Graduate Studies

Typically the Ph.D. program is entered following the completion of a Master's program. The Ph.D. program consists of a minimum of 14 credit hours of course work and 46 credit hours of GEOL 901. The minimum course work will typically consist of:

In exceptional circumstances, a candidate may transfer into the Ph.D. program without completion of a Master's degree. In these cases, the Ph.D. program consists of a minimum of 20 credit hours of course work and 70 hours of GEOL 901. The minimum course work will typically consist of:

We recommend you reach out to potential supervisors well in advance (6 months to 1 year) of the date you hope to begin your program. It doesn’t hurt to reach out to potential supervisors with less notice; sometimes research supervisors have projects available and are looking to fill graduate student positions as soon as possible. However, it may take time to arrange for funding and to process your application so it may not be possible for you to start on your preferred timeline if you contact them with less than 6 months notice before the preferred start date (for Canadian PR or citizens).

If you are an international applicant, you will need to reach out earlier ( at least 1-2 years ideally); if you find a research supervisor who will work with you, it will take time for your application to be processed by the University of Regina and then for your visa to be processed by the Canadian government.

We do not presently offer a course-based MSc program, so there is no option to study in our department without a research supervisor. For a list of faculty members who can serve as research supervisors, see our faculty list.

You can apply to our graduate programs without a research supervisor; however, your chances of acceptance are extremely low if you have not interacted with and had a research supervisor encourage you to apply for graduate studies in our department in advance. We strongly encourage all applicants to secure a preliminary offer email from a research supervisor prior to spending the money on an application.

Review our faculty profiles and research areas and contact professors whose research is of interest to you and reach out to them to ask about upcoming opportunities in their research groups.

Note that professors receive many emails from prospective graduate students, so it is key to only reach out to professors whose research you are sincerely interested in, and for which you have the correct background in terms of your undergraduate or other previous studies. Due to the high volume of requests they receive, professors may not respond if you have not personalized your email, if your background is not appropriate for their research projects, if you have not demonstrated your sincere interest in their research, and/or if you have not shown a connection between their research and your career goals. Note also that professors only have funds and space for a limited number of students so – even if you do meet the requirements for their research projects – they may not be able to offer you a position in their research group. Having said that, professors are often recruiting newstudents for projects so if you find professors who appear to be a good match for your research interests, please reach out.

For a list of our courses, please refer to the course listings page. Note that graduate students should discuss course options with their research supervisor prior to enrolling in courses during their graduate program, and it’s also important to ensure courses are eligible to complete your graduate program requirements (i.e., 8xx courses).

In addition to courses listed, graduate student supervisors often will provide reading courses that are specific to a graduate student’s educational needs.

Graduate students are also able to take graduate courses offered through other Canadian universities through the Western Canadian Deans of Graduate Studies (WCDGS) agreement. You can ask your graduate supervisor if this might be useful for your graduate program in cases where relevant courses are not offered at URegina or your background is already strong in areas covered by graduate courses at URegina.

An MSc is generally meant to be completed in 2 years (6 terms) but can take twice that time if the student is enrolled part-time. Students in the MSc program have a maximum of 5 years to complete their program. For a PhD program, the program requires at least three full years of study. PhD degrees generally take about 4 years to complete, and PhD students have a maximum of 6 years to complete their program.

Many students require an extra semester or more to complete their programs, particularly if they are working outside of their research hours (e.g., a part-time job) during their program. Extensions or leaves-of-absense may be granted with justification (e.g., illness or parental leave); see the CGPS website for additional information and speak to your research supervisor and the grad advisor as soon as possible if this situation may apply to you. 

Students who enroll in a PhD program without an MSc already will require additional coursework, extending the length of their program (but they are still subject to the 6 year maximum). Note that individual research supervisors may not be able to commit to funding research or stipends for students beyond a set timeline (e.g., 2 years for an MSc or 4 years for a PhD) based on availability of grant funding and timelines for project completion. Prospective students should discuss stipend options with their potential research supervisor(s). International students must comply with study permit regulations.