Best Doctorates in Alberta in Canada 2019/2020

The Ph.D. program is a four-year program. The format for the degree consists of coursework and a thesis. The student must pass a written and an oral comprehensive examination within the first two years of the program.

The thesis is the most significant component of work towards the degree and involves original research. The first step for any prospective student is to select a potential supervisor and in consultation with the supervisor, organize a research plan including a possible thesis topic, before admission to the program. Faculty research interests are a critical factor in this preliminary decision.

The department is attempting to expand and strengthen its research activities and graduate students will play an important role in this endeavor. Almost all faculty members in the department receive external or internal funding to support their research programs.... [-]

Summer, Fall and Spring

The Ph.D. in Evolution and Behaviour is delivered by the Faculty of Arts and Science. Students in this program are normally supervised by Faculty members in the following contributing departments/areas: Biological Sciences, Neuroscience, and Psychology.

Research in this program focuses on the evolutionary processes responsible for shaping functionally organized behaviors in a wide variety of organisms. The research targets a range of different behaviors that address the critical life challenges facing these organisms, such as finding food and avoiding predators, attracting and selecting mates, rearing offspring, and negotiating extended networks of social relationships. The emphasis of the research is to examine the potential adaptive basis of different behaviour patterns and understand the underlying genetic, anatomical, physiological, and psychological mechanisms that guide them and their interactions with environmental processes.... [-]

The Ph.D. in Earth, Space, and Physical is delivered by the Faculty of Arts and Science. Students in this program are normally supervised by Faculty members in the following contributing departments/areas: Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Geography, and Physics and Astronomy.

Research in this program focuses on the physical sciences, with an emphasis on understanding and predicting the behavior of complex systems. Areas of research include remote sensing, polymers, surface chemistry and physics, soft condensed matter, superconductors, neutral radical conductors, synthetic methods, earth systems science, and climate change and modeling. In their programs, researchers use a wide range of spectroscopic techniques and physical techniques, in combination with novel theoretical and computational approaches, to study a diverse range of complex systems. Graduates of this program are distinguished by their versatility, and by their integrated and comprehensive knowledge of mathematical and physical research tools.... [-]

The Cultural, Social, and Political Thought major in the Ph.D. program is interdisciplinary in nature and is based on a cohort learning model that fosters an environment of interdisciplinary engagement and exchange, research, peer mentoring, collaboration among a small group of students, within a team-based learning experience. The overall academic aims of the program are to emphasize social, cultural, and political thought and to inculcate the intellectual and practical tools needed to work successfully with community partners and agencies to facilitate social change. Students graduating from the Cultural, Social, and Political Thought major are trained experts, who demonstrate a mosaic of professional skills (e.g., teaching, peer reviews, presentations, critical thinking, etc.) and research competencies. Graduates are capable of producing novel, relevant, and rigorous research that make significant and substantive contributions to interdisciplinary knowledge.... [-]

The Ph.D. in Biosystems and Biodiversity is delivered by the Faculty of Arts and Science. Students in this program are normally supervised by Faculty members in the following contributing departments/areas: Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Geography.

Research in this program emphasizes the interactions of organisms with both biotic and abiotic components of the environment. Areas of research include animal ecology, plant ecology, microbial ecology, parasitology, molecular systematics, biogeography, physiological ecology, remote sensing, environmental genetics, toxicology, developmental biology, phytochemistry, and plant physiology. In their programs, the researchers use a wide range of techniques to study a wide range of organisms, including animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi. Many research programs include a combination of laboratory and field studies.... [-]

The Ph.D. in Biomolecular Science is delivered by the Faculty of Arts and Science. Students in this program are normally supervised by Faculty members in the following contributing departments/areas: Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Physics and Astronomy.

Biomolecular science is a multidisciplinary program that combines elements of traditional biochemistry, biophysics, biotechnology, molecular biology, and molecular genetics. Research in this program is aimed at studying biological processes, organisms, and systems at the molecular level, and applying this research to problems in agriculture, biotechnology, and medicine. Potential individual research programs include the structure and function of proteins at atomic resolution by NMR and X-ray crystallography, the activity of biologically significant enzymes, the regulation of metabolic, stress-related and developmental pathways, and the mechanisms of pathogenicity.... [-]