PhD Program Requirements - Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry

PhD Thesis

A research thesis of no more than 200 pages, which involves an original contribution to knowledge, written and defended in an acceptable manner. The PhD candidate must defend their thesis through the Final Oral Examination.

Throughout the PhD program, oral examinations and committee meetings are held according to the timelines below.

Courses & Program Requirements

PhD (entry after completion of the Master's degree)

Please note that this is the recommended progress through the PhD program for students who have completed a Master's. A student’s progress may vary, and students are encouraged to discuss their progress regularly with their supervisor(s). Normally a student will publish 3 to 4 journal articles by the end of their PhD program.

Requirements	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4
CHE2222H - Safety Training Workshop	Prior to starting research in the lab
JDE1000H - Ethics in Research	Fall or Winter session
CHE1102H - Research Methods and Project Execution	Second session of study
CHE3001H - Seminar in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions
CHE3010Y - PhD Research Reading Committee	Within 9 months of beginning the program	~9 months after Qualifying Exam	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 2	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 3
Electives* 1.5 Full-Course Equivalents (FCE) - 3 graduate half courses	Must be completed by the end of Year 3.
CHE1100H - Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering	Mandatory for students without an Engineering background. Counts as a 0.5 FCE elective course.
PhD Qualification Examination		By the 13th month in the program
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles		Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review
Achieve PhD Candidacy			All academic courses must be complete, regular committee meetings must have been held and adequate research progress made.
Thesis				Writing completed and thesis defended at the PhD Departmental Oral Exam (optional) and PhD Final Oral Examination

*Note on Electives

at least one (0.5 FCE) course must be taken in a secondary area of study
500-level courses cannot be counted towards the PhD program
CHE1430H, CHE1431H, CHE1432H, CHE1433H, CHE1434H, CHE1436H do not count towards PhD requirements
A maximum of 1 APS/TEP (ELITE) courses can count towards the PhD course requirements, unless the student’s supervisor’s primary research interest is in leadership education.

Direct-Entry Phd (entry after completion of a Bacehlor's degree)

Please note that this is the recommended progress through the PhD program for students in the Direct-entry PhD program. A student’s progress may vary, and students are encouraged to discuss their progress regularly with their supervisor(s). Normally a student will publish 3 to 4 journal articles by the end of their PhD program.

Requirements	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
CHE2222H - Safety Training Workshop	Prior to starting research in the lab
JDE1000H - Ethics in Research	Fall or Winter session
CHE1102H - Research Methods and Project Execution	Second session of study
CHE3001H - Seminar in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions
CHE3010Y - PhD Research Reading Committee	Within 9 months of beginning the program	~9 months after Qualifying Exam	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 2	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 3	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 4
Electives* 2.5 Full-Course Equivalents (FCE) - 5 graduate half courses	Must be completed by the end of Year 4.
CHE1100H - Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering	Mandatory for students without an Engineering background. Counts as a 0.5 FCE elective course.
PhD Qualification Examination		By the 13th month in the program
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles		Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review
Achieve PhD Candidacy				All academic courses must be complete, regular committee meetings must have been held and adequate research progress made.
Thesis				Thesis research is completed and writing begins.	Writing completed and thesis defended at the PhD Departmental Oral Exam (optional) and PhD Final Oral Examination

*Note on electives

CHE1100H – Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering (0.5 FCE) for those who do not have an Engineering background
at least one (0.5 FCE) course must be taken in a secondary area of study
a maximum of one (0.5 FCE) 500-level course can count towards Transfer or Direct-Entry PhD requirements
CHE1430H, CHE1431H, CHE1432H, CHE1433H, CHE1434H, CHE1436H do not count towards PhD requirements
A maximum of 1 APS/TEP (ELITE) courses can count towards the PhD course requirements, unless the student’s supervisor’s primary research interest is in leadership education.

Transfer PhD (transferred from the Master's)

Please note that below is the recommended progress through the PhD program for students who have transferred from the MASc into the PhD program. A student’s progress may vary, and students are encouraged to discuss their progress regularly with their supervisor(s). Normally a student will publish 3 to 4 journal articles by the end of their PhD program.

Requirements	Year 1 (MASc)	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5
CHE2222H - Safety Training Workshop	Prior to starting research in the lab
JDE1000H - Ethics in Research	Fall or Winter session
CHE1102H - Research Methods and Project Execution	Seconds session of study
CHE3001H - Seminar in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions
CHE3012Y - MASc Research Reading Committee	Within 9 months of beginning the MASc program
MASc Transfer Exam		Within13 months after starting the MASc
CHE3010Y - PhD Research Reading Committee		~9 months after Transfer Exam	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 2	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 3	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 4
Electives* Up to 2.5 Full-Course Equivalents (FCE) - 5 graduate half courses (depending on coursework completed during in 1st year MASc	Must be completed by the end of Year 4.
CHE1100H - Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering	Mandatory for students without an Engineering background. Counts as a 0.5 FCE elective course.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles		Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review
Achieve PhD Candidacy				All academic courses must be complete, regular committee meetings must have been held and adequate research progress made.
Thesis				Thesis research is completed and writing begins.	Writing completed and thesis defended at the PhD Departmental Oral Exam (optional) and PhD Final Oral Examination

*Note on electives

at least one (0.5 FCE) course must be taken in a secondary area of study
a maximum of one (0.5 FCE) 500-level course can count towards Transfer or Direct-Entry PhD requirements
CHE1430H, CHE1431H, CHE1432H, CHE1433H, CHE1434H, CHE1436H do not count towards PhD requirements
A maximum of 1 APS/TEP (ELITE) courses can count towards the PhD course requirements, unless the student’s supervisor’s primary research interest is in leadership education.

Flexible-Time PhD

Please note that this is the recommended progress through the PhD program for students in the flex-time PhD program. A student’s progress may vary, and students are encouraged to discuss their progress regularly with their supervisor(s). Normally a student will publish 3 to 4 journal articles by the end of their PhD program.

Requirements	Year 1 (Full-time)	Year 2 (Full-time)	Year 3 (Full-time)	Year 4 (Full-time)	Year 5 & 6 (Part-time)
CHE2222H - Safety Training Workshop	Prior to starting research in the lab
JDE1000H - Ethics in Research	Fall or Winter session
CHE1102H - Research Methods and Project Execution	Second session of study
CHE3001H - Seminar in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions	Fall & Winter sessions
CHE3010Y - PhD Research Reading Committee	Within 9 months of beginning the program	~9 months after Qualifying Exam	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 2	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 3	~9 months after reading committee held in Year 4
Electives* 1.5 Full-Course Equivalents (FCE) - 3 graduate half courses	Must be completed by the end of Year 4.
CHE1100H - Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering	Mandatory for students without an Engineering background. Counts as a 0.5 FCE elective course.
PhD Qualification Examination		By the 16th month in the program
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles		Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review	Submit 1-2 articles for review
Achieve PhD Candidacy				All academic courses must be complete, regular committee meetings must have been held and adequate research progress made.
Thesis					Thesis research & writing completed and thesis defended at the PhD Departmental Oral Exam (optional) and PhD Final Oral Examination

*Note about electives

at least one (0.5 FCE) course must be taken in a secondary area of study
500-level courses cannot be counted towards the PhD program
CHE1430H, CHE1431H, CHE1432H, CHE1433H, CHE1434H, CHE1436H do not count towards PhD requirements
A maximum of 1 APS/TEP (ELITE) courses can count towards the PhD course requirements, unless the student’s supervisor’s primary research interest is in leadership education.

A direct link to the SGS statistics on PhD completion for current and incoming students is available here: https://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/about/explore-our-data/phd-degree-completion/.

SGS has a resource for improving time to completion: “Best Practices for Doctoral Students”.

Students whose research work is unsatisfactory in the opinion of their supervisor may have their progress to date assessed by a three-person committee made up of the supervisor and two faculty knowledgeable in the research area. The committee has complete authority to recommend the termination of a student’s degree program if adequate progress is not demonstrated.

We understand that challenging circumstances sometimes arise, and can get in the way of academic success. If you are experiencing academic, personal, or professional difficulties that make maintaining adequate progress in your program difficult, please contact the Graduate Programs staff in the Student Services Office. We treat all such inquiries with discretion and can connect you with the many resources and support services available to you as a graduate student.

Visit the following School of Graduate Studies resources on improving Time to Completion: https://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/resources-supports/improving-doctoral-time-to-completion/