Candidates may be admitted via one of the following routes:
an appropriate master's degree, or its equivalent, with an average of at least A- form a recognized university; or
through transfer from the MSc program.
Students should have taken courses such as biology, biochemistry, calculus, organic and physical chemistry, general physics and physiology.
* Foreign graduates, including medical graduates, are generally admitted to the MSc, not the PhD program, with the potential to transfer into the PhD program under specific circumstances. Special consideration will be given on an individual basis to those who already hold an M.Sc. from a recognized university.
For exceptional students with an A standing in appropriate courses taken during the two preceding undergraduate years, direct entry into the doctoral program is possible. However, this will require specific approval by the Graduate Studies Committee.
Program Requirements
All students are required to take 2.5 full-course equivalents (FCEs) in physiology courses in which an average standing of at least A- is maintained, with the following guidelines:
0.5 FCE in PSL2000H Seminars in Physiology PhD (Credit/No Credit), mandatory for all graduate students in Physiology
0.5 FCE in physiology graduate-only courses
0.5 FCE in PSL 1066H Research Grant Proposal (Credit/No Credit), mandatory for all PhD students in physiology
1.0 FCE with a choice of (i) a physiology graduate-only course or physiology joint graduate-undergraduate course (preferable option) or (ii) a course taken in another department (rare choice), subject to approval by the Graduate Studies Committee
Up to 1.0 FCE can be claimed from the student's MSc program completed in another department or university, subject to approval by the Graduate Studies Committee. Students transferring from the MSc in physiology are required to complete 1.5 FCEs since these students will have already fulfilled 1.0 FCE in the MSc.
Courses are selected in consultation with the supervisor and/or advisory committee.
The recommended completion time for the doctoral program is approximately four years, by which time the candidate will write and defend a research thesis, first before a departmental committee and subsequently before a committee approved by the School of Graduate Studies.
