Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Geomatics Engineering

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies' requirements and the Schulich School of Engineering requirements, the Department normally requires:

a) A minimum of 9 units at the graduate level beyond the Master of Science course requirements, with no fewer than 3 units of Geomatics Engineering specific graduate courses. For students who transfer from a Master of Science to a doctoral program, a minimum of 6 units at the graduate level beyond the Master of Science course requirements.

b) Professional Development Seminar (course and course).

c) A thesis proposal that includes a literature review and the Field of Study written and oral examinations (see Candidacy and Required Examinations).

d) A thesis related to advanced original engineering research.

Independent Study Courses

Doctor of Philosophy students can have no more than one independent study course count towards their degree requirements. Students who transfer from the Master of Science to the Doctor of Philosophy program can have no more than two independent study courses count towards their degree requirements.

Graduate students have the opportunity to participate in the Transformative Talent Internship option.

In addition, the Department offers a designated set of graduate courses in each of the specialization areas and interdisciplinary areas. Additional graduate courses are offered as Special Studies and Project courses.

Advanced Credit

The applicant must make advanced credit requests as part of the admission process, in consultation with the proposed supervisor and the Graduate Director. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma or for courses taken to bring the grade point average to a required level for admission.

Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade)

Students admitted to the Schulich School of Engineering 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 affect students' eligibility for internal awards.

Time Limit

Typical completion time is three to four years in a doctoral program. Maximum completion time is six years for a doctoral program.

See Time Limits.

Supervisory Assignments

Supervisors and supervisory committees are assigned according to the Faculty of Graduate Studies regulations (see graduate academic regulations) and are approved by the Department Head or the Graduate Program Director.

Research Proposal Requirements

The doctoral thesis proposal requirements, including the outline of the proposal’s contents, are the same as those for the Master of Engineering (thesis-based). The thesis must demonstrate the candidate’s ability to pursue original research at a high level and represent a distinct advance in knowledge on the subject. The research should be of the recognized standard of technical journals requiring critical review. The supervisor and supervisory committee will normally require progress reports every six months during the doctoral program.

The thesis proposal should include the following:

1. Statement of the problem.

2. Research objectives.

3. Literature review.

4. Methodology and procedures.

5. Outline of thesis contents.

6. Proposed time schedule.

7. Bibliography and references.

Required Examinations

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements, the program requires:

Candidacy

To be admitted to candidacy, doctoral students must successfully complete a thesis proposal evaluation and a written field of study examination and an oral examination on the thesis proposal. See Geomatics Engineering Doctoral Candidacy Requirements for more information.

Thesis Examination

The Schulich School of Engineering has established common minimum examination requirements for all its graduate programs. Departments and graduate programs may have additional requirements over and above those of the Schulich School of Engineering.

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements for Thesis Examinations, the Schulich School of Engineering minimum requirements are as follows:

Doctoral Final Oral Examination

Scheduling of the Examination

All members of the Supervisory Committee must have reviewed the student’s research, including a relevant written sample of the materials related to the thesis before an examination can be scheduled.

Composition of the Committee

The examining committee consists of: the Supervisory Committee, an Internal Examiner who may be internal to the home program, and one member external to the University of Calgary. The examination is chaired by a neutral chair (non-voting), proposed by the Department Head or Graduate Director. The examining committee must be approved by the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

The student shall make a public twenty-minute presentation of their thesis research, normally immediately before the oral examination. Examining committee members should attend this presentation but should refrain from asking questions during the presentation. The maximum allowable two-hour examination period does not include the time spent on student presentation.

Thesis oral examinations are open.

Thesis-based candidates are typically admitted with financial support provided by an interested supervisor, the department, or an official organization. For information on awards, see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this Calendar.