Admission to the Ph.D. program is limited and competitive. All applicants must meet the minimum qualifications described in the General Regulations for the School of Graduate Studies. Admission is normally restricted to students holding a Master's Degree in Engineering or a related area. Decisions on admission, however, will also take into account such things as the applicant's rank in class, referees' assessments, general performance throughout the applicant's previous academic programs, and the availability of supervisors in the area of the applicant's interest. In cases of demonstrated ability, a student enrolled in the M.Eng. program may be allowed to transfer to the Ph.D. program without the completion of all the M.Eng. Degree requirements. As well, in exceptional cases, direct entry to the Ph.D. program, after completion of a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or a related area, is possible.

Normally, applicants will be considered in January for admission for the following September. In special cases, applicants may also be considered in April and August. Applications should be made sufficiently far in advance to permit the University to obtain all relevant documents and review the application.

A Ph.D. program shall normally consist of three components:

1. a minimum of 6 credit hours consisting of graduate courses recommended by the student's supervisory committee,

2. a comprehensive examination as detailed in General Regulations, Ph.D. and Psy.D. Comprehensive Examination, and

3. a thesis satisfying the requirements of General Regulations, Theses and Reports for the School of Graduate Studies.

In cases of direct entry after a Bachelor's Degree or promotion from a Master's program before fulfilment of the Master's course requirements, it is likely that the student will be required to take more credit hours than the normally required minimum. In such cases, the requirements for the course component of the student's program will be reviewed on an individual basis by the student's supervisory committee and the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

1. Timing

   A student registered in the Ph.D. Program shall normally take the Comprehensive Examination within four semesters of the start of the student's program. The student must have successfully completed all required courses prior to the Comprehensive Examination. The Comprehensive Examination Committee shall be appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the Dean of Engineering and Applied Science, normally within three semesters of the start of the student’s program.

   The Examination Committee shall be appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the Dean of Engineering and Applied Science, normally within three semesters of the start of the student’s program.

2. Examination Procedure

   The Comprehensive Examination (as prescribed under General Regulations, Ph.D. and Psy.D. Comprehensive Examination), shall be an oral examination that is open to the University community; however, only members of the Examination Committee are permitted to ask questions. Following the examination, the Examination Committee shall meet in camera to decide.

1. Upon successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination, and normally prior to the end of the sixth semester in the program, the student must submit a thesis proposal to the Supervisory Committee for evaluation and approval. The proposal shall consist of 1) a written research proposal, normally of no more than 10,000 words, that should clearly define the research problem, survey literature, present the research method or experimental design, and may include a summary of results already obtained, and 2) a 20 to 30 minute presentation. The student should submit the written proposal at least one month prior to the presentation which is open to the University community.

2. The presentation will be chaired by the Dean of Engineering and Applied Science or delegate. Immediately following the presentation, the Supervisory Committee shall question the student regarding the proposal and shall then meet in camera to assess the proposal. Assessment shall result in one of the following three outcomes: (1) accept; (2) accept with changes, or (3) reject. The results of this assessment shall be provided to the student following the meeting. Assessments of ‘accept with changes’ or ‘reject’ shall be accompanied by written comments within one week of the proposal presentation.

3. If the proposal is rejected, the student shall be permitted to submit a second proposal. This proposal must be submitted and deemed acceptable by the Supervisory Committee within four months of the original proposal presentation. Failure to submit an acceptable second proposal within the time period shall lead to termination of the student’s program.

4. The Ph.D. thesis shall constitute an independent and original research contribution.

5. The Ph.D. thesis shall be evaluated according to the process established in General Regulations, Evaluation of Ph.D. and Psy.D. Theses governing the School of Graduate Studies.

For a list of graduate courses offered by the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science refer to the list of Core Courses and the list of Other Courses offered for the Master of Engineering program.