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Online City of London GDPA
This is for City of London Employees ONLY
Other interested individuals can apply to our regular On-Campus or Online streams of the GDPA program.
In 2012 the Local Government Program began a partnership with the City of London to offer Western University's GDPA program to their employees. Following a hiatus for the pandemic, the partnership has resumed.
City of London employees that are interested in the GDPA can reach out to the City of London Learning and Development, consult the criteria below, and explore the GDPA Information page of this website.
The Online City of London GDPA courses are offered during fall (Sept-Dec) and winter (Jan-April) terms. They are fully online with asynchronous components and weekly synchronous Zoom classes.
Attendance and participation is expected and evaluated as part of the final grade for each course. On top of the scheduled weekly synchronous class mentioned above, significant asynchronous work in the form of readings, pre-recorded lectures, quizzes, and independent and group assignments take place outside of class time.
The Online City of London GDPA is completed in one year. Students take two courses in the fall term and two courses in the winter term. Students must get permission from both the City of London and the LGP Director to extend their progression beyond one year.
Application Process
Step 1 - City of London Pre-Approval
There are a limited number of spots available for City of London employees. Employees interested in being considered for this opportunity are required to submit a current resume, including a Professional Development section outlining completed educational and development courses to Learning & Development. Please check to ensure there is an active application cycle open, typically in the Winter. If you have additional questions about the GDPA program, please contact Learning & Development at the City or email iLearn@London.ca.
Note: City of London employees who are not selected might consider applying directly to Western’s on-campus GDPA program
Step 2 - Western University Application
Only selected City of London employees who have been pre-approved in Step 1 will be invited to complete a formal application by applying online to Western University. They will receive correspondence from the Local Government Program with instructions.
The application to the GDPA program is managed by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) at Western. For questions regarding the online application, contact the Graduate Admissions Office gradapps@uwo.ca
Application Components
In order to apply to graduate studies at Western, it is important that you understand the essential elements of the Western graduate school application. The responsibility rests with the applicant to ensure that all documents (e.g., transcripts, references, test results such as TOEFL scores) are submitted.
Western accepts two methods of payment in order to process your application.
- Visa or Mastercard
- Money order or bank draft from a Canadian Banking Institution.
Western is unable to accept payment through alternate methods.
The application fee is non-refundable.
Applicants are required to upload copies of their transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.
- Unofficial transcripts are sufficient for the application process.
- If your transcript is not in English, you must also provide an English translation processed by the issuing institution or a third-party translation service.
Official transcripts after admission
If you are offered admission, you will be required to provide an official transcript from each post-secondary institution attended, other than Western.
An official transcript is a transcript in an unopened envelope with the institution's stamp on the seal, or an electronic transcript sent directly to gradapps@uwo.ca by the institution's Registrar.
Western also accepts electronic transcripts issued directly through third-party transcript distribution services such as MyCreds or Parchment.
References are collected through Western's online reference system.
- You will be asked to provide your referees' contact information within the application. Please provide an email address associated with each referee's institution or workplace.
- Western will email your referees within 2 hours of you entering or updating your reference information within the application, regardless of whether you submit it. Be sure to communicate with each of your referees prior to entering their information.
- Your referees will receive an email containing a unique link to our online reference form, which is comprised of questions selected by the graduate program and includes a space to write or copy/paste a letter of reference.
- When your referee submits their completed form, you will receive a notification email. We will add the submitted reference to your application within 1-2 business days.
- You will receive an email notification when a referee submits the completed form.
You may submit your application before your references have been received, but all references must be submitted by the application deadline.
Applicants whose first language is not English should carefully review Western's English language proficiency requirements before applying.
Applicants whose first language is English are not required to submit proof of English language proficiency with their application.
Graduate School Application Guide