A Doctor of Philosophy is a highly specialized degree that requires anywhere from 3 to 10 years of study and work to earn. Students can choose to pursue a PhD after completing a master’s degree in a similar or related field.

A Master of Arts or Master of Science degree is a graduate-level course of study that typically requires more rigorous and focused work than an undergraduate degree. Students may pursue this education to deepen their understanding of topics learned in undergraduate school or to train for a specific career field.

Online PhD Degree in Canada

The PhD is a doctoral degree, specifically called a “doctor of philosophy” degree. This is misleading because PhD holders are not necessarily philosophers (unless they earned their degree in philosophy!). That said, PhD recipients are able to engage in thought experiments, reason about problems, and solve problems in sophisticated ways.

Students who pursue a Master generally spend one to two years in the enhanced study of their chosen field. This program is taken after receiving a bachelor’s degree, and available areas of study include science, law, technology, finance, social sciences and the arts.

Distance education or distance learning is a way of delivering education and instruction, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present on campus.

DISTANCE DELIVERY OF GRADUATE PROGRAMS

• Policies & Procedures
  • Application and Admission
  • Student’s Responsibility
  • Dealing with Academic Misconduct
  • Student Status
  • Program of Study
  • Course Registration
    • Attendance
    • Audit
    • Adding or Dropping Courses
    • Alternative Format Courses and Programs
      • Courses and Program Components
      • Courses Offered by Distance Education
      • Distance Delivery of Graduate Programs
    • Transfer Credit
    • Transfer Credit for Unclassified Studies
    • Transfer Credit for Undergraduate Students
    • Transfer Credit for Access Studies
    • Exemptions
    • Supplemental Examination
    • Academic Concession
    • Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
  • Academic Progress
  • Grading Practices
  • Low Scholarship
  • Student Conduct and Discipline
  • Comprehensive Examination and Candidacy
  • Working While Studying
  • Supervision
  • Masters-PhD Transfers
  • Transfer to Another Degree Program
  • Membership in the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
  • Teaching
  • Transcript of Academic Record
  • Retention of Student Records
  • Examinations, Master’s Theses and Doctoral Dissertations
  • Duration of Program
  • Graduate Student Vacation Policy
  • Extension
  • Graduation
  • Withdrawal
  • Reinstatement / Readmission
• International Student Evaluation Manual
• Admin Resources & Templates
• Program-Initiated Admissions
• Assisting Graduate Students in Distress
• Information for Supervisors
• Graduate Recruitment Initiative
• Graduate Council
• Program Reviews

There is a growing demand for distance delivery graduate programs offered in a combination of modes, including on-site, on-campus and technologically mediated instruction. Support is given for innovative programs that demonstrate high quality, provide students with genuine professional development and lead to opportunities for further study. Distance graduate programs must meet the same standards of quality that are expected of equivalent programs offered on campus.

In order to achieve this equivalency, the following guidelines have been established related to program, admission, instruction and supervision, and instructional resources:

PROGRAM

1. The university must make the same commitment to students regarding the availability and method of delivery of a complete program as it makes to students enrolled in on-campus programs.
2. The program must include an on-campus component to be defined by the university.
3. Course content and contact hours must be equivalent to comparable courses offered on campus.
4. Course must not be offered in so compacted a time frame as to preclude opportunities for independent study, reflection and investigation within each course.
5. Wherever possible, the same choices of elective courses that are available in equivalent on-campus programs must be offered to students.
6. Time limits for program completion must be the same as the limits for equivalent on-campus program.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. Admission criteria required of all students must be no less than those required for equivalent on-campus programs.
2. Unclassified or occasional students who are allowed to register in individual courses of the program must meet the same registration criteria as required for courses in equivalent on-campus programs.

INSTRUCTION AND SUPERVISION

1. There must be immediate, on-going interaction both between individual students and the instructor and among students in the delivery of each course.
2. Each student must be assigned to a program supervisor/advisor who is a member of the academic staff of the university. The quality of supervision or advising must be no less than that available to students in equivalent programs on campus.
3. Qualifications and selection procedures for instructors and supervisors/advisors must be no less stringent than those required for equivalent on-campus program
4. Instructional resources (for example, library, computer, media and laboratory resources) necessary for graduate-level study must be available to all students