The course requirement in the Ph.D. program is 9 - 18 credit units, depending on the student's academic background. The number of required courses is to be determined by the student's Advisory Committee. A student who has obtained his Master's degree from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Saskatchewan, or from another university of high international reputation, will typically be assigned a requirement of 9 - 12 credit units.

A student registering in the Ph.D. program must pass a Qualifying Exam within the first 13 months to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in three areas of mathematics and statistics, depending on his/her specialization. A student will be allowed two opportunities to pass the qualifying exams. Failure to pass the qualifying exams on the second attempt will result in the students withdrawal from the program. Ph.D. qualifying exams are given in May and again in late August - early September.

Transfer from M.Sc. to Ph.D. program
A student who registers in a M.Sc. program in September (resp. in January) and wishes to be considered for transfer to a Ph.D. program, without completing the M.Sc. degree, must pass the Ph.D. qualifying examination within 13 months (resp. 17 months) of first registration for the M.Sc. degree. Only under extraordinary circumstances and at the discretion of the Graduate Committee may a student enrolled in a M.Sc. program more than 12 months be considered for transfer to a Ph.D. program. A M.Sc. student who fails the Ph.D. qualifying exam, then completes the M.Sc. and is admitted into the Ph.D. program, will be allowed only one more attempt to pass the qualifying exam.

After the student has completed all course requirements for the Ph.D., the student will be required to pass a Comprehensive Exam. The Comprehensive Exam is an oral examination conducted by the Advisory Committee and is intended to ensure the student is prepared to begin work on a proposed area of research. The regulations governing this examination are included in an appendix.

The research for the Ph.D. thesis and the preparation of the thesis are normally supervised by the research supervisor. The student is required to submit a thesis containing a worth while contribution to knowledge and warranting publication. The adequacy of the thesis is decided by an examining committee consisting of the Advisory Committee and an External examiner from outside this University. The candidate must pass an oral examination based on the work in the thesis.

The student is encouraged to attend Departmental colloquia and to participate in at least one of the ongoing Departmental seminars.

The minimum residency required for the Ph.D. program is 24 months.