Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree Overview

Degree Requirements

Research and Thesis:

Completion of a research project and oral presentation of a thesis within four years of initial registration
Annual progress reports and mandatory supervisory committee meetings
Oral candidacy exam: required to ensure that PhD candidates have the potential to successfully complete the research for their thesis in a reasonable length of time. Consists of:
- A written thesis proposal
- A report on an assigned research area question

Courses:

Minimum of six term-length courses
- At most, two of these four graduate term-length courses can be jointly offered (double-numbered) with an undergraduate course
- At most, two may be taken from a department other than the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy, subject to departmental approval
- Two must be a core course, each from a different category:
  - Quantum Theory
    - PHYS 825: Advanced Quantum Mechanics*
    - PHYS 885: Quantum Nanophotonics or PHYS 921: Quantum Field Theory
  - Electromagnetism
    - PHYS 831: Electromagnetic Theory
    - PHYS 832: Classical Electrodynamics
    - PHYS 884: Nonlinear Optics**
  - Statistical Mechanics
    - PHYS 870: Statistical Mechanics
  - Foundational Astrophysics
    - PHYS 816: Foundational Astrophysics
- All PhD students must take PHYS 904: Science Leadership and Management
  - Offered every Fall
  - Graded Pass/Fail
  - May be substituted with CHEM 803: Principles of Scientific Communication

*May be substituted with PHYS 345 with departmental approval
**May be substituted with an approved course from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering or the Royal Military College

Funding

Students are guaranteed a minimum stipend of $33,600/yr for a two-year period, made up of:

Teaching assistant (TA) pay
Internal fellowships and bursaries
Support from supervisor

Stipends can range up to ~$43,000 if students are awarded external scholarships (e.g., NSERC, OGS, etc.)

Graduate tuition fees can be found on the Office of the University Registrar's Tuition & Fees page.