The Midwifery Graduate Program has been designed to provide midwives from Canada and abroad with the leadership, scholarship, and clinical knowledge and skills needed to advance their contributions as midwives, drive positive change and strengthen the midwifery profession.

As such, to be eligible for the Program, applicants must:

1. Have at least two years of full-time experience working as a midwife. An equivalent amount of part-time experience will also be accepted. Time spent as a student can not be used towards this requirement.

AND

2. Be able to communicate effectively in English.

AND, either:

3A. Have a four-year undergraduate honours degree (or its international equivalent) in midwifery.

OR, if the applicant does not have an undergraduate degree in midwifery, they must:

3B. Be registered as a midwife in a Canadian jurisdiction, with at least two years of experience working as a midwife in Canada.

Applicants should be aware that meeting the minimum admissions requirements will not guarantee admission as limited space is available, and the admission process is expected to be competitive.

More information is on the general regulations relating to applying to a graduate program at McMaster University can be found on the School of Graduate Studies Academic Calendar.

Our Program is specifically designed for midwives. Applicants with training and experience in other fields, such as nursing, medicine, physician assistant, obstetrics and gynecology, etc., are not eligible for our Program.

However, McMaster University offers graduate degrees in more than 100 programs across six Faculties of study: Health Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, Business, Science and Engineering. See a full list of programs on the School of Graduate Studies website.

We recognize that the training and registration requirements to become a midwife vary globally.

In general, applicants from outside of Canada are required to hold, at a minimum, a degree equivalent to a four-year, honours bachelor’s degree in Canada. And in addition, they must have whatever degrees, training, or credentials are required to be registered as a midwife in their local jurisdiction.

Here is an example from an applicant whose training and experience are from the United States:

Sena has been practicing midwifery in the United States for ten years. To become a midwife, she completed a four-year, honours Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) degree and a two-year graduate degree in midwifery (MScN) before passing the Nurse-Midwife Certification (CNM) exam and registering as a certified nurse-midwife in her state. Sena is eligible for our Program because:

1. 1. She has more than 2 years of full-time experience practicing midwifery (she has been in practice for 10 years),
   2. She holds a degree equivalent to a four-year, honours bachelor’s degree in Canada (her BScN), and
   3. She has the required degrees, training, and credentials to be registered as a midwife in her local jurisdiction (her MScN and CNM credential).

World Education Services (WES) provides a free degree equivalency tool, which can help you identify the Canadian equivalent of your academic degree. You can access it here:

World Education Services Degree Equivalency Tool (Canada)

Applicants should be aware that we have our own internal degree equivalency review process, which may occasionally differ from the WES results. So, if you have specific questions about your eligibility after using the WES degree equivalency tool, please Contact Us. Also, meeting the minimum admissions requirements will not guarantee admission as limited space is available, and the admission process is expected to be competitive.

Apply via the McMaster University Graduate Studies Application website.

Information on what to include in your application is available on the Application Requirements & Instructions page in the Admissions section of our website.

The School of Graduate Studies can provide technical support with your application.

You can find additional information, including their contact information for technical issues, on their How to Apply page.

As part of your application to the Master of Science in Midwifery Program, you will be asked to provide the following:

• Information on your previous education, including academic transcripts
• Information on your English language proficiency
• Answers to a few program-specific questions in the online application
• Two academic references
• One professional reference
• A Statement of Interest, which answers the questions posted on the Application Requirements & Preparing Your Application page.
• A Resume/CV
• Academic writing sample (Thesis-Based Program applicants only)

Complete details on each of these components are available on the Application Requirements & Preparing Your Application page in the Admissions section of our website.

Your Statement of Interest should respond to the following five questions:

1. Briefly outline your professional qualifications and clinical midwifery experience.
2. What are your long-term career goals?
3. How will the McMaster Master of Science in Midwifery degree contribute to meeting these goals?
4. Briefly describe a midwifery issue of interest which you would like to focus your research or scholarly activities around during your master’s degree.
5. 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.
6. For thesis-stream application only: Comment on the fit between the McMaster Midwifery Research Centre and potential supervisors and your academic goals.

Your answers to these questions should describe how your personal experience has prepared you for this degree and identify your specific area of interest to provide the admissions committee with insight into your motivation and interest in the Master of Science in Midwifery degree program.

Complete details on each of these components are available on the Application Requirements & Preparing Your Application page in the Admissions section of our website.

Your complete personal statement should be no more than 1250 words.

Full details on the Statement of Interest (and the other components of your application) is available on the Application Requirements & Instructions page in the Admissions section of our website.

Since English is the language of instruction and evaluation in the Master of Science in Midwifery Program at McMaster, it is essential that students be able to communicate effectively in English.

As per the School of Graduate Studies requirements, applicants whose primary language is not English will be required to provide evidence of their proficiency in the use of the English language.

Such applicants can supply this evidence in their application by:

1. Demonstrating that they completed a university degree at which English is the language of instruction,
2. Achieve a minimum score in one of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL):
   1. The minimum acceptable TOEFL (iBT) score is: 92 overall, with a minimum of 22 for reading, 24 for speaking, 24 for listening, and 22 for writing.
   2. The minimum acceptable overall IELTS score is: 7.0.
   3. Equivalent scores on other recognized tests may also be considered.
3. Having completed an Academic ESL program through a Canadian academic institution (if demonstrating ELP in this way, there are additional documentation requirements for the online application.)

If you have questions about your specific situation and how to support your English language proficiency, please Contact Us.

Applicants applying to the course-based program stream who completed their post-secondary training more than five years ago can choose to submit two professional references and one academic reference.

Applicants applying to the thesis-based program stream and applicants applying to the course-based program stream who completed their post-secondary training more than five years ago must provide at least two academic references.

As a primarily online graduate program, the Master of Science in Midwifery program is intended to be completed from a student’s home country/community. However, International Students must still obtain a Study Permit in order to travel to Canada to attend the two required in-person components of the program: Residency Week 1 and Residency Week 2.

All other required components of the program are delivered online and students should plan to complete the rest of the program from their home country/community.

Learn more about applying for a Study Permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), here. If a Visitor Visa or eTA required in addition to a Study Permit, IRCC will communicate that to the student. It is the student’s responsibility to abide by all necessary government processes.

Students with questions or needing support applying for a Study Permit can find more information from McMaster University’s International Student Services – Immigration Advising.

We only require unofficial transcripts for your application to the Master of Science in Midwifery Program. Unofficial transcripts can be uploaded as a pdf in the Education section of your online application. Unofficial transcripts should include information such as the institution’s name, your name, study dates, a list of classes and grades, and the degree awarded.

If you are offered admission, it will be conditional on receiving official transcripts before the end of your first term (usually in July). To be considered an official transcript, the issuing institution must send it directly to the Midwifery Graduate Program.

Sometimes applicants choose to submit official transcripts before receiving an offer of admission. In that case, they would not be required to submit official transcripts again if admitted.

Official transcripts can be sent electronically to midwiferymasters@mcmaster.ca

Or via regular mail to:

Midwifery Graduate Program
Attn: Aaron Geekie-Sousa
Health Sciences Centre, 4H24
1280 Main St W
Hamilton ON  L8S 4K1
Canada

Please feel free to contact us with your questions. We do our best to reply to inquiries within 2-3 business days.

• Online Contact Us Form
• Email: midwiferymasters@mcmaster.ca
• Book a time to meet one-on-one to get your questions answered by a member of the MSc Midwifery program.

The Program has a May (Spring/Summer) start.

Student’s first course in the program, MIDWIF 700: Residency 1, runs during the Spring/Summer Term.

The course includes Residency Week, which is a five-day, in-person intensive that runs on campus at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This intensive runs the first full week of June (i.e., the week following the first Monday in June):

• For students starting the program in Spring 2024 (May 2024): June 3 – 7, 2024
• For students starting the program in Spring 2025 (May 2025): June 2 – 6, 2025

Attending Residency Week in person is mandatory for all incoming students.

More information on the Program’s structure, timelines, and course details is available in the Education & Curriculum section of our website.

The Program can be completed full-time in two years or part-time in three years.

Students in the Course-Based Program Stream can choose to take the Program full-time or part-time.

Students in the Thesis-Based Program Stream must take the Program full-time.

More information on the Program’s structure, timelines, and course details is available in the Education & Curriculum section of our website.

All courses in the Master of Science in Midwifery Program are run on McMaster University’s Avenue to Learn (A2L) learning system.

Courses with an in-person component (MIDWIF 700, 704, 711, 712) will blend online learning in A2L with in-person learning on-campus at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

More information on the Program’s structure, timelines, and course details is available in the Education & Curriculum section of our website.

Students are recommended to use a desktop or laptop computer with the latest version of a modern browser (such as Chrome or Firefox) and a reliable high-speed internet connection (although useable over a 56K modem, a hardwired Cable or DSL connection is recommended, if possible) to access A2L. You can find more information on A2Ls technical requirements, including running a compatibility check, here (no sign-in is required).

Our Program is primarily delivered online, in an asynchronous format, so it can be completed from anywhere in the world.

However, there are two mandatory in-person components of the Program, which occur on-campus at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada:

1. A five-day, in-person residency occurs as part of the MIDWIF 700 course, which a student takes in their first term in the Program. This residency occurs during the first full week in June.
2. A four-day, in-person residency occurs as part of the MIDWIF 704 course, which students take in the summer term before their final year. Part-time students will usually take this course in the summer before their third year, and full-time students will usually take it in the summer before their second year. This residency also occurs during the first full week in June.

Students can take optional, elective courses that include in-person workshops (MIDWIF 711 and 712). The workshops occur on-campus at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and they are scheduled to coincide around the same time as the Program’s residencies in June.

There are also optional placement courses, which students can choose to take, that include placement activity in clinical or non-clinical environments (MIDWIF 706, 730, and 731.) These activities can generally be planned to happen anywhere in Canada, so students may not need to travel to participate. At this time, however, we cannot guarantee placement opportunities outside of Canada. Please Contact Us if you have any questions.

More information on the Program’s structure, timelines, and course details is available in the Education & Curriculum section of our website.

While our program does not have any formal requirements for any particular system or computer set up, McMaster University’s Information Technology (IT) team have identified some minimum technical recommendations to run key online learning tools. You can access that list here.

Our online courses are delivered on Avenue to Learn (also known as D2L Brightspace). D2L recommends that students use a desktop or laptop computer with the latest version of a modern browser (such as Chrome or Firefox) and a reliable high-speed internet connection (although useable over a 56K modem, a hardwired Cable or DSL connection is recommended, if possible). You can check that your browser is compatible with Avenue to Learn by using the Browser Check option on Avenue to Learn’s front page (no sign-in is required).

The IT team have also provided a web page to help students access key tech tools and services. You can access it here.

After enrolling in courses, McMaster University offers a variety of licensed software products at no charge to students, such as Microsoft Office 365, EndNote, Read&Write, Windows, and Zoom. You can learn more about it here.

Tuition and supplementary fees vary depending on whether a student is completing the Program full-time or part-time and whether they are a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, international fee-exempted students, or an international student.

Tuition Fees

The tuition fees for the 2023-24 academic year (September 2023-August 2024) are:

*These tuition fees are subject to change, so students should refer to the Office of the University Registrar for up-to-date information on tuition fees, here.

Supplementary Fees

Supplementary fees are normally charged to students in the Fall Term. This amount will vary on whether a students is completing the Program full-time or part-time and whether they are a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, international fee-exempted students, or an international student. If you are covered under another health and dental plan, you can opt out of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) plan through a separate online process. Visit the GSA website for details. Health and dental fees are the only fees you can opt out of.

However, since the program starts in the Summer Term, students are charged a pro-rated amount for supplementary fees in their first term of the program. This amount will vary on whether a students is completing the Program full-time or part-time and whether they are a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, international fee-exempted students, or an international student.

Students should refer to the Office of the University Registrar for up-to-date information on supplementary fees, here.

Fee Payment Deadlines

All fees for the Summer Term (May – August) are usually due by May 25. All fees for the Fall Term (September-December) are usually due by September 25. All fees for the Winter Term (January-April) are usually due by January 25. You can find more information on payment deadlines from the Office of the University Registrar here.

The University also offers payments plans, which you can learn more about here.

More information

More information on tuition & fees can be found on the Office of the University Registrar website.

Information on scholarships, bursaries, and grants available to graduate students at McMaster University can be found on the School of Graduate Studies website.

As a new program, we are actively working towards building additional program-specific scholarships. If you are interested in supporting our efforts by sponsoring a scholarship, please Contact Us.

Yes.

On August 9, 2023, the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities notified McMaster University that the Master of Science is an approved publicly-funded program, subject to Ontario’s Tuition Fee Framework. Students in this program are considered eligible to apply for the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

The Master of Science in Midwifery is not an entry-to-practice program and is not intended to prepare individuals to practice midwifery.

If you are interested in becoming a midwife, McMaster University’s Midwifery Education Program is a four-year undergraduate degree which prepares students to register as midwives. For information on the Program, see their website.

Additional information on becoming a midwife in Canada, including entry-to-practice midwifery programs at other Canadian institutions, can be found on the Canadian Association of Midwives website’s Becoming a Midwife page.

If you are a midwife who received their training outside of Canada and you want to practice midwifery in the Province of Ontario, the College of Midwives of Ontario has a program, which can lead to registration as a midwife. Learn more about the program here: Internationally Educated Midwives Orientation and Assessment Program

If you are a midwife who received their training outside of Canada and you want to practice somewhere else in Canada, you can contact the midwifery regulatory body of the province or territory in which you want to practice. The Canadian Midwifery Regulator Council maintains a list of the regulatory bodies on their website (List of Canadian midwifery regulators).

Since the majority of our program is delivered in an online remote/distance-learning format, graduates of the program will not be eligible to apply for the Canadian post-graduation work permit (PGWP).

You can learn more about the PGWP, including eligibility information, eligible programs, program criteria, and application process from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada here.

Please feel free to contact us with your questions. We do our best to reply to inquiries within 2-3 business days.

• Online Contact Us Form
• Email: midwiferymasters@mcmaster.ca
• Book a time to meet one-on-one to get your questions answered by a member of the MSc Midwifery program.