university of toronto philosophy phd

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Donald C. Ainslie

Research interests:.

Bioethics, Early Modern Philosophy, Hume

James Allen

Ancient Philosophy

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Aesthetics, Cognitive Science, Epistemology, Philosophy of History, Philosophy of Science

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Deborah Black

Classical Islamic Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Medieval Philosophy

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Nate Charlow

Metaethics, Philosophy of Language

Ethics, Metaethics

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University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Length of study, admission requirements.

Application p rocedures

Tuition fees

Research & centres

Funding, scholarships, awards

Program requirements and optional emphasis

Course descriptions

Student life

Frequently Asked Questions

The Doctor of Philosophy degree is a research-based program leading to the production of a research thesis. Doctoral research at UTIAS is expected to be internationally recognized for its originality, rigour, and importance. Supervised by a faculty member, students select a research topic, develop a plan to address the topic, and implement this plan, leading to a major research thesis and contributions to the academic literature. This is the pinnacle of academic achievement, and holders of the PhD are well prepared for academic positions and leadership roles in industrial research and development.

UTIAS researchers collaborate extensively with all the major companies in the Canadian aerospace industry, and UTIAS PhD students frequently interact with industrial partners.

All PhD students at UTIAS are provided with a stipend to support living expenses, tuition and fees, and are eligible for a range of additional scholarship support .

Applicants may enter the PhD program via one of two routes: 1) following completion of an MASc degree in engineering, mathematics, physics, or chemistry; or 2) transfer from the University of Toronto MASc program.

Four years (defined as the period of time for an academically well-prepared student to complete all program requirements while registered full-time).

• Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies . For international students, degree and grade equivalencies can be found at the  International Degree Equivalencies directory .
• An MASc degree in engineering, mathematics, physics, or chemistry and demonstrated ability to perform advanced research. Applicants require a minimum average grade of B+ in their Master’s program, but most admitted applicants have average grades higher than this.
• Proof of English-language proficiency is required for all applicants educated outside of Canada whose native language is not English. See the  School of Graduate Studies  for additional information.

Application Procedures

Please ensure that you meet our minimum admission requirements as stated above.

Before applying, you should learn about the  UTIAS course offerings , and read the FAQs about admissions and FAQs about studying at UTIAS .

Step 1.   Submit an application on SGS Admissions Management and pay the $125 application fee (non-refundable/transferable, regardless of the circumstance). Applications will not be processed until the application fee is received. You will be prompted for your payment information after you click “submit.” Please note that there is no way to edit your application once it has been submitted.

On the SGS Admissions Management site please submit:

• Your SGS application  (personal information, academic history, etc.), and,
• Scans of complete (or most up-to-date) academic transcript(s) . Applicants must scan and upload each post-secondary institutional transcript as a PDF file. In lieu of a scanned copy of a paper transcript, applicants may upload a PDF file of their academic history from their university’s student web service. Every transcript must include its respective grading scale. You are not required to submit official (paper) transcripts until requested by the graduate office.

Step 2 .  Submit a detailed application on UTIAS Application System .

This is the most important part of the application process. If you do not complete the application on UTIAS Application System, your application will not be reviewed.

Please note:

• Applicants should monitor their PhD application progress on UTIAS Application System.

Your UTIAS Graduate Admission includes:

• Personal/general Information
• Statement of intent
• Curriculum vitae
• Academic history and detailed grades*
• Referee contact information**

Once you submit your application on UTIAS Application System you will not be able to modify it.

* You must include all marks from all years and all institutions that you have attended. If you do not provide these grades on UTIAS Application System, the review of your application will be delayed until you provide these and hence you may miss the review period.

Transcripts: The review process will take place using the scanned/electronic transcripts uploaded to SGS Admissions Management Application and grades submitted to UTIAS Application System. You will be contacted with instructions if you are required to submit official paper transcripts.

** Two reference letters are required . In general, letters of reference from academic sources are preferred. Your referees must submit their letters of reference electronically on the UTIAS Application System. Do not submit more than two referees. Only two letters will be considered. Instructions on how to submit letters of reference will be sent automatically to referees by the UTIAS Application System.

An application is not complete until both letters of reference have been submitted. It is highly recommended that applicants (1) submit their applications well in advance of the deadline and (2) confirm that their letters of reference have been submitted by logging on to the UTIAS Application System. The application status will read “received” when the application is complete including two letters of reference. Please do not forward hard copies of letters of reference to the UTIAS Graduate Office.

Indicate research preference: Applicants must classify their research interest. The UTIAS Application System will permit applicants to indicate a maximum of three areas of interest from a drop-down menu. Visit our Research & Centres  page for detailed information.

Tuition Fees

Current Fall-Winter Fees (scroll to bottom of the page and click on Graduate Studies, School of - All Graduate Programs)

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Program

Join our mailing list: find out more about LMP programs

When you join the PhD program, you will perform research in your supervisor’s laboratory.   

It will take approximately 5 - 6 years to complete a PhD. 

Your PhD project will be guided by your thesis advisory committee comprised of your supervisor and two University of Toronto faculty members.   

The data that you generate during your program will be approximately equivalent to the amount of data in two peer-reviewed journal articles.   

Your required coursework will depend on whether you joined the PhD program after completing: 

• An MSc degree (or equivalent)  
• A BSc (direct entry) or an MSc-to-PhD transfer exam.   

1. If you enter with an MSc or equivalent degree 

You will take a two-year student seminar series course, LMP1003H .   

In the first year of this course, you will attend seminars and learn about the research that is being carried out by your peers.   

In the second year, you will attend seminars and give a presentation of your own research.   

In addition to the seminar course, you will take 0.5 full course equivalent (FCE) elective course(s) during the program. This means that you will take either one 0.5 FCE course (24 hours of class time) or two 0.25 FCE courses (12 hours of class time per course).  

Requirements (if you are a PhD student holding a MSc degree or equivalent) 

• LMP1003H Student Seminar Series III (0.5 FCE)  
• Elective courses (0.5 FCE) – students may take either one 0.5 FCE or two 0.25 FCE LMP courses (courses offered by other departments may be substituted with the permission of the graduate office)  
• RST9999Y - Thesis  

2. If you enter with a BSc or MSc-to-PhD transfer 

If you join the PhD program directly after receiving a BSc or if you passed the MSc-to-PhD transfer exam, you will: 

• take the courses required for the MSc program (listed above), and 
• the courses required for the PhD program (listed below). 

Requirements (if you have a BSc or MSc-to-PhD transfer) 

• LMP1001H – Student Seminar Series I (0.5 FCE)  
• LMP1002H – Student Seminar Series II (0.5 FCE)  
• LMP1005H - Fundamentals of Research Practice (0.5 FCE)  

Eligibility

There are two routes of entry available to a PhD.

• You have an MSc degree (or equivalent)  
• You are a talented undergraduate with a BSc (direct entry) or you complete an MSc-to-PhD transfer exam.   

1. You have an MSc degree

If you have a MSc, MD, DDS, DVM (or equivalent) degree. 

You also need to have:

• a minimum A- average in your graduate courses, or in senior-level BSc coursework if MSc course requirements were minimal or absent
• evidence of research competence, based on scientific publications, abstracts, or conference presentations. 

2. You are a talented undergraduate with a BSc (direct entry) or you complete an MSc-to-PhD transfer exam

You can apply directly to the PhD program if you are a highly qualified BSc graduate meeting the following requirements: 

• An appropriate bachelor's degree in the Life Sciences from a recognized university 
• A minimum A average in the third and fourth years 
• Evidence of strong research experience 

If you are completing an MSc at LMP and are showing excellence, the graduate advisory committee can recommend you for transfer into the PhD program. 

Transfer exams are held within 18 months after the start of the MSc program.   

How to apply

See Application process for the research stream  (MSc and Phd).

To be fully accepted into the MSc program, you will need to secure a supervisor. See  Finding a supervisor .

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Philosophy: introduction, faculty affiliation.

Arts and Science

Degree Programs

Concentration: philosophy of science, combined degree programs.

STG, Law, Juris Doctor / Philosophy, PhD

Collaborative Specializations

The following collaborative specializations are available to students in participating degree programs as listed below:

• Philosophy, PhD
• Philosophy, MA, PhD

Philosophy has been taught at the University of Toronto since 1843. Much has changed in that time, but the department remains Canada’s preeminent philosophy department. It is an international leader in the history of philosophy — especially ancient and medieval philosophy — as well as ethics, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind. In all of these areas, department members take contemporary philosophical problems and their historical antecedents to illuminate one another.

The department’s most distinctive strength is its broad coverage of the history of philosophy. While peer departments usually have one or two experts in a few historical periods, U of T has specialists in every area of the history of Western philosophy, as well as in aspects of the history of non-Western philosophy. This historical focus engages with other areas of strength: ethics, philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind.

Many U of T faculty working in these areas also study their history; they use that study to inform their contributions to contemporary debates. At the same time, these historians of philosophy benefit from and contribute to ground-breaking work in systematic philosophy. This integration of historical and systematic philosophy sets this department apart from other top philosophy departments where the history of philosophy is often segregated from the rest of the discipline.

Contact and Address

Web: philosophy.utoronto.ca Email: [email protected] Telephone: (416) 978-3312 Fax: (416) 978-8703

Department of Philosophy University of Toronto Jackman Humanities Building (JHB) Room 410, 170 St. George Street Toronto, Ontario M5R 2M8 Canada

Philosophy: Graduate Faculty

Full members, members emeriti, associate members, philosophy: philosophy ma, master of arts, program description.

The MA may be taken on a full-time or part-time basis.

Applicants should consult the department's web page for complete details on graduate programs, course offerings, short academic profiles of graduate faculty, and application procedures.

Minimum Admission Requirements

Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department of Philosophy's additional admission requirements stated below.

Admission requires an appropriate bachelor's degree from a recognized university. Applicants must have a strong background in philosophy (roughly equivalent to an undergraduate major), with an average grade of at least a mid-B in the applicant's overall program and at least an A– in the applicant's philosophy courses.

Applicants whose primary language is not English and who graduated from a university where the language of instruction and examination was not English must complete the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with the following minimum scores:

Paper-based TOEFL exam: 600 and 5 on the Test of Written English (TWE).

Internet-based TOEFL exam: 100/120 and 22/30 on the writing and speaking sections.

Equivalent results in some other recognized test of English-language proficiency are acceptable.

Program Requirements

Coursework. Students must successfully complete 3.5 full-course equivalents (FCEs) in philosophy as follows:

At least 1.0 FCE in the history of philosophy.

At least 1.0 FCE in the problems of philosophy.

1.0 FCE designated courses only for MA students. One 0.5 FCE in the broad area of ethics/politics and the other 0.5 FCE in the broad area of metaphysics and epistemology. Either could be historical. The timing of the course requirement is:

PHL2222H MA Proseminar I (0.5 FCE), taken in the first session.

PHL2223H MA Proseminar II (0.5 FCE), taken in the second session.

PHL3000H MA Professional Development Workshop (0.5 FCE).

Each MA student is assigned an advisor who will recommend a suitable program of philosophy courses. The student's choice of courses must be approved by the department.

It is possible for a full-time student to complete all requirements for the MA degree in the Fall and Winter sessions; however, the department encourages students to take no more than 3.0 FCEs during the Fall and Winter sessions and to complete the last course during the Summer session.

Program Length

3 sessions full-time (typical registration sequence: F/W/S); 5 years part-time

3 years full-time; 6 years part-time

The Philosophy of Science concentration will provide students with a background in general philosophy of science and with specific topics in philosophy of science. Students will be prepared for academic work at the PhD level in philosophy and for non-academic career tracks that require strong critical thinking skills, as well as an understanding of science and its role in knowledge and society.

Admission requires an appropriate bachelor's degree from a recognized university. Applicants must have a strong interest in:

Philosophy (evidenced in a strong writing sample, personal statement, and letters of reference).

A strong academic background in either philosophy or, typically, a subject in the natural and social sciences, with minimum average grades of A–.

Coursework. Students must successfully complete 3.5 full-course equivalents (FCEs) including:

PHL2198H Advanced Introduction to the Philosophy of Science (0.5 FCE)

1.5 FCE in graduate seminars in philosophy of science or cognate areas of philosophy such as logic, philosophy of language, epistemology, metaphysics, or philosophy of mind.

1.0 FCE in graduate courses in the history and philosophy of science and technology (HPS) such as HPS1000H, HPS2009H, HPS 2010H, HPS3004H, HPS3010H, HPS4001H. A list of recommended HPS courses will be prepared and shared annually on the Department of Philosophy's graduate courses web page . Students will have the opportunity to request other HPS electives that reflect their specific research interests.

Philosophy: Philosophy PhD

Doctor of philosophy.

The PhD program has two options: a five-year option and a four-year option. The five-year option is the most common and is the only direct-entry option for students with a bachelor's degree. The five-year option provides five years of funding and requires two years of coursework, while the four-year option provides four years of funding and requires one year of coursework. The program requirements are summarized below.

Students enrolled in graduate programs in philosophy in other universities are welcome to apply to spend a year studying at the University of Toronto. Please direct any inquiries to the Director of Graduate Studies.

Students who wish to take, for credit, one or more of the courses offered by the department as non-degree students, should apply for admission as Special Students. The application procedures and deadlines are the same as those for the MA program.

PhD Program

Applicants approved by the department are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies.

Applicants should have a master's degree in philosophy from a recognized university with an average grade of at least an A– in the applicant's overall program. Applicants must satisfy the department that they are capable of independent research in philosophy at an advanced level.

Applicants whose primary language is not English and who are not graduates of a university whose language of instruction is English must complete the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with the following minimum scores:

Course Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 3.0 FCEs in philosophy, with a minimum A– average by the end of Year 1 including:

At least 1.0 FCE which must comprise courses from philosophical traditions from different geographical regions and/or different historical periods.

At least 1.0 FCE which must comprise problems of philosophy courses.

The proseminar in philosophy (PHL1111H) worth 0.5 FCE during the Fall session of Year 1.

With the department's permission, a student may replace up to 1.0 FCE in philosophy with graduate courses offered by another department, provided that the courses are required for the student's planned research.

Breadth Requirement . A student must demonstrate competence in at least six areas of philosophy, including the following:

Each of the following three areas in the problems of philosophy:

Contemporary issues in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of science.

Contemporary issues in values (ethics, politics, aesthetics, and philosophy of religion).

Contemporary issues in mind, language, and logic.

The remaining three areas must be chosen from philosophical traditions from different geographical regions such as South Asian or East Asian philosophy, and/or different historical periods such as Medieval or Twentieth-Century philosophy.

Competence in any area is normally established by successful completion of a graduate 0.5 FCE in that area.

A student must also demonstrate competence in logic (defined as proficiency in first-order symbolic logic with identity). This competence is expected of all students prior to beginning doctoral studies. Where this is not the case, competence must be acquired as a supplement to the required number of courses and be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the department by the time the qualifying requirement is met.

Revision Paper Requirement. To be satisfied either sometime during coursework or in the summer immediately following coursework. Students will designate a particular paper typically written during coursework as their revision paper and will solicit supervision on the revision of the paper from a faculty member. Students will receive verbal and written feedback on their paper from their faculty supervisor and will revise their paper in light of this feedback. A second round of feedback and revision may be sought by the student or the faculty supervisor, after which time the student will again revise and submit. Students should plan to complete the requirement over one or two months depending on whether one or two rounds of revision are undertaken.

Qualifying Requirement . After completing all course requirements, the student selects a thesis committee that will oversee his or her academic progress through the final thesis defence. The student meets with the committee to discuss a tentative thesis topic, construct an appropriate research reading list, and receive guidance on writing a qualifying paper. After submitting the qualifying paper and making any required adjustments to the reading list, the student takes a two-part (written and oral) qualifying examination based on the paper and the reading list. The paper will be submitted and written and oral exams taken four to six weeks later, during the Winter session of Year 2.

Dissertation Prospectus Requirement. To be satisfied at the September meeting of the student and their dissertation committee. The prospectus can take many forms and could, for example, proceed by indicating chapters, problems, and literature, and/or theses that will organize, be discussed, or be argued for in the dissertation. Committees will then give feedback on the overall plan. The length of the prospectus will vary from committee to committee but as a rough guideline, the prospectus may comprise a document of three to five pages.

Research Tools Requirement . Each PhD student must demonstrate competence in at least one research tool. A research tool may be one of the following:

Reading knowledge of a language other than English.

Familiarity with a discipline other than philosophy (e.g., linguistics, psychology, or mathematics).

Mastery of research methods not typical in philosophy (e.g., statistical methods).

The research tool will be determined by the Graduate Coordinator in consultation with the student's thesis committee.

Thesis . A candidate must submit a thesis on an approved subject and defend the thesis at a Doctoral Final Oral Examination. The department is not obligated to provide supervision in areas falling outside the competency, interest, or availability of its graduate faculty.

Residence . Students must be registered as full-time, on-campus students and must reside in sufficient geographical proximity to enable them to fulfil the course, breadth, qualifying, and language requirements set by the department in a smooth and timely fashion. They are also expected to participate fully in departmental activities. While writing the thesis, candidates are expected to be in residence, with the exception of absence for research.

Normal Timeline Through the Program . By the end of Year 1 of registration, students should have completed all the course requirements for the degree. By the end of the following year of registration, all students should have satisfied any remaining breadth requirements, selected a thesis committee, and passed the qualifying examination. (These are general deadlines; consult the department's web page for specific dates and further details.) Thereafter, the candidate selects a member of the thesis committee to be the thesis supervisor and begins work on the thesis, which he or she is expected to finish within two years.

PhD Program (Direct-Entry)

Applicants should have an appropriate bachelor's degree from a recognized university; a strong background in philosophy (roughly equivalent to an undergraduate major); and an average grade of at least a B+ in the overall program and at least an A– in philosophy courses.

Students must take a minimum of 6.0 FCEs in philosophy, with an average grade of at least an A– including:

At least 2.0 FCEs which must comprise courses from philosophical traditions from different geographical regions such as South Asian or East Asian philosophy, and/or different historical periods such as Medieval or Twentieth-Century philosophy.

At least 2.0 FCEs which must comprise problems of philosophy courses.

To remain in good standing, students must complete 3.0 FCEs with an A– average by the end of Year 1, and 6.0 FCEs with an A– average by the end of Year 2.

The remaining three required areas must be chosen from philosophical traditions from different geographical regions such as South Asian or East Asian philosophy, and/or different historical periods such as Medieval or Twentieth-Century philosophy.

Qualifying Requirement . After completing all course requirements, the student selects a thesis committee that will oversee his or her academic progress through the final thesis defence. The student meets with the committee to discuss a tentative thesis topic, construct an appropriate research reading list, and receive guidance on writing a qualifying paper. After submitting the qualifying paper and making any required adjustments to the reading list, the student takes a two-part (written and oral) qualifying examination based on the paper and the reading list. The paper will be submitted and written and oral exams taken four to six weeks later, during the Winter session of Year 3.

Dissertation Prospectus Requirement. To be satisfied at the September meeting of the student and her dissertation committee. The prospectus can take many forms and could, for example, proceed by indicating chapters, problems, and literature, and/or theses that will organize, be discussed, or be argued for in the dissertation. Committees will then give feedback on the overall plan. The length of the prospectus will vary from committee to committee but as a rough guideline, the prospectus may comprise a document of three to five pages.

Normal Timeline Through the Program . By the end of Year 2 of registration, students should have completed all course requirements for the degree. By the end of the following year of registration, all students should have satisfied any remaining breadth requirements, selected a thesis committee, and passed the qualifying examination. (These are general deadlines; consult the department's web page for specific dates and further details.) Thereafter, the candidate selects a member of the thesis committee to be the thesis supervisor and begins work on the thesis, which he or she is expected to finish within two years.

Philosophy: Philosophy MA, PhD Courses

Not all courses are offered every year. Please consult the department's website, which lists the courses the department will offer this year as well as those offered by other departments that may be taken for philosophy credit.

Required Courses

Reading courses, history of philosophy, classical greek and roman philosophy, east asian philosophy, south asian philosophy, medieval philosophy, early modern philosophy, feminist philosophy, nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophy, history and philosophy of science and technology.

For MA students in the Philosophy of Science concentration.

Problems of Philosophy

Metaphysics and epistemology, logic and the philosophy of language, value theory, philosophy of science, miscellaneous.

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Electrical & Computer Engineering

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree requirements:.

• Between three and eight approved technical graduate courses
• JDE1000H ‘Ethics in Research Seminar’
• Attendance at the DLS is mandatory for all PhD students.
• PhD Background Statement
• PhD Qualifying Examination
• PhD Thesis Proposal
• Annual Meetings of PhD Supervisory Committee
• Department Oral Examination (DOE) of PhD Thesis
• Final Oral Examination (FOE) of PhD Thesis

Schedule for Timely Completion

ECE’s expectations for the timely completion of the PhD degree requirements are outlined below. Timely completion is a condition of financial support and continued registration.

SGS policy requires that the supervisory committee be formed and meet within the first 16 months of registration; in ECE this requirement is met through the thesis proposal (i.e. the thesis proposal presentation is the 1st annual supervisory committee meeting).

Thereafter, the student must meet with their supervisory committee at least once per year. As per Section 7.5.2 of the SGS General Regulations :

• “A student is expected to meet with this committee at least once a year, and more often if the committee so requires. At each meeting, the supervisory committee will assess the student’s progress in the program and provide advice on future work.”
• “A student who, through their own neglect, fails to meet with the supervisory committee in a given year will be considered to have received an unsatisfactory progress report from the committee.”

The Department Oral Examination (DOE) is the student’s final annual supervisory committee meeting. The DOE can replace the requirement of a supervisory committee meeting in the student’s final year if the DOE takes place within 12 months of the student’s previous supervisory committee meeting.

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Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Research-based program, phd students produce a thesis of original work with the support of world-renowned researchers and facilities.

This program is designed for individuals interested in a rewarding career in fundamental or applied research. The PhD program involves advanced courses and an intensive research program culminating in a thesis, supervised by a CivMin faculty member.

Explore our   research themes to see what areas you could pursue in your studies

Students entering the PhD program typically have a Master’s degree, however outstanding applicants who are completing a bachelor’s degree can apply for direct entry into the PhD program.

Fees, Awards and Funding

Students admitted to the PhD program are provided a funding package for up to 4 years Information on fees, awards, funding and Teaching Assistantships can be found here .

Program Length and Time Limit

The PhD is offered on a full-time basis only.

Program Length

4 years full-time; 5 years transfer-from-master's; 5 years direct-entry

6 years full-time; 7 years transfer-from-master's; 7 years direct-entry

PhD Milestones

• Comprehensive Exam
• PhD Supervisory Committee
• Departmental Exam
• Final Oral Examination

Program Requirements

In addition to the thesis, students complete a minimum of 2.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) (four half courses) before completing their comprehensive exam*.

• Students with an MASc degree (or equivalent in the same area of study) must complete a minimum of 2.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) (four half courses).
• Students enrolled in the MASc degree program who transfer to the PhD program must complete a total of 4.5 full-course equivalents (FCEs) (nine half courses)
• Students with an MEng degree must complete a minimum of 4.5 FCEs (nine half courses). Up to 3.0 FCEs (six graduate half courses) may be used from the MEng program towards the PhD course requirements.
• For direct-entry students, more FCEs may be required depending on the student's background preparation. It is normally expected that at least one of the half courses will be taken outside of the student's principal area of research.

Students must participate in the non-credit seminar course JDE 1000H Ethics in Research during their first or second session of registration.

The academic program must be approved by the department's Examination and Degree Committee during the student's first session.

Flexible-Time PhD Option

The flexible-time PhD program is a full-time PhD program that a student competes while continuing professional practice in areas related to the student’s field of research. Because the option involves continued professional practice, it allows a student to complete the program over a longer period of time. The typical program length is 6 years, and the time limit is 8 years.

The School of Graduate Studies guidelines for the Flexible-Time PhD option require that applicants demonstrate that the research and proposed program of study are related to the applicant’s professional career, and that they will continue their professional activities while registered in the program.

Typically, students will complete 2.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) as follows:

• Year 1-2: 2.0 FCE and the non-credit seminar JDE1000 Ethics in Research, and form a Supervisory Committee
• Year 2: Prepare a research proposal and pass the Comprehensive Exam
• Year 3-5: Research and writing
• Year 6: Defend the thesis at the Final Oral Examination by August 30

Students in the Flexible-Time option are registered full-time during the first four years and part-time during subsequent years in the program. Candidacy is achieved upon successful completion of course work and the Comprehensive Exam, normally by the end of Year 2. Throughout the program students are expected to maintain a schedule of regular meetings with their supervisors and with the Supervisory Committees.

Those interested in the Flexible-Time PhD program should reach out to the departmental admissions office at: [email protected]

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I obtained my bachelor and master’s degrees from the Instituto Politecnico Nacional in Mexico City. I decided to pursue my […]

Ben Downer-Bartholomew is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. His research is focused on the […]

I’m a first-year PhD student in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at UTSC. My research is focused on […]

Bowen Chan is a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy, where he researches virtue and moral psychology. He is […]

Bradley Dunseith is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology. Based on research with food vendors in Mumbai, India, […]

One of the major reasons I chose U of T was its location. I spent a few years outside the […]

I am a PhD candidate in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and […]

Fredericton, New Brunswick native Carly MacEacheron holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in engineering from the University of […]

Carolyn Guay is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto and Rotman Research Institute. Their research considers how the […]

I am a PhD student in Spanish and specializing in contemporary Cuban literature and culture. My academic background includes prior […]

I completed my undergraduate program in Mathematics and Statistics and my master’s degree in Statistics at the Université du Québec […]

Charlotte Clarke has always loved history. “How the past shaped the way things are now. How everyday people lived their […]

Experiences surrounding my upbringing made me excited about studying topics related to infectious diseases. This led me to study Microbiology […]

I’m a first-generation Canadian—my cultural ancestry is from India. I am the first in my family to attend post-secondary education, […]

Dr. Joyce He is an Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Dr. He […]

I am from Germany, where I completed my undergraduate and master’s studies in Egyptology (major), Islamic Studies (first minor), and […]

I was raised by a single mother who immigrated to Canada so that her three children could have better opportunities. […]

I was absolutely delighted to learn from the faculty at U of T when I first returned to school, as […]

I am a Chilean English teacher (EFL) with a MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from the Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación. I have […]

I am a practicing anesthesiologist, pursuing a master’s degree in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology‘s Translational Research Program […]

Colleen McDonell is a PhD candidate in English and the collaborative Book History and Print Culture program at the University […]

I am training to become a Physician-Scientist through the MD-PhD in Molecular Medicine Program of the University of the Philippines […]

I’m from Toronto and I wanted to stay in Canada for my graduate studies. I wanted to go to the […]

I am passionate about nutrition research. I credit my grandmother. Family meals would include a short lesson about the vitamins […]

A proud Canadian, Damilola Iduye has made Truro, Nova Scotia home since immigrating from Nigeria over a decade ago. She […]

I grew up reading about the stars and planets, planning to become a scientist one day. I completed a BSc […]

I was born in Spain. When I was a young child, my family moved to Canada to find a better […]

Originally from Holliston, MA, I’ve been involved in politics and community engagement since I was young. I’m in the process […]

I grew up in a small town north of Toronto. When I started my undergrad at McMaster University, there were […]

Academically and professionally, my background is in public health. Currently, I study how our sociocultural context relates our bodies to […]

Growing up with social workers parents, I immersed myself in social justice from a very early age. The more I […]

Graduate students on the whole are motivated, enthusiastic, and a delight to interact with. Three years ago, we began emailing […]

I earned a bachelor’s degree majoring in Computer Science and Architectural Studies (Design) followed by a professional Master of Architecture […]

Dr. Adeiza Isiaka is an Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) at the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication. His research straddles the […]

Alex is the Research Funding, Awards and Honours Officer in the Office of the Vice Dean, Research & Health Science […]

Cristina D’Amico is the Curriculum Developer at the Teaching Assistants’ Training Program (TATP), where she supports TAs and Course Instructors […]

Fiona is an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream at the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication (GCAC) and at the Institute for […]

Dr. Giulia Rossi is a NSERC-funded postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biological Science where her research explores the metabolic physiology […]

Prof. Jane Freeman is the founding Director of the School of Graduate Studies’ Graduate Centre for Academic Communication (GCAC). She […]

Jay Olson is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychology. He studies a range of topics across psychology and […]

Jordana is an Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) at the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication. She holds a PhD in English […]

Katie Fry is an Assistant Professor (Teaching Stream) at the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication. She has a PhD in […]

Patti Luedecke provides writing and presentation skills support at teaching centres across UofT. She is delighted to be joining the […]

Peter is currently an Assistant Professor with the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto and a […]

Rachael is an Associate Professor (teaching stream) in the Graduate Cen​tre for Academic Communica​​tion, wher​e she teaches both academic writing […]

Tracy is a post-doctoral fellow (SSHRC) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. She completed […]

Elena is a PhD student in Language and Literacies Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at […]

Dr. Elisabeth Prince is a polymer chemist who designs sustainable soft materials for applications in biomedicine. Elisabeth began her research […]

I am currently completing a Master of Management and Professional Accounting (MMPA) graduate degree. It is a two-year program that […]

I have lived in China, Japan, Canada, and the US. I completed my BSc in Neuroscience and Physiology at the […]

The University of Toronto’s stellar reputation clinched it for me. I knew that the PhD program in Chemistry would equip […]

I’m a Brazilian dentist who works specifically in the field of Prosthodontics. I finished my master’s in the year of […]

Fahima Dossa is a surgical resident and health services researcher at the University of Toronto. In 2021, Dossa completed a […]

I chose the University of Toronto because its Medical Science program allowed me to have access to the most advanced […]

Ashley is a doctoral student in the Faculty of Law and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health’s Joint Centre for Bioethics. Their […]

I’m a PhD candidate at the Institute of Medical Science, studying how the brain produces motivated behaviours (i.e., the drive […]

I have always been interested in understanding how the environment works; my curiosity led me to spend my childhood summers […]

As Vice-Dean of Programs and Innovation, I have the pleasure of working with others to provide graduate students with exceptional […]

Hamid Moeiniasl, a PhD Candidate at OISE, U of T, is a dedicated educator and researcher with a strong background […]

In the Department of Cell and Systems Biology, many graduate students have the opportunity to collaborate with faculty from other […]

​I grew up in London, England, before enrolling for undergraduate studies at the University of Bristol, where I completed my […]

When asked what drives his work on trans rights, 2020-2021 Governor General’s gold medal winner Ido Katri has a simple enough answer. […]

For the past 10 years, I have been a member of the University of Toronto community both as an undergraduate […]

Dr. Isabella Huberman’s extensive experience working with Indigenous youth and leading canoe trips on Canada’s northern rivers spurred her research […]

As a science journalist and broadcaster, Ivan covers the science beat for The Globe and Mail. His reporting has taken him from […]

Jad Sinno introduces themself saying, “I grew up in Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki.” They hope people will ask, where is that?, because […]

Jake Dow was taking all science courses in high school when his brother sat him down. “‘Listen,’ he said, ‘the […]

I am in the Master of Music Performance program, studying saxophone. Growing up in Scarborough, Ontario, music was always a […]

Dr. James Santangelo is currently a Miller Postdoctoral Fellow with Rasmus Nielsen in the Department of Integrative Biology at the […]

I came to Toronto from Winnipeg, Manitoba. I received my BSc degree from the University of Winnipeg. I was drawn […]

I am studying in the Leadership, Higher and Adult Education (LHAE) program at OISE [Ontario Institute for Studies in Education] ​as well […]

I’ve recently completed my Master of Visual Studies degree in Curatorial Studies at U of T, where I was one […]

I am a Chinese-born Australian who fell in love with physics at the age of 16. I completed my BSc […]

Jill Downey, a master’s student in environmental chemistry, wants to make your home safer. “When people hear ‘environmental chemistry,’ they […]

I am from Singapore and did my BA at Brown University in Rhode Island. I came to the University of […]

Joel was born and raised in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. He completed both his BSc and MSc at Acadia University. […]

John Hudson is the GCAC’s Program Coordinator. He has a BA (Hons) in English and Film Studies from Northumbria University, […]

I am from London, Ontario and completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo. Originally, I was in a […]

I was born in Greece and moved to Toronto as a young child. I completed a BA in archaeology at […]

By leveraging the study of astrophysics, statistics and computer science, Dr. Joshua Speagle is developing new statistical techniques to create […]

I am an anthropologist of religion in North America based at the Department for the Study of Religion. So, I […]

Following my undergraduate studies at McGill University, I worked for two years to make sure that I could afford to […]

I study the representations of the gendered body in contemporary French and Québécois poetry. Following undergraduate study in Québec and […]

After undergraduate [studies], I spent some time in business before returning to the University of Toronto to complete my master’s […]

Karl Fritze is a PhD candidate in the U of T Department of English, where he has worked as a […]

U of T was my top choice as it has a specific specialization for clinical social work and a collaborative […]

In my twenties, I spent several years working in various capacities in the publishing industry: I interned at The Walrus […]

Kate Frank is a PhD candidate in the Department of English at the University of Toronto. Her SSHRC-funded dissertation research […]

Kate Mitchell knows a lot about the law—and about how scholarly research can make the case for change. Currently studying […]

Preston has been a soccer coach, food bank worker and a workplace rights activist, but the volunteer work that’s touched […]

I am pursuing an MA in the Field of Creative Writing, through the University of Toronto’s English Department. It is […]

Dr. Kieran Quinn was wrapping up a busy day of clinical service on the general medicine ward at Mount Sinai Hospital […]

I served as a police officer in Athens for almost 14 years, eventually obtaining the rank of police captain. After […]

I hold a BA in Political Science from the University of Alberta. For a summer, I worked as a researcher […]

Krystina Raymond is an instructor at the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication. She is a PhD candidate in Developmental Psychology […]

I have been a member of the U of T community since September 2011, when I chose to pursue my […]

Newfoundlander Lauren Squires hails from St. John’s, where she earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in psychology from Memorial […]

For Lauren Williams, the first engineering student to receive a Naylor Fellowship, her path to research started with “I can […]

I arrived at the University of Toronto as a student, completing a BA through New College and later an MA […]

What really sets U of T apart is the opportunity to collaborate with organizations such as the Ontario Ministry of […]

​​​​​​ I have been at U of T since 2009, when I began my combined Juris Doctor and Master of […]

I am an MA student at the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (CERES) in the Munk School of […]

I grew up in Lebanon and moved to Montreal to study at McGill University. After completing my Bachelor of Engineering, I decided to apply to the University […]

I chose U of T because the Master of Biotechnology [MBiotech] program provides a unique mix. It gives students a […]

Prior to U of T, I worked in a tier one law firm in Nigeria and the legal department of […]

I hold an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto, and I’m finishing up my PhD at the University of […]

I am in my fifth year of studies in the Department of Exercise Sciences in the Faculty of Kinesiology and […]

I moved from Dallas, Texas to Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2004 to pursue a BA (St. Thomas University), then fell […]

I transitioned easily as a new student to U of T. At orientation, I instantly felt that I was in […]

Matthaeus Ware is a gifted leader dedicated to enhancing the student experience, mentoring youth, engaging peers through outreach and improving […]

The best part about the University of Toronto graduate school experience is being able to study at a world-class university […]

I began studying Spanish in undergrad (University of Victoria), before spending some time in Spain and eventually moving to Argentina […]

I’m from Calgary and just finishing my PhD in Anthropology. My specialty is arctic archaeology, and I’ve been studying the […]

Dr. Meaghan Williams achieved her doctorate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto in 2023. Prior […]

I am completing a Master of Science in Biomedical Communications (MScBMC). It’s a professional degree in the visual communication of […]

Michael is a PhD candidate in Languages & Literacies Education at OISE, and his research focuses on the intersection between […]

Dr. Michael Stepner is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Toronto, where he studies […]

The latter portion of my undergraduate experience at the University of Toronto was extremely fulfilling. The guidance, support, and encouragement […]

I completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rice University in Houston, Texas followed by a […]

I earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology at the University of Guelph. I am currently doing a Masters of […]

Mingyang Wei has always wanted his work to have a positive social impact. As an undergraduate student in Physics at Peking […]

I chose U of T because of its stellar reputation, world-class faculty, and unique graduate environment, all of which would […]

I had several offers from graduate schools in the UK, USA, and Canada. Choosing the right school was a difficult […]

Monica is a SSHRC-funded PhD candidate in the Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences at the Dalla Lana School […]

What I like the most about U of T is that it has a very collaborative, rather than competitive, research […]

​​I chose to study Environmental Chemistry because it combines two of my interests: the outdoor environment and chemistry. I grew […]

After a childhood spent in Massachusetts and Israel, I earned a Bachelor of Science (Kinesiology) from Dalhousie University. The University […]

Nayani Jensen, a doctoral candidate in U of T’s Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, explains. “The Mount […]

Fernandez, who grew up in Halifax, dived into biochemistry research from his first year at Mount Allison University, where he […]

I am from Southampton, Ontario. I worked as a technician at U of T before deciding to return to graduate […]

I was born in Duesseldorf, Germany. I graduated from the University of Mannheim with a Bachelor of Science in Business […]

The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry has a diverse and interactive multidisciplinary program, especially in the field of bioengineering. […]

Noah Khan is a PhD student in the department of Social Justice Education within the Ontario Institute for Studies in […]

I am a first-year PhD student at the Women and Gender Studies Institute. My main areas of interest are aesthetics, […]

I chose U of T because of its reputation for excellence in research, innovation, diversity, and exciting edgy programs. U […]

I came to Toronto from the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh, and before […]

Phil De Luna is currently Program Director, Energy Materials Challenge Program at the National Research Council Canada. He is leading […]

Pranjal Tiwari is a PhD candidate in the department of Physics, where he focuses on the magnetic and electrical properties […]

I have been at U of T since 1995. I started out as Director of the graduate program in Planning […]

A graduate program is what brought me to Canada in 1970! My husband and I originally intended to stay for […]

As Graduate Chair, I oversee the world’s largest and intellectually most diverse philosophy department. The size of the department enables us […]

I have been at U of T since 1978. I have seen the growth of the graduate programs in life […]

I have always enjoyed a combination of research, teaching, and academic administration. What I most value about the University is […]

My first U of T student card was from the ’80s when I took a summer course at the Mississauga […]

I completed my PhD in Philosophy of Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, […]

I was born and raised in Chicago. I headed off to Cornell University in 1964 and to Harvard for graduate […]

​​​​​​​Working with students to realize their potential is very important to me. An important goal during my tenure is to […]

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Postdoctoral fellow supervisor (of Michelle Afk​hami​​) Postdoctoral fellows play a crucial role in the research community because they are at […]

Postdoctoral fellows play many roles in my group. They bring diversity of ideas and experiences which provide all group members […]

I became interested in academic administration when I was asked to be Associate Dean very early in my academic career. […]

​​​​​​​Postdoctoral fellow supervisor (of Christina Geisen) I received my BA from Loyola College (now part of Concordia University) in Montreal […]

I have a strong interest in the genomics of neurobehavioural disorders. As part of my graduate studies, I am investigating […]

Rana Haidar is a PhD student in the Language and Literacies Education Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in […]

I have stuttered all my life. As a result, I struggled with the way I spoke and dreaded any speaking […]

Rob Twiss is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Comparative Literature. His research interests include early-modern European satire, the […]

I am originally from China and doing a Master of Engineering degree in Materials Science and Engineering. U of T […]

I chose U of T for many reasons including the superior reputation of the professors in the Faculty of Music […]

I graduated from Alberta College of Art and Design in 2017. My artworks are research based, meaning the artwork is […]

​I completed a BSc in electronics and electrical communications engineering and an MSc in engineering mathematics, both from Cairo University. […]

University for me has been a life-changing experience. As a single mother, it was very difficult at times but totally […]

Dr. Samuel Cardwell received his PhD in Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto in 2023, supported by a SSHRC […]

I was born and raised in Michigan and I am a citizen of Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians […]

I completed undergraduate studies at the University of Rochester, specializing in economics and mathematics. This gave me a solid background […]

Sara Ahmed is currently an MD/PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. She is completing her PhD at the Institute […]

I have been interested in outer space since an early age. To pursue my passion, I enrolled in the Space […]

When I was considering graduate study, I knew I wanted to perform research that challenges traditional boundaries: cracking the genetic […]

I came to the University of Toronto to complete a Master of Health Science degree in Community Health and Epidemiology […]

In high school, I had a keen interest in mechanical engineering; my dream was to build robots that could cure […]

My research focuses on developing novel therapeutics against the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes multidrug-resistant infections. The infections are often […]

I was born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick, which was where I stayed for my undergraduate degree at the […]

I am Sophia and I am from Macao SAR, China.  This is my fifth year in Canada (or in Toronto […]

I was born in Milan, Italy. I am a graduate in Communication, Media and Advertising and now I’m studying Publishing and Communication […]

Stephanie Redekop is a PhD Candidate in the Department of English, where she is writing a SSHRC-funded dissertation about the […]

I chose to do my MBA at U of T primarily because of the reputation of the Rotman School of […]

I am a PhD candidate and Pierre Elliott Trudeau doctoral scholar in Planning in the Department of Geography and Planning. […]

In my former position as the Chair’s Executive Assistant in the Department of English, I had the opportunity to work […]

I have always been moved by the complexity, struggle, and resilience of the human experience. I completed my master’s degree […]

I am originally from Amman, Jordan, born to parents of Palestinian origin. Following high school, I moved to Canada to […]

The University of Toronto is a world-renowned school so I knew I was applying to a leading graduate institution [Psychology […]

I was born in Fano, a small seaside town on the Adriatic coast in Italy. I have always been passionate […]

During the final year of my undergraduate study at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), I was given an opportunity […]

I grew up in a small town called Orangeville, Ontario. I did my undergrad at McMaster University in Psychology, Neuroscience […]

I completed my BASc in Electrical Engineering at UBC’s Okanagan campus. Throughout my undergrad, my interest was most caught by […]

Tristan Loria is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Music investigating ways to enhance motor learning in music. His […]

The Medieval Studies program at U of T offered a collegial atmosphere from the first day of my studies. My […]

I have always been fascinated by the complexity of multilingual literature. I am completing a doctoral thesis on self-translation between […]

My PhD is a Joint Educational Placement (JEP) program, with the University of Toronto (where I did my undergraduate in […]

As an International Visiting Graduate Student (IVGS) at the University of Toronto’s Department of Anthropology, I am hosted by a […]

​I had to choose between two graduate schools: U of T and Stanford. I chose U of T because I […]

Bill Kroeger grew up in lower Manhattan, among diverse cultures and voices. A former philosophy major, schoolteacher, and student of […]

William Staples is a PhD student in the Department of Psychology. His research explores the influence of prejudice on moral […]

The University of Toronto was my one and only choice; a friend in her PhD program in Spanish highly recommended […]

The University of Toronto is a prestigious university with Nobel Prize Laureates and great scientists. What attracted me most is […]

Natasha Yasmin Sheikhan is a doctoral student in Health Systems Research at the Institute for Health Policy Management and Evaluation […]

Yimu Zhao is an NSERC Post-doctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic at Columbia University. Her primary research […]

I’m a PhD student in the Department of East Asian Studies [EAS], studying the material culture of pre-modern China. My […]

The graduate school experience at the University of Toronto is what you make of it. With a vast campus and […]

• Engineering

Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The PhD in Biomedical Engineering is a research-intensive program that immerses students in the application of biomedical sciences and engineering principles to advance solutions for challenges in human health. Students can be admitted to the PhD program through direct entry after completion of a bachelor’s degree or, alternatively, after the completion of a master’s degree. PhD students receive a guaranteed minimum stipend for four years.

Length of study

Four years (defined as the period for an academically well-prepared student to complete all program requirements while registered full-time).

Admission requirements

• Entry into PhD program after completion of a bachelor’s degree (i.e., direct entry) : A four-year bachelor’s degree in engineering, medicine, dentistry, physical sciences, or biological sciences, or its equivalent , with an average of at least 3.7 on a 4.0 grade point average scale (i.e., A minus) in the final two years of study from a recognized university ; or
• Entry into PhD program after completion of a master’s degree : A master’s degree in engineering, medicine, dentistry, physical sciences, or biological sciences, or its equivalent , with a cumulative average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 grade point average scale (i.e., B plus) from a recognized university .
• Proof of English-language proficiency is required for all applicants educated outside of Canada whose native language is not English. View the BME English-language requirement policy to determine whether you are required to take a language test and for a list of accepted testing agencies and their minimum scores required for admission.
• Applicants must find a BME faculty supervisor. ( NB : You do not need a supervisor at the time of application. However, admission is competitive and only candidates who have found and secured a research supervisor will be admitted to begin graduate studies.)
• MD/PhD candidates must apply through the MD program
• Possession of the minimum requirements for entry does not guarantee admission
• GRE score is not required

Application procedures

• Complete the online application (see requirements ) and pay the application fee
• Arrange for your English test score to be reported electronically to the University of Toronto by the testing agency if applicable. The institution code for U of T is 0982-00 (there is no need to specify a department)
• Contact the BME Graduate Office to identify your BME faculty supervisor

Rolling admission; multiple rounds with different enrollment capacity in each cycle

Tuition fees

Last updated: January, 2022

More information

What can I do with my degree? Read our alumni stories

Life at BME, from BME students

Learn about different research labs

Don't know how to approach a faculty? Listen to our podcasts

Sign up for an information webinar

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© 2024 Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering

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• JD/PhD (Philosophy)

Director: Assistant Dean Sara Faherty ( sara.faherty@utoronto.ca )

Requirements

The Combined JD/PhD (Philosophy) Program enables students to pursue a profound investigation of the complex issues that lie at the intersection between law and philosophy.

The program allows students to complete the two degrees one year faster than if they were pursued separately. At the end of that period, the student will have completed the JD degree and reached the dissertation stage of the PhD in philosophy.

Admission to the PhD program requires either a four-year bachelor's degree or a Master's degree in philosophy, from a recognized university. A student seeking admission on the basis of a four-year bachelor's degree must have completed at least six full courses in philosophy (twelve semester courses), with minimum average grades of B+ in the applicants' overall program and A- in the philosophy courses. A student seeking admission on the basis of a master's degree in philosophy must have an average grade of at least an A- in that program. 

• In the first year of the program students complete all the first year courses at the Faculty of Law.
• In the second and third years of the program, the Director must approve all courses* with the following minimum requirements.
• Successfully complete 48** credits at the Faculty of Law AND
• Successfully complete 4 half-courses in philosophy at 2 credits each AND
• Satisfy the compulsory requirements of the upper years of the JD including the moot, a perspective course, and an International/Comparative/Transnational Perspective (ICT) course - see JD Degree Requirements in the Academic Handbook for details.
• Courses taken during the second and third year count towards the credit requirement at the Faculty of Law.

 * In order to complete the requirements of the 3 year JD program, the student must have a minimum of 48 law credits in the second and third year of the program PLUS the 4 half-courses in Philosophy. ** Students who intend to complete their JD one year later (i.e. year 4) must do a minimum of 38 law credits in years 2 and 3 and the remaining 10 law credits in year 4. This may apply to students who decide to do more philosophy graduate courses in Year 2 and Year 3 than the required four half courses.

3.    In the fourth year of the program:

• Students must complete qualifying year requirements in philosophy and meet the research tool requirement. 
• Dissertation as required by the Department of Philosophy and the School of Graduate Studies.

Note: Notwithstanding the Department of Philosophy's course selection process, students must meet the Faculty of Law course selection deadline. Students must submit their proposed course selections for years two and three of the program to the Director prior to the applicable course selection deadlines in each year and in each Faculty. Any changes must also be approved by the Director.

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Those interested in the combined program must obtain separate admission to both the PhD program in philosophy and the JD program. The program is designed for students who are already qualified to enter the PhD in philosophy as well as the JD program, but in limited cases candidates who have completed a master's program in another discipline may be considered.

To apply to the JD Program at the Faculty of Law, see Application Procedure for the JD Program  on this Web site. For more information about this combined program, contact the: 

Admissions Office Faculty of Law University of Toronto 84 Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 2C5 Telephone: (416) 978-3716 E-mail: admissions.law@utoronto.ca  

Admission applications for the PhD program in philosophy may be obtained from:

Graduate Department of Philosophy Jackman Humanities Building 170 St. George Street, Room 410 University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario M5R 2M8 Tel: (416) 978-3312 Fax: (416) 978-8703 For more information: http://philosophy.utoronto.ca/st-george/graduate/admission/

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Academic Programs

• JD/MBA Program
• JD/MA (Criminology)
• JD/PhD (Criminology and Sociolegal Studies)
• JD/MA (Economics)
• JD/PhD (Economics)
• JD/MA (English)
• JD/MA (European and Russian Affairs)
• JD/MGA (Master of Global Affairs)
• JD/MI (Information)
• JD/PhD (Political Science)
• JD/MPP (Public Policy)
• JD/MSW (Social Work)
• JD/Certificate in Aboriginal Legal Studies
• JD/Certificate in Environmental Studies
• JD/Collaborative Program in Jewish Studies
• JD/Certificate in Sexual Diversity and Gender Studies
• Graduate Programs
• Schedules and Timetables
• JD Academic Handbook

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

MIE PhD students produce a thesis of original work with the support of world-renowned researchers and facilities.

MIE Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students work with world renowned faculty members to gain the knowledge and competencies needed for a career in research or industry leadership. The keystone of the doctoral program is a thesis of original work, supervised by a professor.

Students entering the PhD program typically have a Master’s degree. Outstanding applicants coming directly from a bachelor-level program can also apply for direct entry into the PhD program. Full-time PhD students receive funding during the program and can apply for various scholarships.

Admission Requirements

Direct entry phd, flex-time phd, tuition fees, program requirements, specializations, qualifying exam, annual progress review meetings, thesis & final oral examination, phd funding, teaching assistantships, helpful links.

Please note that meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission . The Graduate Office cannot provide assessments of credentials prior to application.

• A master's degree with high academic standing from a recognized university (see Alternate Paths to PhD below)
• Minimum GPA requirement of 3.3 (B+; 77-79%) in the previous two years of graduate study. View U of T's Grade Scale for reference. International students should use the International Degree Equivalencies Tool to see which international credentials are required
• Evidence of exceptional research ability
• To be considered for admission, all applicants that require proof of ELP must meet the minimum score requirement for every component of the English language proficiency exam including reading, writing, speaking and listening
• All test components must be completed and passed at the same time (applicants cannot combine scores from different exams)
• For more information, including approved test centres, visit the School of Graduate Studies website

Alternate Paths to PhD:

• Direct Entry PhD: Exceptionally strong applicants (GPA: A- or higher) with a bachelor's degree may be nominated by an MIE professor for direct entry to the PhD program. Learn more about Direct Entry PhD below.
• MASc Fast-Track and Retroactive Transfer to PhD: Exceptional MASc students (GPA: A- or higher and no grade lower than B+) may request to transfer to the PhD program before completing all of the MASc program requirements. Learn more about transferring from MASc to PhD

Exceptionally strong applicants with a bachelor's degree may apply directly to the PhD program.

Additional admissions requirements:

• GPA: A- or higher
• An MIE professor must nominate the student for the Direct Entry PhD program by submitting a one page summary outlining the reasons for the nomination and indicating whether they are able to supervise the student to the Graduate Coordinator: gradchair@mie.utoronto.ca

The Flex-time PhD program offers the flexibility for professionals who want to continue to work while pursuing their PhD part-time.

The program requirements for the Flex-time PhD are the same as the full-time program with the following exceptions:

• The qualifying exam must be taken within 16 months of registration rather than 12 months
• PhD candidacy is achieved if all requirements have been met by end of 3rd year rather than end of 2nd year

Please note:

• the Flex-time PhD program is not eligible for funding support
• Transfers between the full-time and flex-time PhD programs are not permitted

View a the PhD Flex-time Program Requirements checklist

Those interested in applying to the Flex-time PhD program must:

• a thesis topic
• the extent to which the employer will provide time and resources for the student to work on their Ph.D.
• a proposal on how the IP policies of the University will be respected.
• If the Committee is satisfied that the prospective student, his/her employer and an MIE professor are all committed to the success of the student’s program, the student will be invited to submit a formal application

The information below is for reference only and is subject to change annually. Registered students should check their fee balance on their ACORN account . View the U of T Student Accounts website for more information about fees.

Pay annually:

• Domestic students: $8,489.52/year
• International students: $9,113.52/year

Pay per session:

• Domestic students: $4,272.26/session
• International students: $4,896.26/session

Applicants to MIE's PhD program must complete the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Online Admissions Application  by the deadline indicated below.

• Application window: October 1 - January 1 (application fee deadline)
• Document deadline January 15
• Application window:- June 1 - October 1 (application fee deadline)
• Document deadline October15

Same application deadlines for Canadian Citizens, Permanent Residents and International Students.

PhD Application Instructions

Students are not required to submit paper copies of their documents unless requested by the Graduate Office.

• Create an  SGS applicant profile and pay the application fee (non-refundable/transferable, regardless of the circumstance). See application deadlines above.

Once your profile has been created, the following is required:

• 2 references. Email addresses for referees must be institution-based (not GMail, Hotmail, etc.). Both referees must hold academic appointments and it is required that one or both of the referees be a previous thesis supervisor. References from friends and family will not be accepted. Instructions will be sent to each referee by email via the SGS system on how to submit a reference letter.
• Complete (or most up-to-date) academic record / transcript(s). Upload post-secondary institutional transcripts as PDF files. Every transcript must include its respective grading scale . You are not required to submit official paper transcripts unless requested by the Graduate Office.
• Resume/C.V.
• Letter of Intent: explain why you want to join our program. Describe your research interest, career goals, the courses you intend to take, etc. The letter should be 650 – 1000 words.
• Field of Study:  Students must indicate up to three fields of study.
• If the student’s admitting degree was issued by a country  not listed under Exemptions on the  School of Graduate Studies  website, the student is required to provide English Language Proficiency (ELP) exam results electronically. MIE requires proof of ELP even if their language of instruction and examination was English. Please note that all test components (reading, writing, speaking and listening) must be completed and passed at the same time (applicants cannot combine scores from different exams). For minimum requirements and approved test centres visit the School of Graduate Studies website. Important : If ELP exam results are required, an application is not considered complete until the results are submitted electronically from the testing institution.

Students are not required to submit official paper transcripts unless it is requested by the Graduate Office. The review process will take place using your electronic transcripts.  Please note that a request for an official transcript is for verification purposes and does not mean acceptance into the program.

If you are receive an email request for paper documents, mail to:

PhD Program Graduate Studies Office, MC108 Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering 5 King’s College Road Toronto, ON M5S 3G8 Canada

After application submission

Admission into the PhD programs is extremely competitive: we only offer admission to a small fraction of applicants, because these students must be funded, either by external scholarships or by a professor's research funds. As a result, PhD applicants are strongly encouraged to contact professors with whom they would like to work, either before or after submitting an application. Without funding, we cannot offer admission.

Students can review the status of their application on the SGS Online Admissions Application website .

Documents Pending

Additional documents required. A student's application is not considered complete until all of the required documents have been submitted. Once all documents have been submitted, status will not automatically update to Under Review. Statuses are updated manually on an ongoing basis.

Under Review

Application complete. Faculty members will review applications and may contact students about offering supervision. Students should actively pursue confirming a supervisor as admission can only be granted to students who have secured a supervisor. Students can contact MIE Faculty members directly to inquire about potential supervision.

If the faculty member has confirmed a student's supervision, the student will be notified of next steps including submission of official final transcripts. Confirmation from the supervisor to the Graduate Office is required to proceed in the PhD program.

Students will then be notified of the results of their application and their status will update to Decision Made.

Graduate Research Days

Select applicants will be invited to learn more about research at MIE at Graduate Research Days .  Applicants will be notified if they have been selected to attend.

Winter Orientation was held on December 10, 2024. The presentation is available here .

• Transfer credit may be requested for up to two previously completed Half Credit Equivalent (HCE) courses (grade of at least A-) that were not used for credit towards a degree
• PhD students must remain in good academic standing by
• maintaining an average GPA of A-
• no grade lower than B- (No failure, FZ, is permitted)
• completing yearly requirements (see below)
• progress review meetings (including the Qualifying Exam ) must be held at least every twelve months from the initial date of registration to get feedback on the progress and quality of their work

Note: Failure to remain in good academic standing will result in various sanctions such as student ineligibility for funding and registration in the program.

Yearly requirements

Download Yearly Requirements Checklist

• at least three MIE courses
• at most one APS or TEP course
• at most one 500 level course
• at most one Reading course (assigned by supervisor)

Note: Fast-track students must complete seven graduate HCE courses (at least four MIE courses) in the first two years of their PhD program

• Attend JDE1000H Ethics in Graduate Research seminar
• Attend 70% of MIE's Distinguished Seminar Series (SRD4444Y). Attendance recorded with student's T-card
• Hold Qualifying Exam (within 12 months of PhD registration)
• Preliminary work on thesis under supervision of MIE faculty member
• Complete fifth graduate level HCE course (if not completed in Year 1)
• Hold first PhD Committee meeting (within 24 months of PhD registration)
• Continue work on thesis

Candidacy will be achieved upon completion of Year 1 & 2 requirements. Candidacy status appears on ACORN.

• Hold second PhD Committee meeting (within 36 months of PhD registration)
• Hold third PhD Committee meeting (before end of fourth year of program)
• Hold MIE Departmental exam after thesis submission to committee (may skip this exam and go directly to Final Oral Exam with committee's vote)
• Hold Final Oral Exam (before end of fourth year of program)

View the Program Requirements section above for required courses.

View the  Courses  page to view all offered MIE courses.

PhD students may pursue collaborative specializations in the following areas:

• Engineering Education
• Psychology and Engineering

In MIE, the purpose of the qualifying exam is to assess the prospects that the student will complete a quality PhD thesis and will develop the ability to operate as an independent researcher. The date and time of the qualifying exam is coordinated between the student and their supervisory committee. The committee consists of the student’s supervisor and at least two other professors appointed as SGS Graduate Faculty with expertise relevant to the thesis topic. The majority of committee members should be MIE faculty members.

Requirements : In order to schedule a qualifying exam, the PhD student must meet the following requirements:

• successfully complete at least four Half Credit Equivalent courses (at least five for Fast-Track PhD), with at least an A- average
• obtain one credit on ACORN for attending JDE1000H Ethics in Graduate Research seminar
• obtain one credit on ACORN for attending 70% of MIE's Distinguished Seminar Series  (SRD4444Y). Attendance recorded with student's T-card

A student who does not meet the above requirements may be required to delay the qualifying exam until requirements are met.  A substantial delay (1 term or more) without Grad Office permission will result in a request to SGS to terminate the program.

Program Requirement : To maintain good academic standing, doctoral students are expected to hold their qualifying exam according to the following schedule from time of admission:

• 12 months - PhD students with a completed Master's degree
• 8 months - Fast Track PhD students (after fast-tracking from a Master's degree).
• 16 months - Direct entry from a Bachelor's degree
• 24 months - Flex-time PhD students.

Process before exam: At least 10 business days before the scheduled qualifying exam, the student must:

• book a room for the exam by contacting  reception@mie.utoronto.ca
• Notify the Graduate Office of their qualifying exam via the Graduate Management System (GMS)
• This document is typically double-spaced and no longer than 10 pages (including figures, tables, and a short list of references). Consult with your supervisor for specific expectations. Read about how to write a good qualifying exam research proposal

Procedure during exam:

• The qualifying exam begins with a student presentation of no more than 20 minutes that summarizes their research proposal.
• This is followed by questions from the committee. (note: MIE PhD qualifying exams are open to other students, unless otherwise requested).
• Following the exam, the committee assesses progress to date and suitability for the PhD program.
• the committee decides whether to adjourn the exam and allow the student another opportunity to pass the exam within three months ,
• or to fail the student and recommend termination of the PhD program.

Following a successful qualifying exam, a PhD student must meet his/her supervisory committee for a progress review meeting at least every twelve months . These meetings allow the committee to assess the progress of the student, in order to decide whether the student remains in good academic standing (see Program Requirements ).

At least ten business days before the scheduled PhD committee meeting, the student must:

• book a room for the exam by contacting  reception@mie.utoronto.ca
• no more than 10 double-spaced pages
• summary of recent progress in the research
• major tasks that remain and a timetable for completion of the program
• papers (journal and conference, published and submitted) and presentations that have resulted from the work
• The student may include additional material as appendices to the report (and should refer to this material in the report), however, the committee is not obligated to read any additional material.

Similar to the qualifying exam, a progress review meeting begins with a student presentation of no more than 20 minutes, followed by questions from the committee. Following the meeting, the committee assesses progress since the last exam/meeting. If the assessment is “unsatisfactory”, another meeting must be scheduled within three months, to determine whether to allow the student to remain in the program.

Due to COVID-19 exams maybe conducted remotely via video conferencing, in-person, or a combination.

The PhD program culminates in the presentation of an oral and written thesis.

A student is ready to defend the thesis once:

• The student's course requirements have been met
• or the thesis committee has decided to forgo the Departmental via Ballot on GMS
• Supervisor must trigger the vote to bypass by selecting the Ballot button on the supervisor's student listing on GMS.
• The written thesis has been submitted to their supervisor

Once the thesis is ready for the external examiner's appraisal, a member of the supervisory committee must submit the Examiner Nomination Form .

Examiner Nominations

A member of the supervisory committee must submit an External Nomination Form to the Graduate Studies Office via the nomination form at least eight weeks before the proposed exam date.

The date and time of the oral exam is coordinated between the student and the FOE committee.

SGS will approve the external examiner. Approval criteria can be found in the Guidelines for the Doctoral Final Oral Examination .

Approval of the External Examiner

An external examiner nomination form must be submitted to initiate the approval process.  Form must be accessed with a UofT/MIE email address.

C.V. format: website link or document (word, .pdf).

The external examiner's c.v. must contain the following:

• Examiner's current title (academic position)
• Year current title was attained

If not included on the c.v., a link to the researcher's website must include the following:

• If at UofT, supervisor must be identified.
• A list of current and graduated research students (Masters and PhD).
• A list of publications.

Once the examiner is approved, the written thesis may then be sent to the external examiner.

The candidate may use UTsend , Dropbox , OneDrive , etc to distribute the thesis to the examiner and other members of the committee.

Scheduling the Final Oral Exam

A committee member or the student should use a scheduling tool to arrange the meeting date (e.g. Doodle , Calendly , etc) in order to minimize the interactions with the examiner before the exam.

Once the date is set, the student must submit the PhD Final Oral Scheduling Form at least 6 weeks before the exam date.

Once the scheduling form is received, the Graduate Program Administrator will:

• Distribute the examiner's instructions to the approved examiner.
• SGS requires a minimum of 20 business days (excluding weekends, holidays and winter break) to fulfill a chair request.

Due To COVID-19 Restrictions: Until further notice all exams are to be conducted remotely via video conferencing

A member of the supervisory committee must arrange video conferencing details for virtual exams.

The candidate cannot host a virtual final exam.

After the Exam

Following a successful FOE, and once the thesis has been finalized, the PhD student must submit their corrected, final thesis to their supervisor for approval. If the student's supervisor requests a printed copy, visit the SGS website for standard formatting requirements.

I f a printed report is requested by the supervisor:

• the binding of theses should be good quality buckram hard-cover, with gold lettering. Colour of PhD thesis cover must be blue.

SGS does not require a physical copy of the thesis. The student must upload an electronic copy of the supervisor-approved thesis to ProQuest in accordance with the  SGS thesis submission guidelines.

The Graduate Office does not require a physical copy of the thesis.

After submitting their thesis  to ProQuest, the student must:

• Complete the departmental Clearance Form online.

Technical problems accessing the clearance form must be reported to:

Departmental IT Support:   computing@mie.utoronto.ca

Convocation Ceremony

Ceremony details are communicated by SGS and the Office of Convocation .

Final Year Fees

Final year fees are pro-rated by date of final thesis submission .

Stay Connected!

Registered PhD candidates receive enough funding to cover tuition and incidental fees. In addition, PhD candidates receive a minimum of $25,000 per year for up to four years (5 years for PhD direct-entry and fast-track students).

Most students earn more than the minimum as a result of teaching assistantships and scholarships, such as from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), and the Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) program.

View the Scholarships & Funding page for more information.

Doctoral Completion Award

The DCA provides tuition support to full-time PhD students who are beyond the funded cohort (year 5 for PhD and year 6 for PhD direct and fast-track students)

Applicants must be current with PhD committee meetings and demonstrate need.

For more information contact the Grad Office at dca@mie.utoronto.ca

All full-time graduate students are eligible to apply for Teaching Assistant (TA) paid positions at MIE. TAs assist undergraduate and graduate course instructors with supervision of labs, leading tutorials and marking assignments and tests.

Apply for TA positions and view more job and volunteer opportunities on the  Professional Development  page.

AMIGAS is the graduate student association at MIE. They host social, athletic, academic, and professional development events for all MIE graduate students, aiming to enrich their professional and personal leadership experiences.

School of Graduate Studies (SGS)

• SGS homepage
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PhD Final Oral Scheduling

• External Examiner Request Form
• PhD Final Oral Scheduling Form
• SGS FOE Guidelines

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• Book appointments
• Request transfers
• U of T webmail

Email:  gradoffice@mie.utoronto.ca

MASc & PhD applicants: Email:  grad.admission@mie.utoronto.ca

Office: MC108, 5 King's College Road

Hours: Monday to Friday, 10 am - 4 pm

Mailing address: Graduate Studies Office, MC108 Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering University of Toronto 5 King’s College Road Toronto, ON M5S 3G8 Canada

Professor Tobin Filleter

Associate Chair of Graduate Studies

Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering University of Toronto 5 King’s College Road Toronto, Ontario • M5S 3G8 • Canada Phone: +1-416-978-3040

Traditional Land Acknowledgement

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

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Department of Materials Science & Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is the most advanced research degree in the Faculty. Working under the direction of a supervisor, PhD students engage in original research that contributes to their field of study. Advanced course work accompanies the pursuit of the thesis.

As a PhD student, you’ll receive guaranteed base support funding for up to four years of study. Current graduate scholarship funding tables can be viewed here .

Admission Requirements

Successful completion of a research master's degree in engineering, with an overall average of at least B+ (78%+), from an accredited institution. Current MASc students within our department can apply to fast-track into the PhD program before completing the MASc degree requirements

View the  full graduate studies admission requirements here .

Program Requirements & Time for Completion

The program of study normally includes 2.0 FCE (four half-courses), including the weekly Graduate Research Seminar, the Graduate Ethics Seminar, and a thesis.

In the PhD program, the departmental seminar comprises a minimum of two seminars presented to the academic staff/students of MSE.

Within 12 months of initial enrollment, all PhD students must pass a general Qualifying Examination based on the course material taken within the Department and on the background knowledge in the student's field of specialization.

The required thesis is based upon research work carried out in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering.

PhD candidates typically take between two and six years to complete the requirements of the degree. Only full-time study is available.

See all program requirements here: MSE Graduate Student Handbook

Research Areas & Affiliated Core Professors

Additive & advanced manufacturing.

• Zou, Yu  – Extreme mechanics & Advanced Manufacturing
• Naguib, Hani E.  (MIE/MSE) – Smart & Functional Materials
• Hibbard, Glenn D.  – Cellular Hybrid Materials
• Coyle, Thomas W.  – Advanced Coating Technologies
• Thorpe, Steven J.  – Surface Engineering & Electrochemistry

Advanced Characterization & Forensics

• Perovic, Doug D.  – Electron Microscopy,  Microelectronics & Forensics
• Howe, Jane  – In situ  & correlative microscopy group

Biomaterials

• Sone, Eli D.  (BME/MSE) – Composite Biological Materials
• Hatton, Ben  – Functional & Adaptive Surfaces
• Matsuura, Naomi   (BME/MSE) – Nanotechnology, Molecular Imaging & Systems Biology

Coatings & Surfaces

• Nogami, Jun  – Nanostructured Growth & Characterization
• Ruda, Harry E.  – Advanced Nanotechnology & Semiconductors
• Lian, Keryn K.  – Flexible Energy & Electronics

Computational Material & Data Analytics

• Singh, Chandra Veer   – Computational Materials Engineering
• Zou, Yu   - Laboratory for Extreme Mechanics & Additive Manufacturing
• Hattrick-SImpers, Jason  – AUTOnomous DIscovery of ALloys (AUTODIAL)
• von Lilienfeld, Anatole  –  Professor & Clark Chair of Advanced Materials at the Vector Institute

Electronics, Photonics & Sensors

• Kherani, Nazir P.  (ECE/MSE) – Advanced Photovoltaics & Devices
• Ruda, Harry E.  – Advanced Nanotechnology / Semiconductors
• Lu, Zheng-Hong  – Organic Optoelectronics

Energy Generation & Storage

• Barati, Mansoor   – Sustainable Materials Processing
• Azimi, Gisele   – Strategic Materials

Nano, 2D & Composite Materials

• Singh, Chandra Veer  – Computational Materials Engineering
• Perovic, Doug D.  – Electron Microscopy , Microelectronics & Forensics

Smart Materials & Devices

Sustainable materials processing.

• Barati, Mansoor  – Sustainable Materials Processing

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• Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
• PharmD for Pharmacists
• Graduate Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry Specialist
• International Pharmacy Graduate Program
• Continuous Professional Development
• Pharmaceutical Industry Residency Program

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Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PhD)

Earn your phd in the heart of canada’s innovation and health research ecosystem.

PhD students at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy have the opportunity to further their research in collaboration with a vibrant community of world-leading professionals and researchers from a variety of disciplines and background. Our faculty is a diverse and multidisciplinary community exploring some of the world’s most pressing health sciences challenges, and breaking new ground on solutions.

Located in Toronto’s discovery district at the historic University of Toronto St. George campus, our graduate students have the opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of faculties and departments at U of T and nearby world-class teaching hospitals and research institutes.  

Degree Timeline

[1] Doctoral students are subject to the School’s policy on “Timely Completion of Graduate Program Requirements”.  To achieve candidacy, a PhD student is expected to have completed all program requirements exclusive of thesis and seminar courses.  

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the PhD Pharmaceutical Sciences must have:

• Completed (or be in the final year of) a four-year BSc or BA degree or a two-year MSc (or its equivalent) in the Natural/Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, Social Sciences, or Health Profession such as Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing or Pharmacy from a recognized university.
• A minimum B+ (77%) average , or its equivalent, in a Masters degree program OR
• A minimum of A- (80%) average , or its equivalent, in senior level courses relevant to the program in a four-year undergraduate program. The applicant is expected to have completed an undergraduate research project.
• Secured a potential supervisor within the department of pharmaceutical sciences at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. Applicants are encouraged to contact  prospective supervisors in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences . The supervisor must hold a Graduate Appointment at the Faculty as well as at the School of Graduate Studies.
• Applicants to the flex-time PhD program  must also provide a completed Letter of Support from Employer .

Additionally:

• The Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Admissions Committee considers the applicant's background and accomplishments, academic standing, and financial support from the potential supervisor.
• ​​​paper-based TOEFL: 600 and 5 on the Test of Written English (TWE)
• Internet-based TOEFL: 100/120 and 22/30 on the writing and speaking sections.
• If the undergraduate degree was not obtained from a recognized Canadian or US university, the applicant must write and achieve scores at the 50th percentile ranking or better on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE; General Test).

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Learn more about admission requirements for international students here

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Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

Doctor of Philosophy

Students in the PhD program complete a thesis under the supervision of one of our faculty members, as well a number of courses.  The program can be completed on a full-time or flexible-time basis.

Students should familiarize themselves with the information provided in the links below. Students are responsible for ensuring they meet the degree requirements, appropriate deadlines, and any other regulations throughout the duration of their program.

• PhD Degree Requirements
• PhD Timeline
• Individual Development Plan
• Changing Supervisor Policy
• Qualifying Examination
• PhD Reading Committee (CHE3010Y)
• PhD Departmental Oral Examination
• Final Oral Examination
• Chair’s Discovery Award
• Prospective Professors in Training (PPIT)
• Finishing Up

Collaborative Specializations (optional):

Students in the MASc or PhD program may choose to concurrently complete a collaborative specialization:

Emphasis (optional):

Students in the MASc or PhD program may choose to complete their program with an Emphasis in Sustainable Energy .

Students in a Collaborative specialization or Emphasis must satisfy the requirements of the Collaborative specialization of Emphasis in addition to this Department’s requirements.  A course/courses may count simultaneously towards both a student’s MASc or PhD degree and a Collaborative specialization or Emphasis.  Careful course planning and consultation with both the ChemE Graduate Administrator and the Collaborative specialization or Emphasis Advisor is recommended.

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PhD in Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Description

The Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture, Landscape, and Design (ALD PhD) at the Daniels Faculty is a rigorous interdisciplinary program that trains students to pursue research of the highest academic standard across a spectrum of built environmental practices.  

Through our highly adaptable curriculum—one that is unlike other PhD programs in architecture—the program enables students to pursue study independently and to share their research with the Daniels community at every stage. ALD PhD students explore methodologies across our disciplines, ranging from theoretical to applied research in design, history theory, building science, and visual studies.

We help students work across disciplines, to familiarize themselves with broad knowledge areas that will equip them to address contemporary scholarly, political, economic, and policy problems. Students may elect to advance academic scholarship while also creating new models of research-based practice that can be implemented in real world settings. We encourage graduates to transcend current disciplinary boundaries and position them to engage and lead emerging discussions outside and between specific design disciplines.  

Whether focusing on the displacement of coastal dwellers because of project sea level rises, refugee crises produced by political unrest, or cities in need as water becomes an increasingly scarce resource, the engagements of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design students are increasingly complex and warrant creative design, critical thinking, and ethical action guided by innovative advanced research. The challenges facing constructed environments in the 21st century push us beyond existing disciplinary lines to seek synergies among our fields—building science and engineering, computation and fabrication, health and society, history and theory, technology and environment—and to develop these synergies in tandem with emergent fields like artificial intelligence, Black studies, climate justice, community-based knowledge practice, forensic architecture, gender studies, indigenous studies, sustainability, critical whiteness studies and many others.  

The Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture, Landscape, and Design goes beyond the traditional divide between applied and theoretical knowledge, bringing the two together to develop rigorous yet activist knowledge practices commensurate with present needs. The ALD PhD program is intended for students with aspirations to become active researchers and/or educators, work in government and industry, conduct research within design firms, or become community activists dedicated to meaningful social change through built environmental action. 

University of Toronto

In addition to our core PhD faculty, affiliated faculty with expertise in design problems from multiple disciplinary perspectives are directly involved in the life of the program. These faculty members are primarily housed in schools and departments across the University of Toronto, yet they also supervise ALD PhD students. 

Students in the PhD program have opportunities to work with a wide range of institutions within and beyond the University: the Jackman Humanities Institute, the Global Cities Institute, the Munk School of Global Affairs, the School of the Environment, the Department of Geography and Planning, the School of Engineering, the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the rich array of universities in and near Toronto. 

Requirements

Required coursework includes a colloquium and a methods course in the first year. The second year is primarily dedicated to a practicum and dissertation proposal preparation, which commences in the third year. Our funding package covers students for four years of full-time study and assists those who need additional years to find external grants to fund their program of study. 

The PhD in Architecture, Landscape & Design requirements include:

• Coursework (6.0 FCE, including 4.0 FCE in electives and four required PhD courses: ALD4030H: Doctoral Research Colloquium; ALD4040H: Theories and Methods; ALD4050H: Research Practicum; and ALD4060H: Preparation for Thesis)
• A two-part comprehensive exam testing breadth after 18 months and depth after 24 months
• Successful defense of a dissertation proposal
• Written dissertation
• Successful doctoral final oral examination

(Note: Additional courses or examination requirements may be necessary based upon faculty advisement.)

The program includes the following minimum required courses:

• (ALD 4030H 0.5 FCE) Doctoral Research Colloquium: Research in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism, and design takes many forms and produces distinct areas of inquiry. This course brings together PhD students and students from the post-professional programs to encourage an intradisciplinary discussion of their unique research methods, and to support cohort building and a strong sense of community amongst students. The course will be team taught by thesis supervisors in the proposed PhD program.
• (ALD 4040H 0.5 FCE) Theories and Methods: In this course, PhD students will explore theories and methods that have guided different disciplines in order to focus more narrowly on the unique approaches of their chosen field of study.

The program also requires participation in two doctoral research colloquia:

• (ALD 4050H) Research Practicum: The practicum generally results in a long research paper. This requirement enables students to conduct independent research on a limited scale at the level of quality expected for a dissertation, although the resulting paper is much shorter in length. The research should be comparable to that which results in a publishable article. Based on a consultation with their advisor, the practicum may take on one of several forms, including but not limited to:   i. A self-contained paper or empirical study of publishable quality that may or may not be a component of dissertation work.   ii. The development of a theoretical model upon which the dissertation is to be based.   iii. A proposal for pilot research in the student’s dissertation area that includes a focused literature review, research design, and protocol.  
• (ALD 4060H) Preparation for Thesis: Independent thesis research in preparation for the general exams or dissertation proposal.

Elective Requirements

The remaining required minimum 3.0 FCE (six half-credit courses) are electives to be selected from advanced (3XXX series) graduate level courses offered at the Daniels or advanced graduate courses in cognate disciplines across the University of Toronto pending the approval of the Faculty. The student’s program of study will be determined in consultation with his or her supervisory committee and approved by the committee.

The required courses listed above ground a student’s core experience in the doctoral program and provide the student cohort with a common learning experience. This pedagogical approach will expose students to methods of research and analysis that will provide intersections between the cultural-historical and the technical-professional knowledge that are not afforded in other academic disciplines with claims upon the built environment.

Electives—whether taken within the Daniels Faculty or in other University of Toronto programs—must be selected in consultation with each student’s assigned faculty advisor. Depending upon a student’s desired area of specialization, faculty advisors may require study in foreign languages, technical skills, historical periods, or research methods.

All graduate students at the University of Toronto must complete all of their course requirements at the graduate level.

ALD 4030H: Doctoral Research Colloquium Elective Elective

ALD 4040H: Theories and Methods Elective Elective

Comprehensive Examinations

ALD 4050H: Research Practicum Elective Elective

Comprehensive Examinations Elective Elective

ALD 4060H: Preparation for Thesis

Thesis Dissertation Proposal

Dissertation Proposal

Each student’s dissertation proposal should outline the main argument, rationale for supporting the prospective dissertation, a summary of existing research on the topic, a case for the originality of the research, and a schedule for research activities. The proposal will be circulated among the PhD supervisory committee for commentary and approval, and the student must present the proposal to the committee and potential additional faculty members for comment and advice. No later than the beginning of the third year of study, the student must submit to the director of the PhD program an approved proposal. An approved proposal signed by all members of the supervisory committee and the director must be submitted to the University of Toronto School of Graduate Studies PhD office.

Achieving Candidacy

Doctoral candidacy is achieved when all requirements listed above for the PhD except for the dissertation are met.

Dissertation

The student and supervisor(s) should meet regularly and must meet at least once per year. By the end of the fourth year, the student should complete a dissertation based on original research that makes a significant contribution to the field. The supervisory committee must approve the completed dissertation before it is submitted to oral examination following School of Graduate Studies standards.

Core Faculty

Claire Zimmerman , Associate Professor, Daniels Faculty Director, PhD in Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Architectural History and Theory

Christy Anderson , Professor, Renaissance and Baroque Architecture History of Art, Graduate Department of Art and the Daniels Faculty

Aleksandr Bierig , Assistant Professor, Daniels Faculty

John Harwood , Associate Professor, Daniels Faculty

Mary Lou Lobsinger , Associate Professor, Daniels Faculty

Jason Nguyen , Assistant Professor, Daniels Faculty

John Robinson , Professor, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, School of the Environment, and the Daniels Faculty

Peter Sealy , Assistant Professor, Daniels Faculty

Landscape History and Theory

Georges Farhat , Associate Professor, Daniels Faculty

Mark Laird , Associate Professor, Daniels Faculty

Urbanism / Urban Design

Patricia L. McCarney , Associate Professor, Director, Global Cities Institute Department of Political Science, the Daniels Faculty, and the Global Cities Institute

Building Science/Computation

Alstan Jakubiec , Assistant Professor, Daniels Faculty

Ted Kesik , Professor of Building Science, Daniels Faculty

Bomani Khemet , Assistant Professor, Daniels Faculty

Brady Peters , Assistant Professor, Daniels Faculty

Maria Yablonina , Assistant Professor, Daniels Faculty

Architecture, Health and Society

Stephen Verderber , Professor, Daniels Faculty and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Visual Studies

Mitchell Akiyama , Assistant Professor, Daniels Faculty

Zach Blas , Assistant Professor, Daniels Faculty

Affiliated Faculty

Joseph Clarke , Assistant Professor, Modern Architecture History of Art, Graduate Department of Art

Jennifer Drake , Assistant Professor, Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering

Paul Hess , Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Planning

Heba Mostafa , Assistant Professor, Islamic Art and Architecture History of Art, Graduate Department of Art

Matti Siemiatycki , Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Planning

Simon Stern , Associate Professor & Co-Director, Centre for Innovation Law & Policy, Faculty of Law

Marianne Touchie , Assistant Professor, Departments of Civil & Mineral Engineering and Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

Chen-Pang Yeang , Associate Professor and Director, Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology

As a leading research institution, the University of Toronto depends largely on our success in recruiting outstanding graduate students and enabling them to realize their potential. This means providing financial resources so that students can focus on their studies and complete their degrees in a timely manner.

Towards this aim, the Daniels Faculty provides PhD students with a base funding commitment of $19,500 plus tuition and fees. This funding commitment is valid for a maximum of four years.

Students receive their funding commitment in annual funding packages. These packages may be composed of a variety of funding sources, including:

• The University of Toronto Fellowship (UTF)
• Research Stipends and Research Assistantships
• Teaching Assistantships, in accordance with CUPE Collective Agreement
• Internal Awards and Grants
• Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS-D - NSERC or SSHRC) - open to domestic students. Applicants wishing to enter the PhD program and who are registered (or on approved leave of absence) at the University of Toronto at any time between Jan 1 and Dec 31, 2020 must apply through the Daniels Faculty; contact [email protected] for application process and deadline. All other applicants , apply directly to either NSERC or SSHRC , depending on research subject.
• Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS)  - open to domestic and international students. Applicants wishing to enter the PhD program must apply through the Daniels Faculty.
• Vanier-Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier-CGS) - open to domestic and international students. Applicants wishing to enter the PhD program must apply through the Daniels Faculty; contact [email protected] for application process and deadline.

International students receive support at a higher level in recognition of the costs associated with the differential in fees (e.g., UHIP). On an annual basis, students will receive a funding letter outlining the composition, timing, and disbursement of their funding package.

Current Students

Kanwal Aftab Aftab’s research looks at the pedagogical influence of systems thinking and systems art on environmental design professions in the second half of the twentieth century.

James Bird Researching the Intersection of Dënesųłiné linguistics and shape forming : This research explores diverse built forms and strategies by examining the use of language as an entry point. Creating alternative viewpoints that assign agency to the metaphysical aspects that exist within Indigenous languages and culture is one of the key premises of this research. James proposes to explore this relationship between language and built form by using the ontological relationships that lie within language morphemes.

Yeo-Jin Katerina Bong Yeo-Jin Katerina Bong is a specialist in early modern Italian architecture (1450-1650) with the aim of writing an expanded history of Renaissance building engineering. Her dissertation looks at the role of ‘defects’ in the process of construction—from materials, foundations, to structure—as described in architectural treatises of this period. Her secondary research probes the cross-cultural relationship between European and Asian architectural drawing. She is currently the Diamonstein-Spielvogel fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Zheming (Taro) Cai Zheming (Taro) Cai’s research is centered on the production and dissemination of knowledge, cultural landscapes, landscape infrastructure, and critical heritage studies. His doctoral work delves into the transnational development of landscape architecture as a professional discipline in the People’s Republic of China. Cai serves as an executive editor and a co-host for a column at  Landscape Architecture Frontiers . Additionally, he is a Junior Fellow at the Massey College and a Junior Fellow affiliated with the Committee of Theories and Histories within the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture.

Josh Elliott Elliot’s current research concerns the processes by which notions of globalization, and globality more generally, found their way into architectural discourse during the "long 1990s" (1989-2003). Key subtopics include the role of Japan in shaping early discourses of globality in architecture, and the influence of globality discourses on design practice.

Katie Filek Filek’s research looks at the transnational circulation of architectural knowledge in the twentieth century. In particular, she is interested in transnationalism in Canadian architecture in the postwar period, and how foreign expertise was introduced, circulated, and translated through media and through local professional and material conditions. Postwar connections between Canada and Italy offer a key case study.

Nazanin GanjehZadeh  Nazanin is passionate about the relationship between architectural design and human wellbeing. Her research focuses on examining the impact of light on health, sleep patterns, and circadian rhythms. Utilizing sensor-based and simulation technology, her work aims to understand how daily light exposure affects mood, cognitive performance, and overall health. Her research evaluates existing lighting standards through the lens of daily life by understanding how real-world conditions interact with human well-being. 

Qingyun Lin Lin’s research interest lies broadly in the area of urban informality and community resilience with a focus on informal settlements located in southern China. She is interested in mechanisms of self-organized activities/illegal construction and their external interaction with formal urbanism. Lin also has a deep interest in community development and risk management for areas facing a triple dilemma of sudden disasters, extreme housing density, and poor infrastructure.

Ai Liu Ai Liu is interested in the topics of affordable housing, urban informality, and bottom-up community building, with a current focus on the subdivided units in Hong Kong. She hopes to combine interdisciplinary theories, experimental design practice as well as possible actions, to create a new way of dialogue.

John Nguyen Nguyen’s research interest resides at the intersection of architecture and performance-based design. His current projects investigate how computer simulations can elevate design processes rather than being a compromised coexistence of design and technology. Nguyen is currently exploring the topic of parametric acoustics in architecture with a focus on metamaterials and toolkit development. His previous research investigations were related to Computational Fluid Dynamics and Genetic Algorithms.

Fion Ouyang Grounded in architecture and building science, Fion is interested in the effects of building performance on human well-being. Specifically, she focuses on architectural design strategies with emphasis on human comfort and performance simulation. Through appropriate use of daylight, she aims to develop design strategies to optimize our indoor environments to enhance occupant health and quality of life. Fion is currently researching and evaluating the performance of daylight metrics.  

Anna Renken Renken’s research focuses on concepts of nature and approaches to the environment in architecture and design since the mid-twentieth century. She is particularly interested in how designers have collaborated with and learned from environmental scientists.

Brian Slocum Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, Brian was a practicing architect and Adjunct Professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. He served on the board of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) and co-chaired its 2018 and 2020 conferences. His research focuses on computational technologies in architecture—specifically robotics—examined through the lens of queer theory. Understanding queerness as another type of technology, Brian looks for ways it might complement more traditional architectural robotics building practices, toward the literal and rhetorical dismantling of normative structures.

Kachun Alex Wong Kachun Alex Wong has earned degrees from Columbia University and the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He was previously a research assistant at the Urban Ecologies Design Lab, HKU. His research lies in the intersection of architecture and law. His dissertation project investigates building code and informal settlements in the New Territories, Hong Kong, critical theories of liberalism and colonial customary law, and anti-sexist, -ableist, and -agist practices of care.

PhD Degree Program

Program objectives are: (1) development of expertise in the subject matter to teach a variety of undergraduate courses in area of specialization; (2) development of ability to produce original research papers of sufficient quality for presentation at professional meetings and conferences and publication in professional journals, in addition to ability to impart research skills to students at all levels; (3) ability to contribute to philosophical discussions across the subdivisions of the field; and (4) preparation to assume the role of a philosophy faculty member.

Program Admission

The Philosophy Department admits students for the fall semester of each academic year. Information and application forms can be found on the department web site. Applications received after January 2nd cannot be guaranteed consideration for an assistantship for the upcoming academic year.

• The equivalent of the BA degree, usually with a major in philosophy. This must include at least the following courses or their equivalents: intermediate logic, survey of ancient philosophy, survey of modern philosophy, and ethics. Students lacking one or more of these courses may be admitted to the program provisionally, on the condition that they make up the missing course work as soon as possible (graduate credit will not be granted for make-up work).
• Three letters of recommendation, to be submitted by persons competent to judge the prospective student’s ability to undertake graduate work.
• Transcripts of prior academic work. Unofficial copies should be sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions. A minimum GPA of 3.00 (on a scale of 4.00) will be expected.
• A 10-20 page writing sample and a 1-2 page personal statement should be submitted.

Retention Requirements

A student will be retained continuously in the program until completion of the degree providing the following conditions are met:

• All students will be required to maintain a GPA of at least 3.5. Should the student’s GPA fall below that mark, a period of one semester will be allowed to correct the deficiency. At the discretion of the chair and the coordinator of graduate studies, this period may be extended one additional semester.
• Students will be expected to demonstrate satisfactory progress in fulfilling the graduation requirements outlined below.

Graduation Requirements

General requirements.

• A minimum of 72 hours of graduate credit beyond the bachelor’s degree is required. At least 60 hours credit must be at the 7000 level or higher.
• If a student has completed 18 or more hours of graduate credit at another institution, but did not complete the graduate degree, then at most 18 hours of that work may be transferred and applied towards the 72 hours required for the PhD at Memphis. Only graduate hours that relate in content to the graduate program, and that do not exceed university time restrictions can be transferred.
• If a student did complete the master’s degree in another graduate program, at most 30 hours of graduate credit may be transferred and applied towards the 72 hours required for the PhD at Memphis (whether or not that graduate program required more than 30 hours). Consequently, a minimum of 42 hours of graduate credit is required beyond that master’s degree. At least 36 hours of graduate credit must be at the 7000 level or higher. More hours may be required at the discretion of the department’s advisory committee.
• If a student completes the master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Memphis and is then accepted in the PhD program at the university 30-33 hours of graduate credit will be accepted towards the 72 hours required (33 hours in case the student did not take the MA thesis option).
• No more than 18 credit hours of dissertation ( PHIL 9000   ) will count towards satisfying the total number of graduate hours required for the PhD. A minimum of 6 hours of dissertation is required for the PhD.

Residency Requirements:

At least 24 credit hours must be earned while the student is in continuous residence in the program.

Distribution Requirements

Core Requirements—Students must take a core of twelve hours in the history of philosophy (at least three in ancient and three in modern), six hours in theoretical philosophy, and six hours in practical philosophy.

Examination Requirements:

• Comprehensive Examinations—The Comprehensive Examinations must be taken no later than the student’s fourth semester in the program. This examination includes a written part and an oral part and covers the primary area of the student’s research interest (i.e., the area in which the student intends to write a dissertation).
• NOTE: It is expected that the doctoral comprehensive examination will be coordinated with the master’s comprehensive examination, so that those whose scores fail to qualify them for advanced doctoral study but are sufficient for the master’s degree may then complete the requirements for a terminal master’s degree.

Research Tool Requirements:

Students must demonstrate sufficient ability in either (a) one natural language relevant to the student’s dissertation area (or two natural languages if the director of the student’s dissertation determines that this additional capability is required for successful research in the student’s area of specialization) or (b) one non-natural language or research tool (i.e.,logic) if such a language or tool is determined to be most useful to the student’s area of research.

Dissertation Requirements

• Dissertation Committee—The student must select a dissertation director. The coordinator of graduate studies in consultation with the graduate faculty will select three additional readers.
• Dissertation Proposal Defense—The student will submit a proposal for the dissertation to the committee and defend the proposal before the graduate faculty. This defense will normally occur before the end of the sixth semester.
• Dissertation Defense—The dissertation committee will schedule a defense of the completed dissertation in coordination with the chair and the coordinator of graduate studies. Notice will be given, copies of the dissertation made available, and a public oral defense of the dissertation will be held. Upon approval of the dissertation committee and faculty, the dissertation will be submitted to the Graduate School and the degree awarded.
• Students should familiarize themselves with the Thesis/Dissertation Preparation Guide before beginning to write.