level of competence in scholarly research and communication. Your personal statement offers you the opportunity to describe to the Admissions Committee your interests and to clearly detail your background and preparation, the ideas and methods that you bring to public policy, and to indicate the particular areas of public policy that interest you. In your responses to the application questions listed above, please make sure to address the following points: describe your research background, including any relevant scholarly and practical experience; identify one or more general areas within public policy in which you would like to do research; provide examples of specific topics, and any particular theories, ideas or methods you are interested in exploring, and describe how your research interests fit within one of our School’s concentration areas (governance, social policy and inequality, health, innovation, science and technology).

You will also be asked to provide a research statement as part of your application to the PhD program. The research statement should have a well-defined problem statement, a review of the appropriate literature, and an initial methodology. While you will not be held to the research program that you outline, the document will demonstrate your ability to define a topic, apply theoretical concepts to it, cite existing key literature, and propose ways to create new scholarly knowledge on that topic. This statement is an opportunity to show your personality, critical thinking ability, and interest in public policy research. It will also assist the Admissions Committee in determining whether there is a match among the faculty to supervise you in one of your proposed areas of research. Please limit the statement to no more than 1,500 words.

The University of Regina requires three letters of recommendation. Please choose academic and/or professional people who can comment on your ability to succeed in the program. Applicants can supply name and contact information in the online application portal.

• Once you have submitted your application for admission and paid the application fee, you will be required to upload unofficial PDF copies of your academic transcript(s) from each post-secondary institution attended. This requirement will appear as a Preliminary Statement of Marks or Additional Preliminary Statement under admission requirements on your Application Summary when you check your application status.
• The uploaded transcript can be an unofficial copy of the transcript issued by the university or college and must include a grading key/legend.
• All pages of a transcript must be uploaded as a single PDF document.
• Uploaded transcripts will be considered unofficial or preliminary. Official copies of your transcripts will only be required once you have been offered admission. This requirement will appear as Post-secondary Transcript under admission requirements on your Application Summary when you check your application status.

Uploading documents

Post-secondary Transcripts

If you receive an offer of admission, you will then be required to have your official post-secondary transcripts sent (by mail in a sealed envelope directly from the institution) to the address below. Please do not send official documents until we request them.

College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Room 116 Thorvaldson Building, 110 Science Place 
Saskatoon, SK CANADA S7N 5C9

• Transcripts usually indicate the institution’s name, grading scheme (typically on the back of the transcript), your name, course names, numbers, credits, and the grades you have received. Depending on the country or institution, some features may not be available.
• Transcripts in languages other than English must be accompanied by a certified translation.
• If you are a current University of Saskatchewan student completing your undergraduate program then a letter of completion of degree requirements will be required from your college.

When applying to the University of Saskatchewan campus, you will need to submit three letters of reference. Two of these referees must be academic, and one must be professional.

As an applicant, you are responsible for sending the reference letter links and updating the referee’s contact information. Through your application profile, you can update your referees, change your referee contact information, and send/re-send the link for the letter of reference.

For students who are required to provide proof of English proficiency:

• It is your responsibility to have completed an official and approved test with the appropriate score before the application deadline.
• Tests are valid for 24 months after the testing date and must be valid at the beginning of the student's first term of registration in the graduate program.
• Applicants will be required to upload a PDF copy of any required language test score. Uploaded test scores will be considered unofficial or preliminary.

If you receive an Offer of Admission you may be required to have your official language test scores sent to the address below. Please do not send official documents until we request them.

College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Room 116 Thorvaldson Building - 110 Science Place
Saskatoon, SK CANADA S7N 5C9

• Why do you want to pursue a PhD focusing on public policy?
• Research background and preparation on policy-related research, including scholarly and practical experience.
• One or more general areas within public policy in which you would like to do research, and some examples of specific topics you consider interesting and researchable within these areas.
• Theories, ideas and methods that you want to use or explore.
• An example that demonstrates your ability to define a topic, apply theoretical concepts to it, cite existing key literature, and propose ways to create new scholarly knowledge on that topic. This example might relate to one of the sample topics you identify in (3) above.
• How your research interest fits one of our areas of research priority (governance, social policy and inequality, health, innovation, science and technology)?
• Have you approached any of the faculty at the school? If so, please name them.

Your statement should be around 1,500 words or 5-6 pages in total length. You do NOT need to have a well-developed research proposal. However, the committee does like to see that you can clearly articulate your interests and ideas. This letter is an opportunity to show your personality, critical thinking ability, and interest in public policy research. Please say something original and distinctive that sets you apart from other applicants. Most importantly, your letter will help the admissions committee to find a match among the faculty to supervise you in one of your proposed areas of research.

For questions regarding the PhD in Public Policy:

Graduate Administrator | Email: jsgs@usask.ca

Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy
Diefenbaker Building
101 Diefenbaker Place
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B8