Human Relationships (PhD)

The Pastoral Leadership field is designed for those who serve the spiritual and social needs of religious congregations, and faith-based and community organizations. In this field, you will undertake disciplined reflection and extensive research in your area of ministry.

The program elements and courses are designed to support your progress toward the final completion of a PhD dissertation. Your dissertation makes a significant contribution to the existing knowledge in the field and assists and challenges your denomination or community to better understand and undertake its mission.

The Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy field is intended to build upon existing competencies in spiritual care and psychotherapy, and related disciplines. In this field, you will undertake advanced studies and training in the theoretical and theological foundations of spiritual care and psychotherapy. You will also have the opportunity to expand your experience with a post-practicum clinical education in the practice of individual, couple and family therapy or spiritual care.

The program elements and courses will support your progress toward the final completion of a PhD dissertation. The student’s dissertation makes a significant contribution to the existing knowledge in the field of spiritual care and psychotherapy.

For the Pastoral Leadership track, applicants are required to hold a Master of Divinity degree (or equivalent) with a minimum average of B+.

For the Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy track, applicants are required to hold a Master of Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy degree (or equivalent) with a minimum average of B+ and three years experience of clinical practice as a Registered Psychotherapist (or equivalent experience).

Deadlines are the same for all applicants (full or part time, domestic or international).

The application process and the uploading of supplemental documentation, which includes references, typically takes two weeks. To avoid disappointment, please apply early.

Applications that are missing documents after the Supplemental Documentation due date will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed.

• Oct. 1: OUAC Application opens for Step 1 
• Jan. 15: OUAC Application closes for Step 1 
• Feb. 15: Supplemental Documentation Due as per Step 2
• Mid April: Target for decisions on applications as per Step 3

About three to five days after you have submitted your OUAC application, paid the non-refundable application fee, and Laurier has received your application, you'll receive an email from gradadmissions@wlu.ca advising you to login and upload the additional required documents to Laurier's Online Registration and Information System (LORIS).

If you have questions or concerns about any of the required supplemental documents, please review our FAQ.

Upload the following documents to your application on LORIS:

• Application Summary Form
  • This PDF is generated after you complete your OUAC application (log back in to OUAC to retrieve it).
• Digital Unofficial Transcripts
  • Transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work from universities as well as any degrees or diplomas from colleges, including those at which you were enrolled but did not complete a program. This includes institutions that may appear as transfer credits or exchange programs on your degree transcripts. You must submit a full and complete postsecondary academic history. 
  • Unofficial transcripts are accepted for the application.
  • All transcripts must be dated as having been issued/printed within the last 6 months. You may need to contact your previous school(s) to request updated copies.
  • Ensure that each transcript indicates all courses, grades, credit hours, awarding of degree/diploma/degree certificate (if applicable), your full name, student ID number, and full name of the institution.
  • Include the grading scale/legend as part of your transcript upload.
  • Transcripts must be uploaded as one .pdf file per institution attended.
  • Transcripts must be in the original language and include a certified translation if the transcript is not in English.
• Statement of Intent Form
  • Our statement of intent form is currently being revised and will be made available in Fall 2026 before applications open.
• A resume of your academic and relevant work experience. Include a history of your publication and scholarly paper activity if applicable, and any other information you feel will interest the admissions committee.
• A sample of your scholarly writing (10-20 pages in length). This may be a chapter of your thesis, or a paper written as an assignment at the undergraduate level.
• Completed reference forms. Two academic or professional references are required.
  • Reference forms are electronically submitted to Laurier by the referee and do not need to be uploaded.
  • Academic references must be from an instructor or supervisor you had at a university.
  • Professional references must be from someone who has supervised you at a work or volunteer position.
  • We do not accept references from friends or relatives.

Proficiency in written and spoken English is essential to graduate studies at Laurier. Applicants whose language of instruction during their previous postsecondary education was not in English must submit evidence of proficiency in English. If applicable, results from accepted testing services must be uploaded to LORIS.

Please review the Graduate Admissions Toolkit in detail before applying. This resource outlines everything you need to know about: application fees; how to log into LORIS; how to upload the documents for your application; and how to accept an offer if you are admitted to the program.

Step 1: Apply Through OUAC

• Review Step 1 of the Graduate Admissions Toolkit
• Fill out the OUAC application

Step 2: Submitting Documentation

• Review Step 2 of the Graduate Admissions Toolkit

All supplemental documents as noted in the Application Checklist must be uploaded and submitted by the Supplemental Documentation due date.

• Once you have uploaded your documents, please use the "Review" to download a copy of your application and check your documents.
  • Ensure your transcripts are legible, documents are facing the right direction, scrutinize for typos, etc.
  • Fix and re-upload and document corrections.
• When you are sure everything is correct and you are satisfied with your submission, click on "Submit my application." After this point, changes cannot be made to your application.
• We encourage you to ask your referees to submit by the Step 2 Supplemental Documentation due date. However, we will honour the full 14 days from the date they received the email request to submit the online reference without penalty to the applicant.
  • Reference Letter FAQs
• Once your application is submitted, the application is received in real-time and no further confirmation of receipt of application is provided.
• No further updates will be provided on the application until decisions are issued.

A list of required documents is listed in the Application Checklist below. Please visit our Graduate Admissions Toolkit for more information about applying, specific information on supplemental documents, troubleshooting, etc.