Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering (PhD)

Admission to the PhD Program with a Previous Course and Thesis-based Master's Degree

Applicants applying should have:
- A recognized course and thesis-based Master’s degree which includes graduate level courses and a written thesis
- References should include a detailed letter from the thesis supervisor
- North American degree holders must have an overall average of B+ (76% at UBC) in your master’s degree program
- Non-North American degree holders must review the academic entrance requirements for students from your country at the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
- Applicants who have completed a degree by research only may have to complete a year of additional coursework as part of their Ph.D. program.

Admission to the PhD Program with a Previous Undergraduate Degree

This is also known as a direct entry PhD. In addition to the usual M.A.Sc. requirements, you must have:
- A first class standing in your bachelor’s degree and evidence of prior research ability. First class standing is indicated for each nation by UBC G+PS guidelines (80% minimum or equivalent for Canadian institutions). It is understood that such a grade-average is a minimum requirement and depending on the overall applicant profile, higher grades can be expected.
- Hard evidence of research experience and ability, by way of previous research internships, for example. Ideally, you should be a co-author on a manuscript or paper accepted in a high visibility, rigorously peer reviewed academic venue, e.g., an internationally recognized journal, or, in certain disciplines (especially computer and software engineering), top tier conferences.
- Prospective supervisors of direct entry students must submit a maximum one page explanation of why the student is deemed sufficiently-prepared to be directly admitted to the Ph.D. program.

Admission to the PhD Program with a Previous Course-based Master's Degree

In addition to the usual M.A.Sc. requirements, you must have:
- Hard evidence of research experience and ability, by way of previous research internships, for example. Ideally, you should be a co-author on a manuscript or paper accepted in a high visibility, rigorously peer reviewed academic venue, e.g., an internationally recognized journal, or, in certain disciplines (especially computer and software engineering), top tier conferences.
- Prospective supervisors of students with a previous course-based masters degree must submit a maximum one page explanation of why the student is deemed sufficiently-prepared to be directly admitted to the Ph.D. program.

GRE scores are not mandatory for applying to our PhD program. You are welcome to submit GRE scores if you have them, to provide further support to your application. Please ask GRE to submit their examination report to UBC using the institution code 0965 (UBC).

Applicants who have recently completed a degree in one of the following countries do not need to submit a language score. Degrees must have been completed within the past 5 years of the date of application to our department in order for this language score requirement to be waived.

Australia, Botswana, Canada, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the English-speaking countries of the West Indies.

Other applicants, including Canadians, who have completed their most recent degree in other countries, must submit a current TOEFL or Academic IELTS score. We will not waive this requirement for you. Our department does not consider conditional admission in the case of pending English language training.