Can 60% Apply for Masters in Canada in Electrical Eng?

The short answer

Yes, 60% can be enough for a master's in electrical engineering in Canada — but only at a handful of universities, and only if your bachelor's degree is a four-year one. At McGill, UCalgary and UManitoba the published graduate minimum sits at ~60–65% (UManitoba's stated minimum GPA is 2.7), while U of T, UBC, Waterloo and SFU publish minimums well above that and admit students higher again.

The other half of the answer matters more than your percentage: a Tribhuvan University BE is a four-year degree, and four-year TU degrees (BE, BPharm) are accepted directly by Waterloo, SFU, UAlberta, uOttawa and others. If you hold a BE, you are already past the single biggest barrier that stops Nepali applicants — degree length, not marks.

What Canadian universities actually check

Three things, in this order.

1. Degree length. Waterloo's official Nepal table requires a four-year bachelor's, or a three-year bachelor's plus a Master's. SFU accepts only four-year Engineering, Forestry or Medicine TU degrees directly. UCalgary's Haskayne states a minimum four-year degree outright. A BE clears all of these. A three-year BSc does not, unless you finish a TU Master's first.

2. Which percentage. Several universities do not look at your whole transcript. uOttawa's 70% applies to the last 20 courses. USask's 70% applies to the last two years. TMU's ~73% applies to the last two years of a four-year degree. A student with a weak first year and a strong final two years is in a better position than the aggregate suggests. Work out your last-two-years average before you decide you are out of range.

3. The published minimum versus the competitive number. This is where applications die. UCalgary publishes ~60–65% but admits competitively at 65–75%. UAlberta publishes 65–70% and admits competitively at 75–80%. Meeting the minimum makes your file readable; it does not make it competitive. At 60% you should be applying to course-based professional programmes, not to funded research streams.

Universities where 60% is realistically in range

Two practical notes for electrical engineering specifically. McGill's ECE and MEng programmes require 7.0 IELTS strictly — the 6.5 general figure does not apply to you. UCalgary and UAlberta both run MEng professional programmes (no thesis, no GMAT) that the data flags as popular and accessible; these are the realistic targets for a 60% file, not the thesis-based MSc.

Where 60% will not work

Do not send a 60% file to UBC or U of T engineering and hope. Spend the application fee where the published minimum is in reach.

The WES trap

This causes more wasted money than any other step, and it is completely avoidable.

• U of T CS and ECE explicitly state WES evaluations are NOT acceptable. Submit raw official transcripts only. If you are applying to U of T ECE for electrical engineering, a WES report is money burnt.
• McGill: WES transcripts are not accepted, under any circumstances. Raw official transcripts with certified English translation only.
• UManitoba: graduate admissions explicitly state WES evaluations are not accepted.
• Guelph: the Engineering faculty explicitly rejects WES.
• UBC, Waterloo, SFU, UCalgary, UAlberta, USask, uOttawa: internal evaluation, WES not required.
• Brock: WES Course-by-Course is mandatory for all international graduate applicants — budget $250 CAD and 4–6 weeks.
• UNB: WES ICAP mandatory — budget $330 CAD and 7–8 weeks.
• York and TMU: not formally required, but recommended.

If you are just below the line

Several universities run a formal bridge instead of a flat refusal:

• McGill: Qualifying Year, up to 2 terms, for subject gaps.
• UAlberta: Qualifying Year of up to 5 graduate-level courses for borderline GPA.
• UCalgary: Qualifying Year via the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
• uOttawa: Qualifying Graduate Student status, useful for borderline GPA.
• USask: confirm the status of the Graduate Bridging programme with the department before you build a plan around it.

These are real routes, but they add time and tuition. Ask the department in writing whether the bridge exists for electrical engineering specifically before you count on it.

The money you have to show

Monthly living costs vary sharply by city. These are per month, per person — quoted as supplied, not totalled:

Proof of funds figures by family size (CAD):

Tuition sits on top of these figures, and tuition is set by the individual programme — get it from the programme page, in writing, before you commit. You can compare entry requirements, English scores and costs side by side in our free Master Reckoner tool, and see the wider country picture on the Canada hub.

Common questions

Can I apply for a master's in electrical engineering in Canada with 60% from TU?

Yes, at universities whose published graduate minimum is ~60–65% — McGill, UCalgary and UManitoba fall in that band, and UManitoba's stated minimum GPA is 2.7. But the competitive ranges are higher: 65–75% at McGill and UCalgary, 70–75% at UManitoba. Target the course-based MEng options rather than thesis-based research degrees, and check whether the university counts your full transcript or only your last two years.

Is a Tribhuvan University BE accepted directly, or do I need a TU Master's first?

A TU BE is a four-year degree and is accepted directly by Waterloo, SFU, UAlberta, uOttawa, USask and others. The TU Master's requirement applies to three-year TU degrees such as BSc, BA and BCom. McGill is the one university in this data that explicitly accepts three-year TU degrees from UGC-recognised institutions, at minimum grade B / 3 out of 5, though some departments may still ask for four years.

Should I pay for a WES evaluation before applying?

Only after you have confirmed each university's policy, because three of them reject it outright. U of T ECE, McGill and UManitoba do not accept WES evaluations, and Guelph's Engineering faculty rejects them too. Brock requires WES Course-by-Course ($250 CAD, 4–6 weeks) and UNB requires WES ICAP ($330 CAD, 7–8 weeks), so if either is on your list, start early.

Which IELTS score do I actually need for electrical engineering?

It depends on the university and sometimes on the department within it. UCalgary, UAlberta, USask and uOttawa sit at 6.5 overall / 6.0 per band, TMU lists 6.5 for Engineering and CS, and Brock is 6.5 overall / no band below 6.0. At the other end, U of T requires 7.0 overall / 6.5 per band, Waterloo 7.0 overall / 6.5 Writing & Speaking (with IELTS One Skill Retake not accepted), UNB a 7.0 overall base minimum, and McGill's ECE and MEng programmes 7.0 strict.

Official sources

• University of Toronto — https://future.utoronto.ca
• University of British Columbia — https://you.ubc.ca
• McGill University — https://www.mcgill.ca/undergraduate-admissions/
• University of Waterloo — https://uwaterloo.ca/future-students/
• University of Alberta — https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions/
• Simon Fraser University — https://www.sfu.ca/students/admission.html
• University of Calgary — https://www.ucalgary.ca/future-students/
• University of Ottawa — https://www.uottawa.ca/study/
• Toronto Metropolitan University — https://www.torontomu.ca/admissions/
• York University — https://www.yorku.ca/admissions/

For universities not listed above — including UManitoba, USask, UNB and Brock — confirm every figure directly with the graduate admissions office before you pay an application fee. More country and course guides are in our blog.