phd in electrical engineering in canada

The doctoral program in Electrical and Computer Engineering aims to furnish students with the highest possible level of knowledge and scholarship in their areas of expertise.

General information

The objectives of the PhD program in Electrical and Computer Engineering are to furnish the students with the highest possible level of knowledge and scholarship in their areas of expertise. This will be achieved through advancing independent initiatives, critical thinking, methodological analysis, creative problem solving and practical design synthesis. This will in turn prepare graduates for a career in industry, government research labs or academia. During their careers as academics, they should then be able to train Canada’s next-generation of research scientists and also be actively involved in independent as well as collaborative research. 

PhD students will obtain their degree through a combination of advanced course work, independent research, research seminars, mandatory professional workshops, conference presentations, refereed research publications and a novel research dissertation.

Fields

• Communications and Signal Processing
• Control Systems
• Power Systems and Power Electronics
• Software Systems

Admission requirements

• Completion of a Master of Applied Science (MASc) level degree in engineering from a Canadian university, or its equivalent from a recognized institution.
• A minimum B+ average (GPA: 3.3 on a 4.3 scale or 77 to 79 per cent).

Required supporting documents:

Please see the checklist of required documents for a list of supporting documentation that must be submitted with your application.

Required test scores for English language proficiency:

See English language proficiency for the minimum required test scores for this program.

Research

Sample research areas:

• Automatic/intelligent sensing and control
• Data mining and knowledge discovery
• Electric energy storage and electric transportation
• Embedded and real-time systems
• Haptics and virtual reality
• Machine intelligence and large scale optimization
• Mobile, pervasive and service computing
• Network infrastructure protection, security and privacy
• Networked and distributed control systems
• Nonlinear and optimal control and path planning
• Power electronics and motor drives
• Renewable energy systems and energy harvesting
• RF and microwave engineering
• Satellite communications
• Smart grid and power system protection
• Software engineering and systems modeling
• Statistical signal processing
• Wireless and mobile communications

Funding

Internal awards and funding

Applicants to research-based graduate programs who are studying full-time are automatically considered for some types of funding at the time of admission.

Types of funding that do not require an application:

• Entrance scholarships
• Minimum funding packages
• Teaching assistantships, research assistantships and graduate research assistantships

For more details on the above funding opportunities, see graduate student awards and funding.

Please note: Part-time students are not eligible for the above funding opportunities.

External awards and funding

Graduate program applicants are encouraged to apply for external awards to help finance their education. The application process differs for each competition, so review the information carefully to determine where and when you must apply. Please note: The majority of these awards are for domestic or permanent residents only.