Engineering Science (PhD)

A global centre for mining technology and research, Sudbury is the site of the world’s largest mineral exploration and mining-service clusters in the world.

It is home to two of the world’s deepest mines and is the corporate headquarters for numerous multinational mining companies. Ravaged for decades by industrial pollution, it has since been recognized by the United Nations for its widely celebrated remediation and rehabilitation success story, now referenced as the Sudbury Protocol.

The world now turns to Sudbury for environmental solutions. Laurentian’s proximity to the mining operations of Vale, Glencore, Kidd Creek, Hemlo, Red Lake, Goldcorp, Placer Dome, and mines in northwestern Quebec, as well as E.B. Eddy’s large-scale wood processing facilities at Espanola, makes it a natural laboratory for the study of environmental impact, management and ecological recovery issues.

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Admission Requirements

Applicants for admission to the Ph.D. program normally hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent) from a recognized university, with a minimum grade of B (70%). Applicants must provide evidence of suitable educational background and potential for advanced research in their selected discipline. Letters from referees, professional experience and publication records are additional criteria that may be taken into consideration for admission. A student with an undergraduate degree will not formally be admitted directly into the Ph.D. program. M.A.Sc. students wishing to transfer to the Ph.D. program without completing their program must first obtain a recommendation from their Advisory Committee. The Graduate Program Committee will then evaluate each application on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the performance of the student in graduate courses and research.

Courses Taken at Other Universities

A student may be given credit towards his/her Ph.D. degree for graduate courses taken at other universities. The maximum number of credits awarded will be three (3) for the Ph.D. program. Advanced standing credits are usually assessed at the time the student is formally admitted into the graduate program with the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies with the recommendation of the Graduate Program Committee. Once in the program, any student wishing to pursue a course at other universities must obtain prior approval from the Graduate Program Committee.

Additional Coursework

With the approval of the Graduate Program Committee and the Advisory Committee, Ph.D. students may be required to satisfactorily complete additional coursework beyond the program requirements.

Application Process

Step 1.

The  Ph.D. Engineering Science program involves a Thesis and you must have a Supervisor to guide you through this. Consult the Faculty Members section on the overview page to find the person undertaking engineering research that is closest to your interests. Contact them to determine whether they would be willing to support your application. If so, they will send you a Thesis Supervisor Agreement with their portion completed. 

Without a completed Thesis Supervisor Agreement, your application to the PhD program in Engineering will not be considered complete. You can also contact the Graduate Program coordinator to try to connect you with the right potential Supervisor. In particular, international applicants can save both time and money by securing the support of a Supervisor first.

Securing a supervisor at this stage will expedite the admissions process.

Click here to view a message from the Program Coordinator about securing supervisor support.

Step 2.

Click here to submit the online application. Once students have applied, they will receive instructions (typically within 48 hours) from the Office of Admissions leading them to the MyLaurentian portal. Students can access the portal at my.laurentian.ca; sign-in credentials will be provided in the correspondence received from the Office of Admissions upon successful completion of an application. The following documents will be required in order to complete an application.

Documents:

• Three Reference Forms (to begin the process at my.laurentian.ca click on "Reference Submission" on the left-hand navigation menu)
• Statement of Interest (to be uploaded via MyLaurentian)
• Thesis Supervisor Agreement form (to be uploaded via MyLaurentian)
• Curriculum Vitae/Resume (to be uploaded via MyLaurentian)
• Official Academic Transcript(s) from all post-secondary studies** (Please note that current or prior Laurentian University students do not need to request transcripts)  

**Please note that official transcripts or WES course-by-course (for institutions attended outside of North America) must come directly to the Office of Admissions from the previous post-secondary institution by requesting at the time of your application or by contacting the institution's Registrar's Office.

Step 3. 

Once the Admissions Office receives all information and the application is deemed complete, the application will be forwarded to the department.  An Admissions Committee meets to review the applications.

Step 4.

The Admissions Committee will review all applications on file and make a decision regarding the suitability of each applicant.  The Admissions Committee will then make a recommendation to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Laurentian University. The Graduate Studies office will verify the dossier and if satisfactory, the Dean of Graduate Studies will forward the recommendation to the Office of Admissions at Laurentian University for admission. 

Step 5 

If approved for admission, the Office of Admissions will send the student an Offer of Admission via MyLaurentian.  Applicants wishing to accept the offer of admission must indicate their response on MyLaurentian within 3 weeks of receiving the offer. Once the student has accepted the offer, a transition to the registration process occurs.

To verify Language Requirements, Transcripts and Application deadlines, please click here.

Students must follow these regulations while in the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Approved Fields of Study

Degree Requirements

For the PhD degree, students must complete:
ENGR 6500 E – PhD Thesis (15 credits)
ENGR 6116 E – PhD Seminar in Natural Resources Engineering (3 credits)

Course work

A PhD student must successfully complete 9 credits of graduate-level courses beyond the course requirements for the M.A.Sc. degree or M.Eng. (regular and fast-track) degree. This may include 3-credits of non-engineering graduate course(s) within the university subject to the approval of the Graduate Program Committee and the Advisory Committee. In addition, all students must submit a research proposal to their Advisory Committee for approval within twelve months (three academic terms) of admission. Successful candidates must also pass an oral Comprehensive Exam within 18 months of initial registration of the student into the program, and must successfully defend a PhD thesis (ENGR 6500).

Academic Regulations
Students must obtain a minimum grade of 60% (C standing) in each course. Students who fail (receive less than 60%) in a compulsory course must repeat it. Students who fail (receive less than 60%) in an elective course may repeat it or take another elective. Students may not repeat courses they have not failed. Students are permitted a maximum of one failed 3-credit course. An overall average of 70% (B average) must be maintained in the PhD program.