Canadian PhD applications!

[KayCee]

On 2/27/2021 at 12:55 PM, Harish Pedaprolu said:

Btw does anyone have a clue here as to in what order schools accept/reject/waitlist candidates? For PhD in philosophy, Alberta , for instance, has waitlisted some people last week..I m yet to hear from them.  Is it possible that they have put some folks on the waitlist before they have accepted some others? Or is it that anybody who hasn't been waitlisted/accepted yet should take the hint n treat themselves as rejected?? 

This is a thread under political science, so unless people applied to both a political science and philosophy, most of us won't have an answer to this.

[iffyyy]

Hi everyone, I am wondering if anyone could shed some light on the following:

(1) How are job prospects (in academia, specifically) like with Canadian PhDs (as compared to US PhDs)? What are some reasons/considerations for choosing to do a Canadian PhD instead of a US PhD? 

(2) How are the funding offers generally like in Canadian universities? How do they compare to first- or second-tier universities in the US?

I would appreciate all thoughts, thank you

[polisci_gal]

54 minutes ago, iffyyy said:

Hi everyone, I am wondering if anyone could shed some light on the following:

(1) How are job prospects (in academia, specifically) like with Canadian PhDs (as compared to US PhDs)? What are some reasons/considerations for choosing to do a Canadian PhD instead of a US PhD? 

(2) How are the funding offers generally like in Canadian universities? How do they compare to first- or second-tier universities in the US?

I would appreciate all thoughts, thank you

I'll do my best to answer this based on my own knowledge and experiences in relation to the political science field. 

1) Canadian PhDs are obviously well respected in Canada and beyond (many of the Canadian universities are ranked extremely high on the global lists), but are especially relevant if you are interested in working at a Canadian institution afterward or are interested in studying Canadian politics ( or some dimension of it). I think what the most important consideration is when choosing a Canadian PhD program vs. a US one is the faculty at that institution. For example, some schools in Canada have a lot of really highly regarded political scientists that are from the US which could help you land a job in the US afterwards because of your experience working with these individuals and their networks. I also think that some of the Canadian schools have smaller cohorts and might be able to facilitate more opportunities for teaching, publishing, etc. 

2) In my personal experience, funding packages in Canada were much higher, even after taking into consideration the exchange rate of USD/CAD. Granted, as a Canadian citizen you are eligible for (many) more grants and scholarships from the Canadian government, which makes it attractive for domestic students to study domestically. I cannot comment on international students and how that would work for them!

Overall, I think Canadian universities are extremely well regarded around the world and you can't go wrong! That being said, it depends too on whether you are a Canadian citizen or not in which option might be better. Most US PhDs come with healthcare packages, and I'm not sure if Canadian schools offer health care packages to international students? But obviously if youre a Canadian then your healthcare is covered by the gov 

 

Hope this helps!

 

Also - @KayCee might be able to comment on this too. I know they are well versed in Canadian PhD info

Edited March 1, 2021 by polisci_gal

[becalmbekindbesafe]

Pretty sure I'm in for a PhD at York as my status now reads "Admitted"..... anyone know who how we can view the letter? It says there should be a column that says I should see, "1.  Your offer letter can be found in "Admission Letters" in MyFile." but I do not see this. Perhaps it will help to get a notification from the grad coordinator later (quite surprised this didn't happen before the portal was updated). 

 

[polisci_gal]

17 minutes ago, becalmbekindbesafe said:

Pretty sure I'm in for a PhD at York as my status now reads "Admitted"..... anyone know who how we can view the letter? It says there should be a column that says I should see, "1.  Your offer letter can be found in "Admission Letters" in MyFile." but I do not see this. Perhaps it will help to get a notification from the grad coordinator later (quite surprised this didn't happen before the portal was updated). 

 

You're slayin the game! Congrats @becalmbekindbesafe

[becalmbekindbesafe]

17 minutes ago, polisci_gal said:

You're slayin the game! Congrats @becalmbekindbesafe

Hahaha thank you! Also got rejected from Toronto so they're not all home runs!

[Mikel]

1 hour ago, becalmbekindbesafe said:

Pretty sure I'm in for a PhD at York as my status now reads "Admitted"..... anyone know who how we can view the letter? It says there should be a column that says I should see, "1.  Your offer letter can be found in "Admission Letters" in MyFile." but I do not see this. Perhaps it will help to get a notification from the grad coordinator later (quite surprised this didn't happen before the portal was updated).

That's awesome, congrats! Do you think you'll accept the offer?

I'm wondering if they are sending offers to international applicants now as well or if they're doing that later. On the other hand, they admit only a few international students per cycle, so it might very well be that I just wasn't picked this time. I guess I just have to wait and see.

[KayCee]

2 hours ago, becalmbekindbesafe said:

Pretty sure I'm in for a PhD at York as my status now reads "Admitted"..... anyone know who how we can view the letter? It says there should be a column that says I should see, "1.  Your offer letter can be found in "Admission Letters" in MyFile." but I do not see this. Perhaps it will help to get a notification from the grad coordinator later (quite surprised this didn't happen before the portal was updated). 

 

I also appear to have been accepted - but no letter.  So my guess is that the portal updates can be done by a bulk list, but the individual letters need to uploaded individually

[KayCee]

4 hours ago, iffyyy said:

Hi everyone, I am wondering if anyone could shed some light on the following:

(1) How are job prospects (in academia, specifically) like with Canadian PhDs (as compared to US PhDs)? What are some reasons/considerations for choosing to do a Canadian PhD instead of a US PhD? 

(2) How are the funding offers generally like in Canadian universities? How do they compare to first- or second-tier universities in the US?

I would appreciate all thoughts, thank you

 

4 hours ago, polisci_gal said:

I'll do my best to answer this based on my own knowledge and experiences in relation to the political science field. 

1) Canadian PhDs are obviously well respected in Canada and beyond (many of the Canadian universities are ranked extremely high on the global lists), but are especially relevant if you are interested in working at a Canadian institution afterward or are interested in studying Canadian politics ( or some dimension of it). I think what the most important consideration is when choosing a Canadian PhD program vs. a US one is the faculty at that institution. For example, some schools in Canada have a lot of really highly regarded political scientists that are from the US which could help you land a job in the US afterwards because of your experience working with these individuals and their networks. I also think that some of the Canadian schools have smaller cohorts and might be able to facilitate more opportunities for teaching, publishing, etc. 

2) In my personal experience, funding packages in Canada were much higher, even after taking into consideration the exchange rate of USD/CAD. Granted, as a Canadian citizen you are eligible for (many) more grants and scholarships from the Canadian government, which makes it attractive for domestic students to study domestically. I cannot comment on international students and how that would work for them!

Overall, I think Canadian universities are extremely well regarded around the world and you can't go wrong! That being said, it depends too on whether you are a Canadian citizen or not in which option might be better. Most US PhDs come with healthcare packages, and I'm not sure if Canadian schools offer health care packages to international students? But obviously if youre a Canadian then your healthcare is covered by the gov 

 

Hope this helps!

 

Also - @KayCee might be able to comment on this too. I know they are well versed in Canadian PhD info

I pretty much second what Polisci_gal says.

I did my MA at a smaller institution, and I have had LOTS of opportunities for extra TA work, various graduate research assistant opportunities, and a lot of one on one support from faculty.  I have friends who completed degrees at larger institutions, and these sorts of experiences were harder to come by.  What I was told by several people at different Universities is that University doesn't much matter.  What matters is quality experience and quality publications + a strong dissertation.  So from that perspective faculty fit matters much more than whichever institution you end up at.

Funding is also typically fairly strong - my MA funding (per year, not total) was higher than some of the PhD fellowships American applicants have reported.  PhD funding is more than MA funding, and most schools have significant pots of money that can be picked up for doing extra work or funding conference travel etc; (once covid restrictions have been lifted).

[becalmbekindbesafe]

39 minutes ago, KayCee said:

I also appear to have been accepted - but no letter.  So my guess is that the portal updates can be done by a bulk list, but the individual letters need to uploaded individually

I actually messaged the department and they said it should update in one to two days! So we just gotta keep checking in hahahaha

[iriszzzz77]

3 hours ago, becalmbekindbesafe said:

Pretty sure I'm in for a PhD at York as my status now reads "Admitted"..... anyone know who how we can view the letter? It says there should be a column that says I should see, "1.  Your offer letter can be found in "Admission Letters" in MyFile." but I do not see this. Perhaps it will help to get a notification from the grad coordinator later (quite surprised this didn't happen before the portal was updated). 

 

Congratulations!!! May I ask if your tuition is covered by the program and any related funding? 

[KayCee]

41 minutes ago, becalmbekindbesafe said:

I actually messaged the department and they said it should update in one to two days! So we just gotta keep checking in hahahaha

Thanks for letting me know!  I was literally coming on here to see if anyone has asked yet, before emailing!

[becalmbekindbesafe]

2 hours ago, Mikel said:

That's awesome, congrats! Do you think you'll accept the offer?

I'm wondering if they are sending offers to international applicants now as well or if they're doing that later. On the other hand, they admit only a few international students per cycle, so it might very well be that I just wasn't picked this time. I guess I just have to wait and see.

Hello! I am not sure if I will accept it yet - basically all I know is that I was admitted so hard to tell at the moment. 

 

1 hour ago, iriszzzz77 said:

Congratulations!!! May I ask if your tuition is covered by the program and any related funding? 

Thank you! I'm quite sure York's PhDs are fully funded, but I do not know yet what funding I have been given, as I have not received my letter yet. Hope that helps! 

[MEESASOBOREDSA]

2 hours ago, Mikel said:

That's awesome, congrats! Do you think you'll accept the offer?

I'm wondering if they are sending offers to international applicants now as well or if they're doing that later. On the other hand, they admit only a few international students per cycle, so it might very well be that I just wasn't picked this time. I guess I just have to wait and see.

I also applied to the York as an international student. If you see any updates on the portal, would you mind sharing it in the future? I think they will take only 1 international student and I wish you luck too. I also do not expect a positive result but still wondering.

[iriszzzz77]

26 minutes ago, becalmbekindbesafe said:

Hello! I am not sure if I will accept it yet - basically all I know is that I was admitted so hard to tell at the moment. 

 

Thank you! I'm quite sure York's PhDs are fully funded, but I do not know yet what funding I have been given, as I have not received my letter yet. Hope that helps! 

Sounds good, thank you! 

[Mikel]

40 minutes ago, MEESASOBOREDSA said:

I also applied to the York as an international student. If you see any updates on the portal, would you mind sharing it in the future? I think they will take only 1 international student and I wish you luck too. I also do not expect a positive result but still wondering.

Yeah, the acceptance-rejection ratio for international students is simply nuts... I will definitely post here when my application status changes, and I'll be grateful if you do the same. Best of luck to you as well!

By the way, I noticed that you have one admission already, so congrats!

[KayCee]

On 2/25/2021 at 1:28 PM, becalmbekindbesafe said:

Got into Queen's this morning. Will likely be declining - hope that opens up the spot for someone else!  

Hope everyone is doing well  

What other programs did you apply for?

[Pusat94]

Is there anyone applied to Carleton?

[becalmbekindbesafe]

1 hour ago, KayCee said:

What other programs did you apply for?

Toronto (rejected), Western (in), Queen's (in) and York (in). How about you? 

[SNSD]

7 hours ago, becalmbekindbesafe said:

Toronto (rejected), Western (in), Queen's (in) and York (in). How about you? 

For Western, do you think they sent out all their acceptances? I haven't heard back and I applied for the IR. What stream did you apply for? o: 

[polisci_gal]

1 hour ago, SNSD said:

For Western, do you think they sent out all their acceptances? I haven't heard back and I applied for the IR. What stream did you apply for? o: 

I was also accepted to Western. I saw a few posts on the results page back when I heard (Feb 15ish). Granted I applied to Canadian Poli/Comparative poli - not IR. They might still be sending out offers for other subfields but I dont know. That being said, from what I've heard their intake is usually very small (5-6 people for the incoming PhD cohort i believe). 

You could always reach out to their admissions to see if they're still sending out acceptances for other subfields!! Worth asking probably

[KayCee]

14 hours ago, becalmbekindbesafe said:

Toronto (rejected), Western (in), Queen's (in) and York (in). How about you? 

Social Practice and Transformational change (Guelph, interdisciplinary), guelph, McMaster, U of T, York!

I've only heard from U of T and York so far.

[Camilleigh]

1 hour ago, KayCee said:

Social Practice and Transformational change (Guelph, interdisciplinary), guelph, McMaster, U of T, York!

I've only heard from U of T and York so far.

@KayCee-- have you heard anything at all from Guelph? I also applied there, it is my first choice (I think). I spoke with a potential advisor who agreed to sign off on my application in December before submitting, but haven't heard anything since and am wondering if they've reached out to anyone for interviews and if I should prepare for the worst. Thanks!

[becalmbekindbesafe]

3 hours ago, KayCee said:

Social Practice and Transformational change (Guelph, interdisciplinary), guelph, McMaster, U of T, York!

I've only heard from U of T and York so far.

That Guelph program seems cool! Never heard of it. Good luck with your coming admissions!

[KayCee]

2 hours ago, Camilleigh said:

@KayCee-- have you heard anything at all from Guelph? I also applied there, it is my first choice (I think). I spoke with a potential advisor who agreed to sign off on my application in December before submitting, but haven't heard anything since and am wondering if they've reached out to anyone for interviews and if I should prepare for the worst. Thanks!

I will PM you!  But, I have never heard of anyone having interviews for Guelph PhD before