Degree Programs

The Department of Mathematics and Statistics offers three types of graduate degrees:

  • MSc (Thesis-Based Master's degree)
  • MMath (Project-Based Master's degree)
  • PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)

The MSc and PhD are research-focused degrees, culminating in an original thesis.  The MMath program is centred around a project whose outcome is an exposition or synthesis of existing and perhaps emerging ideas in the mathematical sciences.  All three programs involve taught courses that are designed to give students a solid foundation in graduate-level mathematics and/or statistics.  As the MMath program is not research-based, it involves more course work than the other programs.

Specializations

Once admitted to one of these degree programs, students can choose a specialization based on their area of interest.  The specializations are Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Discrete Mathematics, and Statistics.  A student's specialization will influence their choice of supervisor(s), help to determine the courses they will take, and set the stage for their thesis or project.

 

For details on the course work involved in our programs as well as the Qualifying and Comprehensive examination procedures for our PhD degree, please see Information for Current Students.

 

Information for International Students

 

Application Procedure

• General Minimum Admission Requirements

• Additional International Students Admission Requirements 

Contact Us 

The language of instruction and examination at the University of Saskatchewan is English. Applicants for admission whose first language is not English must, therefore, present evidence of proficiency in English prior to initial registration. Evidence of proficiency in English is necessary, as evidenced by a degree from a country where one of the official languages is English, or approved standardized testing (TOEFL examination or equivalent).

Financial Support

We are pleased to be able to offer financial support to the majority of our graduate students. In the course of the application process, applicants are advised about the possibility of financial support and about particular funding opportunities.

Financial support for graduate students is normally offered in the form of Graduate Teaching Fellowships (GTFs).  These fellowships provide full funding (up to $19,000 CAD per year for MSc, and up to $22,000 CAD per year PhD) as well as valuable teaching experience.  Fellowship holders will serve as tutorial assistants and graders during the Fall and Winter terms (and sometimes the Spring and Summer, depending on the availability of courses and teacing hours).  The majority of our current MSc and PhD students are funded through GTFs, and the GTFs are our typical entrance award for new students.  The Department automatically considers all eligible applicants for GTF funding without a separate application.  Like admission, funding is competitive and we generally cannot give funding to applicants with an entrance GPA lower than 80%.  Please note that MMath candidates are ineligible for funding. Supervisors themselves may have funding through various grants and collaborations that they can offer to prospective students, and supervisors typically contribute funds to each GTF that is awarded.

The GTFs are renewable subject to good academic performance and Department resources.  Once established, PhD students within the Department are also eligible for Graduate Research Fellowships (GRFs), which are awarded for one year and provide a research stipend without teaching requirements.  These awards are more competitive than the GTFs and there is typically not more than one GRF award in a department at any given time.  Lastly, our Department has been home to a number of PhD students who have been named Teacher-Scholar Doctoral Fellows (TSDFs).  These one-year awards give senior PhD students with exceptional research and teaching potential the opportuity to lead the instruction of a mathematics or statistics course.  

Beyond these awards, there exist additional institutional and national scholarships that require additional applications, such as those of NSERC, which is Canada's national science funding body.  We are pleased that our Department has been home to a number of NSERC scholarship winners in the past few years.  For more information on funding external to the Department, please see:

• Scholarships and Awards, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, University of Saskatchewan
• NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships

Please note that the majority of NSERC's scholarships are open only to permanent residents and citizens of Canada.

Applicants from China have the opportunity to apply for China Scholarship Council (CSC) Scholarship that allows them to undertake a bridging research period at the University of Saskatchewan.  Eigible candidates must formally apply and be admitted to the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at the University of Saskatchewan as "Non-Degree Joint Students". The application procedures are here.

Please Note: Math candidates are ineligible for internal financial support, funding, or scholarships.  Also, as the MMath degree is not research-based, candidates are furthermore ineligible for most external funding.

Graduate Contact Info

Dr. Steven Rayan, Graduate Chair
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Saskatchewan
rayan@math.usask.ca

All graduate application inquiries MUST be sent to math.grad@usask.ca. If you send your request directly to the Graduate Chair, your request will be forwarded to math.grad@usask.ca and will be replied to from math.grad@usask.ca.

Emails sent to math.grad@usask.ca are handled as soon as possible in the order they are received.

Kyla Denton, Graduate Administrator
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Saskatchewan
math.grad@usask.ca