Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Mathematics and Statistics
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In addition to Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements, the Faculty of Science requires students to complete:
Course requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy beyond those for a master's degree are determined on an individual basis, but the following rules apply: doctoral students must complete 25.5 units of graduate-level course work in their total graduate program (MSc and PhD). PhD course work must include:
a) For all specializations: completion of the seminar course (1.5 units) relevant to the specialization, in the first or second year of the program.
b) For the Mathematics specialization: at least 15 units taken in the doctoral program at the University of Calgary. Two of these courses must come from List A and a third from List A or List B.
AND
c) For the Statistics specialization: at least three courses from List C, two of which must be Statistics 701 and 721.
d) For the Actuarial Science specialization: course (from List C) and at least one more course from List C and two more courses from List D.
AND
Preliminary Examinations
Doctoral students must pass written Preliminary Examinations during first year but no later than 18 months from the beginning of their doctoral programs and before the oral Field of Study examination.
Mathematics PhD students must pass Preliminary Examinations based on material for three courses, two of which must come from List A and the third from List A or List B. Preliminary examinations will be offered during the final examination period in those semesters during which the corresponding courses are offered.
Statistics PhD students must pass two Preliminary Examinations, one in probability based on Statistics 701 and the other in statistics based on Statistics 721. These examinations are usually offered in May and/or in December.
Actuarial Science PhD students must pass two Preliminary Examinations based on material for two courses from List C or D.
Biostatistics PhD students must pass two Preliminary Examinations in Statistics based on material for two courses from List C.
Mathematical Finance PhD students must pass two Preliminary Examinations on material for two 600 or 700-level courses from List E or List F.
All Mathematics PhD students are required to give three invited or contributed presentations during their doctoral degree, not including presentations that are required as part of a graduate course or the 600 seminar course.
Advanced Credit
The applicant must make Advanced Credit requests as part of the admission process. Credit will not be given for course work taken as a requirement of another completed degree/diploma. The determination for advanced credit will be made prior to entry into the program.
Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade)
Students admitted to the MTST programs of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, will not be allowed to request the Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade) for any course that is applicable to their degree; or apply any course awarded a grade of CG towards their graduation requirements.
Students may choose the CG grade for a course taken extra to load.
The use of the CG grade will not affect students' eligibility for internal awards.
Credit for Undergraduate Courses
Graduate-level credit may be given for courses taken below the 600-level. At least one half of a graduate student’s course work must be at the 600 level or higher and only where appropriate to a student’s program may credit be given for courses numbered 500–599.
Time Limit
The expected completion time for a doctoral student is four years, and the maximum completion time is six years.
Supervisory Assignments
The Graduate Program Director, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, assigns supervisors based upon the graduate student’s proposed program admission.
Required Examinations
Candidacy
Doctoral students must complete a written thesis proposal and pass an oral Field of Study examination. For complete details of the examination format and other candidacy requirements, see Departmental Candidacy Requirements and Faculty of Graduate Studies Candidacy regulations.
Thesis Examination
In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies regulations for Thesis Examinations, the Department requires:
Final thesis oral examinations are open.
Scheduling of the Examination
All members of the Supervisory Committee must have reviewed the student’s draft thesis document before an examination can be scheduled.
Composition of the Committee
The Internal Examiner may be internal to the home program. However, it is strongly encouraged that whenever reasonable the Internal Examiner should be external to the home program.
Financial assistance may be available to qualified students. For information on awards, see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this Calendar. Successful applicants may be offered departmental teaching assistantships and/or research stipends in their offer letter.