PhD Program

Normally, students entering the PhD program in Scientific Computing will have an MSc degree from an institution recognized by the Senate. Students in the Master of Science (Scientific Computing) program may request a transfer to the PhD program after a minimum of 12 months in their program of studies. The final decision for transfer from the MSc program to the PhD program rests with the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

There are four possible ways to enter the Scientific Computing PhD program. The minimum requirements for each of these ways will normally be;

1. an MSc degree in Scientific Computing, or equivalent, from a university of recognized standing,
2. an MSc degree in an appropriate discipline from a university of recognized standing,
3. registration and successful performance in the Scientific Computing MSc program at Memorial University for a minimum of 12 months and demonstration, to the satisfaction of the Board of Study, of an ability to pursue research at the Doctoral level, with the conversion happening no later than the fifth semester of the student’s MSc program, and
4. in exceptional cases, a BSc degree with Honours, or equivalent, in an appropriate discipline that included completion of a thesis or dissertation from a university of recognized standing, and the approval of the Board of Study to enter the PhD program.

Course requirements vary depending on which of the four ways a student enters the PhD program.

All applicants must possess an adequate knowledge of written and spoken English as a prerequisite to admission, as according to the requirements given in Section 4.2, English Proficiency Requirements of the University Calendar.

MSc Program

The assessment of an applicant's likelihood of success can be carried out in a variety of ways. Students will be expected to hold a B.Sc. or B.Eng. degree, or equivalent, with a strong computational and mathematical orientation. At the time of application, the student is expected to provide evidence (for example, transcripts of completed courses) of his or her knowledge of a modern computer language such as Fortran, and/or C and/or C++, and/or Matlab, and/or Python. Evidence of knowledge of Calculus, differential equations, linear algebra and numerical methods would be an asset. Students with an inadequate background may be encouraged to take certain undergraduate courses. The successful completion of an Honours B.Sc. or B.Eng. degree which included a number of computer science courses is typical of a successful applicant.

Research Supervision and Financial Support

There are several stages required for admission to the program after an application is submitted through the School of Graduate Studies (SGS).

1. The application material from the SGS is reviewed by the Board of Study for Scientific Computing and determined if the applicant is deemed to be eligible. Eligibility is based on the relevancy of undergraduate and previous graduate courses taken, grades, letters of recommendation and statements from the applicant, all contained in the file provided to us by the SGS. See above for additional information. Normally an overall GPA of 75% (Canadian equivalent) is required for eligibility.

2. In order to be accepted into the program, a faculty member at Memorial University must agree to act as the student's research supervisor. This usually involves a commitment of some financial support from the faculty member.

It is best if applicants try to contact potential supervisors themselves. This can be done at any stage of the application process. There is a list of faculty affiliated with the program on our website, but any Memorial University faculty member can supervise students.

Applicants are encouraged to also search the lists of faculty in university departments of interest. In addition, we will also circulate a summary of your application information to our list of affiliated faculty members.

There is not necessarily any financial support for students enrolled in the project option.

TOEFL code

Memorial University's identification code for TOEFL is 0885. There is no specific code for the Scientific Computing Program; if something needs to be provided, use CMSC (which is Memorial's denotation for this program).

Admission decisions will be made by the School of Graduate Studies.