Reference Letters for Canadian Grad School

Reference Letters for Canadian Grad School

There is no single Canadian number. UBC requires a minimum of two references and lets each program ask for two to four. Toronto Computer Science asks for three, and Toronto ECE allows exactly two. The program sets the count and the type, and some programs add an email rule.

Canadian universities call these documents "references" or "reference letters". So a national rule such as "at least two" will mislead you at some programs. The bigger risk is logistics. A referee with a Gmail address, a request that goes out only after you pay, or one reference form per program can stop a strong letter from ever reaching the file. If you are the referee, the second half of this page covers what Canadian research programs ask you to show. Your recommendation letter can get a free Quick Review before you upload it.

Every university page quoted below was checked on October 31, 2026. Departments change their rules between cycles, so recheck the program page before you enter your referees.

On this page:

• How many references, and who decides
• Academic and professional reference forms
• Email domains and Interfolio
• When referees get the request
• Mitacs Globalink supervisors as referees
• What Canadian research programs want in the letter
• Before you enter your referees

How many references, and who decides

UBC's graduate school puts the rule plainly: "Each graduate program determines the type of reference (e.g. academic, professional) and number of references they require which can range from two to four." (UBC reference letters). The other universities we checked work the same way: the department page, not the central page, gives the number.

Choosing between a head of department and a project guide? See LOR from HoD or professor.

McGill's central page does not give a count. It lists "Letters of reference/recommendation" among the items "submitted by external parties" and tells you to plan for the time they take (McGill: how you apply). The two McGill departments in the table show why: Physiology wants "official university letterhead and signed" letters, and Anthropology says that if you have a former or current supervisor, "it is typically expected that they will write one letter."

Our view: for a research master's or PhD in Canada, use your thesis or project supervisor as one referee even where the page does not demand it. Toronto ECE requires a prior master's supervisor and Anthropology "typically" expects one. A reader who sees no supervisor letter will ask why. The countercase: a course-based MEng or MScAC applicant with years of work may do better with a manager. Toronto MIE MEng and MScAC both accept that mix in writing.

Academic and professional reference forms

UBC's application asks you to mark each referee as academic or professional, and the label decides which form the referee gets. The academic form is for someone "you have interacted with in an academic setting (e.g. referee was the professor of a course in which you were enrolled)". The professional form is for someone "you have interacted with in a professional setting (e.g. referee was your supervisor at work)."

Pick the label by where the person watched your work, not by their job title. A professor who supervised your summer internship in their lab is an academic referee. A professor you worked for as a paid consultant is closer to a professional one. Toronto MIE MEng draws a harder line: academic references "must come from a current or previous course instructor/professor from your undergraduate studies", and "References from workshops or other programs not associated with your undergraduate degree will not be accepted."

Email domains and Interfolio

If your referee works from a personal address, check this first. UBC says: "we are unable to accept e-mails from Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, MSN or other free e-mail accounts for referees." Toronto CS says the address "must be their official institutional address" and gives a contact for referees who do not have one: gradapplications.cs@utoronto.ca. Toronto MIE MASc and MEng both require an "institution-based" address.

There are two published ways around it:

• Toronto MScAC accepts a free address if you include the referee's "professional profile, such as a faculty/LinkedIn page" in the "Additional Information" section.
• UBC accepts letters through Interfolio, "a U.S. based electronic reference service", directed to graduate.sas@ubc.ca. Our guide to Interfolio letters and rating forms explains how that service works.

Our page on LOR email domains and letterhead covers the same question for US programs.

When referees get the request

The trigger differs, and it decides how early you must submit.

• Toronto CS: referees "will immediately and automatically receive a notification email", and you can send reminders "through your applicant portal after submitting your application." The Fall 2027 deadline is December 1, 2026 (a Tuesday), which the department calls "firm".
• Toronto ECE (MASc, PhD): the system emails referees "immediately after the applicant has submitted their application." ECE also warns that "some servers have been blocking these automated messages."
• Waterloo: referees get the link "as soon as you send the request", and "Two email reminders will be sent automatically prior to the application deadline."
• Alberta: "An email with a secure link will only be sent to your references after you submit and pay for your application."
• McGill Anthropology: you must "submit and pay the application fee before you can upload the supporting documents", and "all supporting documents and reference letters must be uploaded by the application deadline", which the page gives as December 1 with no year.

So at Alberta and Toronto ECE, a referee cannot start until you have paid or submitted. Submit early enough that the referee has three or four weeks. If a referee says nothing arrived, our sibling page on a recommender who did not receive the link walks through the fixes.

One more Waterloo rule catches people who apply to two programs: "they must complete a separate reference form for each application. References are confidential and not shared between programs." Tell your referee before they agree, not after the second email arrives.

Mitacs Globalink supervisors as referees

If you did a Mitacs Globalink research internship, the Canadian professor who supervised it saw you do research in a Canadian lab. Our view: that makes them one of the strongest referees you have for a Canadian research master's or PhD, and stronger than a senior name at home who only taught you one course. The basis is the Toronto CS rule that at least two letters "should speak to your ability to conduct independent research at the graduate level." Our sibling page on a letter from a research internship supervisor covers how that supervisor should write it.

Do not confuse that reference with the Mitacs Globalink Graduate Fellowship letter. For that fellowship, Mitacs accepted "interim letters from professors who have accepted students to work with them", on "an official university letterhead". That letter confirms supervision. It is not an admissions reference. Mitacs's page also says the fellowship "will officially cease to be offered by 2025 and will, therefore, not be available to GRI 2025 interns" (Mitacs Globalink Graduate Fellowship).

The countercase: if your home thesis supervisor watched more of your research than the internship supervisor did, that letter comes first, and the internship supervisor is your second research letter.

What Canadian research programs want in the letter

This section is for the referee. Toronto CS asks for letters that "speak to your ability to conduct independent research at the graduate level" and prefers "Referees with extensive research or academic experience". Toronto ECE says MASc and PhD applicants "must demonstrate significant potential for research". McGill Physiology says "Referees must be knowledgeable on the applicant's research and accomplishments."

None of these pages asks for a list of qualities. They ask for evidence that the student can work alone on an open problem. That means one paragraph about a moment when the student made a research decision you did not make for them.

Constructed example: the research-ability sentence

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. Context (invented): a professor in Canada supervised a Mitacs Globalink intern, "Ananya Rao", and is writing for her MASc application.

Weak version:

Ananya was hardworking, independent and showed excellent research potential during her internship in my lab.

Revised version:

In week five, Ananya found that our sensor calibration drifted with room temperature, a problem my graduate students had not flagged. She designed a correction, tested it on two weeks of logged data without being asked, and presented it at our group meeting; we now use her method.

The revised version is 48 words. It names the setting and the week, shows an action the student chose, and lets the reader judge "independent" without the adjective. It obeys the Toronto CS rule above because it describes independent research, not effort.

Before you enter your referees

1. Read the department page and write down the number and type. Do not use UBC's "two to four" as your number.
2. Get each referee's institutional address. If they only have a free address, use the MScAC profile route, UBC's Interfolio route, or the department contact the page gives.
3. If you hold a prior master's or thesis, check whether that supervisor is required (Toronto ECE) or expected (McGill Anthropology).
4. Check the trigger. If the link goes out only after you submit or pay (Toronto ECE, Alberta), submit at least a month before the deadline.
5. Applying to two programs at Waterloo? Tell the referee they will get one form per program.
6. Send each referee the program name, the deadline and what the program asks letters to show.

What to send your referee is covered in the LOR format and sample for MS and PhD recommenders. If a referee asks you to write the letter yourself, read asked to write your own letter of recommendation first.

Questions about Canadian reference letters

How many reference letters do I need for a master's in Canada?

It depends on the program. UBC sets a floor of two and lets programs ask for up to four. Of the Toronto programs we checked, Computer Science and MScAC ask for three, and ECE and both MIE degrees ask for two.

Can my professor use a Gmail address?

Not at UBC, Toronto CS or Toronto MIE. Toronto MScAC allows it if you add the referee's professional profile. At other programs, read the page; if it says nothing, ask the department before you submit.

Do Canadian programs accept reference letters sent by email?

Toronto ECE says "references provided by email or in hard copy cannot be considered." UBC and Waterloo use an online form or upload link sent to the referee. Use the portal unless the program tells you otherwise.

Can one reference cover two Waterloo programs?

No. Waterloo says the same referee "must complete a separate reference form for each application."

Get a free review of the letter

Get a free Quick Review of your recommendation letter against GradPilot's graduate recommendation letter rubric, written for faculty and supervisors recommending MS and PhD applicants. It reads for how you know the candidate, incidents rather than adjectives, comparisons that name their group, the case for graduate potential, and the strength of the endorsement. If your grades or ranks come from a system the Canadian reader may not know, choose the international academic recommendation rubric.

GradPilot's letter reviews aren't for a letter you drafted for a recommender to submit as their own.

More Canada guides:

• Canadian master's application checklist for Fall 2027: every document and deadline in one list.
• Master's CS statements for UofT, UBC and MScAC: the statement that sits beside these letters.
• UBC master's with a three-year Indian bachelor's: the eligibility question before you ask anyone for a letter.
• Graduate school essays hub: all our master's and PhD guides.

Sources

Retrieved October 31, 2026.

• University of British Columbia, Reference Letters (no cycle stated): count, form types, free-email refusal, Interfolio.
• University of Toronto Computer Science, How to apply (Fall 2027): three referees, research focus, Gmail rule, notification and reminders, December 1, 2026 deadline.
• University of Toronto MScAC, Apply (no cycle stated): three letters, free-email profile route.
• University of Toronto ECE, Graduate application (no cycle stated): two referees, master's supervisor rule, timing, email warning.
• University of Toronto MIE, Master of Applied Science and Master of Engineering (no cycle stated): reference types and email rule.
• McGill University, How you apply to McGill, Physiology admission and Anthropology admissions (no cycle stated): external-party items, letterhead rule, supervisor expectation, deadline.
• University of Waterloo, Application documents and materials (no cycle stated): request timing, reminders, one form per program.
• University of Alberta, Apply (no cycle stated): link sent after submission and payment.
• Mitacs, Globalink Graduate Fellowship (2024 interns): interim supervisor letter, end of the fellowship.