Midwifery, M.Sc.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the School of Graduate Studies requirements, candidates for admission to the Master of Science in Midwifery program will have:

Two years of full time (or equivalent) clinical experience as a practising midwife, and
A four-year undergraduate degree in midwifery (or the international equivalent) from an accredited university with a B+ average (minimum 77%, equivalent to a McMaster 8.5 grade point average) in the final two years of undergraduate study.

Applicants without an undergraduate degree in midwifery will be considered for admission if they have qualified for registration as a midwife in a Canadian jurisdiction and have at least two years of clinical experience as a practising midwife. The two years of clinical experience as a practising midwife do not have to have occurred within Canada.

Additional requirements include:

Official transcript of all academic work completed to date at all post-secondary institutions attended sent directly from the issuing institution(s).
Two academic references.
One professional reference.
Curriculum Vitae or Resume, which includes work and educational experiences.
A personal statement that describes how the applicant’s personal experiences have prepared them for the program and identifies their interest and motivation for completing the program by answering the following questions:
- Briefly outline your professional qualifications, clinical midwifery experience, and reasons for applying for graduate studies at this point in your career.
- What are your long-term career goals, and how do you see graduate education contributing to meeting them?
- Briefly describe a midwifery issue of interest to you and which you would like to focus your research or scholarly activities around during your master’s degree.
- Describe your reasons for deciding to pursue your graduate midwifery education at McMaster University. Comment on the fit between the program’s courses and your academic goals. If you are applying to the thesis-based program stream, comment on the fit between the McMaster Midwifery Research Centre and potential supervisors and your academic goals.
- Outline the personal attributes (e.g., communication skills, innovativeness, organization, etc.) you possess and how they will contribute to your overall success in graduate school.
English language proficiency:Applicants whose primary language is not English will be required to provide proof of language proficiency. Minimum acceptable test scores include:
- A TOEFL (iBT) score of 92 overall with a minimum of 22 for reading, 24 for speaking, 24 for listening, and 22 for writing, or
- An overall IELTS score of 7.0.
Thesis-based program stream applicants must also submit an academic writing sample.

Admission is competitive and meeting the minimum standards does not guarantee admission to the program.

To apply and pay the application fee online, consult the Graduate Studies website at https://gs.mcmaster.ca/how-to-apply/

Program Requirements

The general regulations for Master’s degrees may be found at the beginning of this Calendar. Minimum requirements for candidates of the Master of Science in Midwifery program are outlined below.

Course-based program stream students must complete, with at least a B- standing:

The program’s five required courses (MIDWIF 700, MIDWIF 701, MIDWIF 702, MIDWIF 703, MIDWIF 704),
12.0 units of elective courses selected from the Midwifery Elective Course List, and
A capstone portfolio.

Thesis-based program stream students must complete, with at least a B- standing:

The program’s five required courses (MIDWIF 700, MIDWIF 701, MIDWIF 702, MIDWIF 703, MIDWIF 704),
6.0 units of elective courses selected from the Midwifery Elective Course List. Of which, at least 3.0 units of electives must come from a research methods course (unless exempted based on previous academic course work), and
A thesis.

Required Online Modules

All students in the Master of Science in Midwifery Program must complete the following non-credit online modules:

SGS 101 Academic Research Integrity and Ethics,
SGS 201 Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), and
Indigenous Health Online Modules.

Students who have not previously completed a course on critical appraisal of research will be required to successfully complete the following non-credit online modules:

National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools’ online modules: Introduction to Evidence-Informed Decision Making, Quantitative Research Design 101, Searching for Research Evidence in Public Health, Critical Appraisal of Intervention Studies, Critical Appraisal of Systematic Reviews, Critical Appraisal of Guidelines, Critical Appraisal of Qualitative Studies, Assessing the Applicability and Transferability of the Evidence.

Anticipated Completion Time

The anticipated completion time of the Master of Science in Midwifery program requirements is 2 years for full-time students and 3 years for part-time students. The course-based program stream is available as a part-time or full-time program, and the thesis-based program stream is only available as a full-time program.