An applicant from India shared an SDS approval for a thesis-based Masters of Applied Science (Process Engineering) at the University of Regina, despite two factors people warned would cause refusal: a 1.5+ year gap and a second master's degree (after a B.Tech and M.Tech in Chemical Engineering).
Timeline (2020–21, historical — SDS processing times have varied since): applied Dec 15, 2020; biometrics Dec 21, 2020; upfront medical done Nov 27, 2020 and updated Feb 16, 2021; PPR Mar 18, 2021 — roughly three months end to end.
What worked, per the applicant's own account and the follow-up Q&A:
- Address the gap head-on in the SOP. They explicitly described how the gap time was used. When asked whether supporting documents (travel or medical proof) were attached, the answer was no — 'quite reasonable comments' justifying the gap were enough; documents were never requested.
- Justify the second master's as progression, not repetition. The SOP framed the second degree as narrowing down a research area, which reads as academic progression rather than repeating a credential.
- Be transparent about long-term academic goals. Notably, this applicant did not write the usual 'I will return home after studies' line — instead they stated openly that a PhD was the next goal. Transparency about a genuine study plan did not sink the file. (This is one applicant's outcome, not a rule — most advice still favours showing home ties.)
- Same-university, same-timeline confirmation. Another member reported PPR for the University of Regina on nearly identical timelines, corroborating the processing pattern of that period.