Graduate Studies

Applying for the Graduate Program of the Physics Deparment

Application Process

Applications are reviewed on a continuing basis. It is the Physics Department that performs the review, but the final decision for acceptance is made by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. International students need to allow some time for study permit an/or visa processing after acceptance, so for recommended timeline please consult the FGSR application page.

We recommend the following approach to the application process. First, make sure that your interests coincide with the interests of a faculty member. All our graduate programs are thesis-based, and you will be doing your research with a faculty member (may be a group of faculty members) as your supervisor. Second, you may want to contact a potential supervisor and ask for an unofficial interview (an interview may happen also later in the process). Third, contact the graduate coordinator of the Department, who will guide you through the process. Last, you will submit your application according to the instructions on the FGSR pages. After you submit all the required documents of the application, it will be reviewed and, if approved, you will receive the acceptance documents. This procedure is recommended mostly in connection with you funding. Our graduate students are fully funded, but the funding comes mostly from faculty research grants. Unless you carry a substantial scholarship, there may not be a suitable supervisor for you, one who can provide funding, even if you are an excellent applicant.

Acceptance Criteria

For admission to the MSc program we require a BSc honours degree (or equivalent) in physics or engineering physics. A minimum average of 75% in all physics and mathematics courses, and an overall average of 70%, is required. Applicants not meeting this standard will be considered for probationary acceptance only. International applicants are encouraged to write the GRE physics subject exam in addition to an English Proficiency exam.

Admission to the PhD program requires satisfactory completion of the MSc degree, in addition to the above requirements, However, it may be possible for a student to transfer directly into the PhD program after an evaluation period if the course work is completed exceptionally well, and clear evidence of research ability is demonstrated.

For international applicants a BSc Honours degree in Physics (or equivalent) is required for admission to the MSc program. The criteria for admission are a combination of course grades, standardized test scores, recommendations, and overlap of research interests with the department. While students with MSc degrees from Canadian or U.S. universities are normally accepted directly into the Ph.D. program, students from other countries are usually registered in the MSc program first, so that they can adjust to local conditions and have their education level evaluated more fully. Depending on the result, they may have the opportunity to transfer to the PhD program with little delay to their progress. International applicants will find several helpful resources on the Faculty of Graduate Studies page including English requirements, admission requirements based on country of degree issued and more.

You can visit the FGSR program changes and proogram transfer page for more information on transfer from the MSc to the PhD program.

Financial Support

Financial support is available and no seprate application is required. Please visit the graduate financial support page for more information.

Miscellaneous

Please have a look at some frequently asked questions that might be helpful.

Financial Support for the Physics Graduate Programs

Students admitted into any physics graduate program are automatically considered for financial support. No separate application is required. The financial support should normally cover your tuition and other expenses.

Financial support comes in several forms: research awards from the research grant of the supervisor, teaching assistantship from the Physics Department, teaching and research assistantships from FGSR, internal (FGSR) scholarships and scholarships and fellowships external to the University. Students who hold external scholarships or qualify for U of R scholarships may receive higher total funding. All scholarships are competitive. Since 2025 FGSR provides a guaranteed minimum funding (GMF) for selected PhD students, which must be matched by the supervisor.

You are encouraged to apply for external sholarships for which you are eligible. It is advisable to be realistic; the really great scholarships are very competitive. You can find more about scholarships on the FGSR funding pageand links therein.

We strive for our graduate students to become active research participants in the broader scientific community. Therefore financial assistance is also normally provided by the supervisor's research grant and the University towards espenses associated with the student's education, such as travel, tuition for topical summer schools, conferences and workshops and consultations with international research collaborators.

You can find the graduate tuition fees at the University tuition pages.

You can find cost of living estimates at the University cost of living page.

Graduate Applicant Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of graduate degree in physics can I get at the U of R?

The primary emphasis of our department is subatomic physics, particularly elementary particle physics, nuclear physics and nuclear imaging. We have faculty members working on experimental or theoretical physics. In addition, we have faculty working also in the fields of astronomy and paleontology physics. You can learn more about our research from our research pages.

Is financial support availbale?

Yes! Graduate students admitted to the program are automatically considered for financial support; no separate application is required. For more information please see our financial support page.

What is Regina like? Would I like it there?

Regina has cold winters and hot sunny summers. The air is very dry and that makes for the bluest sky you'll ever see. The University of Regina is located in a 2000 acre urban park, one of the largest in Canada. The park contains Wascana lake, which provides outdooor sports opportunities (such as rowing and skating). The Canadian government's climate severity index, a rating of the physical and psychological rigours created by the year-round climate, gives Regina a rating on par with Montreal. The people in Regina are polite, even more than average Canadian people.

Regina offers many cultural activities, including festivals involving folk music, country music and international culture. There is a Science Centre with IMAX theatre, art gallery, symphony, opera, the Globe theatre - Canada's only preofessional theatre in the round, and a major casino. Regina hosts the Saskatchewans Roughriders CFL team. There are also the most per capita brewpubs.

Regina is home to the First Nations University of Canada. There are numerous opportunities to get acquainted with and experience indigenous cultures.

What are your admission requirements?

Please visit our graduate application page for more information.

How do I apply?

Please visit our graduate application page for more information.

Graduate Program Regulations for the Physics Department

General Regulations

As a graduate student you will have to complete a number of credit hours and successfully defend your thesis. PhD students also have to write the PhD comprehensive exam somewhere between 8 and 16 months of the start of the program. MSc students have to complete 30 credit hours, which normally takes 24 months if full load is taken (6 credit hours for the Fall and Winter semesters and 3 credit hours for the Spring/Summer semester). PhD students after MSc have to complete 60 credit hours, which normally takes 40 months if full load is taken (6 credit hours in each semester). PhD students after BSc have to complete 90 credit hours, which normally takes 60 months at full load. The course requirements are listed in the following tables. Please see the graduate course catalogue for description of the courses.

Ph.D. cstudents must have a committee to which they repoort annualy with a written progress report according to FGSR requirements.

Course Requirements

The following tables summarize the course requirements for the graduate degrees.

(*) These courses must be chosen in consultation with thesis supervisor and Department head. They can be chosen from other disciplines (e.g. Math, CS, etc). Up to three credit hours from this series may be at the 400-level.

(*) These courses must be chosen in consultation with thesis supervisor and Department head.

(*) These courses must be chosen in consultation with thesis supervisor and Department head.

Thesis Defence

Our department offers only thesis-based graduate degrees (we do not offer course-based or project-based degrees). Before starting writing the thesis, a graduate student must have a supervisor. Both M.Sc. and Ph.D. students must then write the thesis under the guidance of the supervisor. The written work must then be orally defended as required by the FGSR regulations.

PhD Comprehensive Exam

General Provisions

All physics Ph.D. students must pass a comprehensive examination, which is to be scheduled by the graduate coordinator in consultaion with the Department head, and the respective supervisors. The exam is held 8-16 months after the start of a Ph.D. program, which for a fully qualified Ph.D. student is the initial registration in FGSR.

Students who do not take the exam within the above window will fail their first chance at passing the exam. A student may apply to the Department head for an override. Approval from both Department head and graduate coordinator is required to grant a waiver.

Format and Content

The intent of the comprehensive exam is to demonstrate that the student has achieved a working knowledge of the typical Canadian B.Sc. Honours physics degree. It is NOT the intention to examine only the specialty area within physics of the student, nor to examine material at the graduate level: final exams for the required graduate courses serve this function (as at other schools) as do the minimum grades required by FGSR for a student to continue in the graduate program.

The comprehensive exam consists of three parts: two 2-hour written exams, written on the same day, followed in two weeks by an oral exam, provided the student passes the written exam. All examinations follow closed-book format. The Ph.D. candidates must pass the written and oral components of the exam separately in order to pass the Ph.D. comprehensive exam. The written and oral components will be weighed equally (50% each) in calculating the overall grade for the Ph.D. comprehensive exam. The final mark will be quoted as Pass or Fail.

Suitable problems for all three exams will be solicited from the faculty by the Department head. The Department head or the graduate coorinator will assemble the written exam and approve the questions to be used in the oral exam by the Ph.D. comprehensive examining committee. Each question of each part will be marked by the person who submitted it, and the scores will be tallied by the Department head or the graduate coordinator.

Should a student fail the exam on their first attempt, a second attempt will be allowed four months following the first attempt. A student may apply to the Department head to extend the interval between the first and second attempts to longer than four months. Approval from both the Department head and the graduate coordinator is required to grant such an extension. Any student who fails the second attempt will be required to withdraw from the graduate program.

Written Component

The first two sections of the comprehensive exam consist of two written exams, each in two parts, as shown in the tables. The student will be allowed two hours to complete Parts A and B, and then two hours to complete parts C and D. Details for the written exam are shown in the table and are discussed below.

The first part of the written exam, part A, will include three questions, of which the student whould complete two. The three part-A problems will be drawn from the subjects of quantum mechanics and electromagnetic theory. The level of the problems/questions will be comparable with the discussion of these topics in the "Feynman Lectures on Physics". Each question should be completed in about 30 minutes and will be worth 25% of the part A/B written exam grade.

The second part of the written exam, part B, will include four questions from four subjects, of which the student should complete two questions. The four areas are statistical mechanics, nuclear physics, particle physics and solid state physics. As in part A, the level of the problems/questions will be comparable with the discussion of these topics in the "Feynman Lectures on Physics". Each question should be completed in about 30 minutes and will be worth 25% of the part A/B written exam grade.

The third part of the written exam, part C, will include five questions based on the junior undergraduate texts used in PHYS 111 through 261 (e.g. "Physics" by Halliday, Resnick and Krane), of which the student should complete four questions. Each question should be completed in about 20 minutes and will be worth 17.5% of the part C/D written exam grade.

The final part of the written exam, part D, will include three questions, of wchich the student must do two, based on the intermediate and advanced mechanics classes, PHYS 202, 301 and 411. Each question should be completed in about 20 minutes and will be worth 15% of the written C/D part of the exam.

Oral Component

The final section of the comprehensive exam is an oral examination administered by four faculty members selected by the Department head for this purpose. The questions shall last at least 60 minutes but not more than 90 minutes. Individual examiners will question the student between 15 and 25 minutes. The questions will be chosen from those submitted to the Department head for the oral exam and will be based on junior undergraduate books as discussed above for section C of the written exam. Each member of the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examining Committee will judge the answer to every question and keep a record of the scores for discussion after the student has left the examination room.

All prospective students are encouraged to identify a Research Area of interest and to contact a potential supervisor from among our faculty members that specialize in that area. The Faculty of Graduate Studies has sole authority for admission, and all offers of admission are approved by and made by the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research.

A BSc Honours degree in Physics or Engineering Physics is required for admission to the MSc program. A minimum average of 75% in all physics and mathematics courses, and an overall average of 70%, is required. Applicants not meeting this standard may be considered for probationary acceptance. In addition to grades and recommendation letters, the overlap of the applicant's research interests with those of the department is also considered in the acceptance decision. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact a proposed supervisor.

Admission to the Ph.D. program requires satisfactory completion of the M.Sc. degree, in addition to the above requirements. However, it may be possible for a student to transfer directly into the Ph.D. program after an evaluation period if the course work is completed exceptionally well, and clear evidence of research ability is demonstrated.

All offers to fully qualified applicants come with a financial support guarantee.

A BSc Honours degree in Physics (or equivalent) is required for admission to the MSc program. The criteria for admission are a combination of course grades, standardized test scores, recommendations, and overlap of research interests with the department. While students with MSc degrees from Canadian or U.S. universities are normally accepted directly into the Ph.D. program, students from other countries are usually registered in the MSc program first, so that they can adjust to local conditions and have their education level evaluated more fully. Depending on the result, they may have the opportunity to transfer to the PhD program with little delay to their progress.

International applicants will find several helpful resources on the Faculty of Graduate Studies page including English requirements, admission requirements based on country of degree issued and more.