UPEI's Doctor of Philosophy in Sustainable Design Engineering (PhD-SDE) program aims to train graduates who have in-depth expertise in applying principles of sustainable design engineering to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research challenges.
Independent research is the major focus of the PhD program-SDE degree, and students will identify a research topic and conduct an extensive body of original research in their field, making a true contribution exemplifying the student’s depth of knowledge, creativity, innovation and proven ability to make significant scientific research contributions.
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Note: Current UPEI students should refer to Student Planning in myUPEI and the UPEI Academic Calendar governing their entry year, and speak to an academic advisor about course requirements. The course structure presented for this program is a recommended, unofficial progression for prospective students.
Students will be required to take at least four (4) graduate-level courses (equivalent to at least 12 credits) in addition to SDE 8010 (PhD Thesis) and SDE 8900 (Seminar). Normally these courses should be selected from the PhD-SDE Graduate level Courses listed below. Cross‑level listed courses may account for no more than one‑third of the total coursework required for program completion (i.e., a maximum of one (1) course), with the Thesis excluded from this calculation. Under this structure, students may complete three (3) or four (4) courses from the 8000‑level graduate‑only offerings, and no more than one (1) course from the 7000‑level, which represents the set of cross-level listed PhD eligible courses. Upon approval of the student’s supervisory committee, up to two graduate-level courses may be taken from outside the FSDE. All students must complete the SDE 8030 (Contemporary Topics in Sustainable Design Engineering) course unless they receive approval from their supervisory committee to take an alternate FSDE graduate-level course. In the case of students who transfer from the MSc-SDE program at UPEI, any PhD-SDE graduate-level courses completed during their MSc degree will count towards their PhD degree. Each student is expected to complete these courses within the first 24 months of the degree, before or in the concurrent semester of their PhD Comprehensive Exam.
Courses eligible to fulfill PhD (SDE) requirements
SDE 8010 Phd Thesis
SDE 8900 Seminar
SDE 8030 Contemporary Topics In Sustainable Design Engineering
SDE 8040 Design Of Experiments
SDE 8063 Contemporary Topics In Sustainable Energy
SDE 8081 Modern Mechatronic Systems
SDE 8101 Advances In Bioresource Engineering
SDE 8810 Directed Studies In Sustainable Design Engineering
SDE 7020 Quality Control And Project Management
SDE 7021 Contemporary Topics In Engineering Management
SDE 7031 Contemporary Topics In User-Centred Engineering Design
SDE 7050 Engineering Research Methods & Experiment Design
SDE 7060 Modeling, Control, And Design Of Energy Systems
SDE 7061 Optimization In Energy Infrastructure
SDE 7062 Solar Buildings And Neighbourhoods
SDE 7070 Novel Engineered Materials For Sustainable Applications
SDE 7080 Industrial Machine Vision
SDE 7100 Biofuel And Biomass Technology
Applicants must:
- hold a Bachelor of Science (BSc) or Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degree.
- hold a thesis-based Master of Science (MSc) or thesis-based Engineering (MEng) or its equivalent from a recognized university, and have achieved at least a second class standing (70-80%) for this degree.
- provide proof of English language proficiency for those applicants whose first language is not English. Please refer to the English Language Requirements for Graduate Programs page.
For complete admissions details, please refer to the Academic Calendar.
Deadline: for Fall intake July 1; for Winter intake November 1; for Summer intake March 1
Securing a supervisor prior to applying to this program is an admission requirement. Visit the Potential Graduate Supervisors page of the Faculty of Graduate Studies website for contact information.
Applicants must submit the following via the application portal (apply.upei.ca):
- a Graduate Application Form;
- a personal statement outlining background preparation and explaining why this particular program is a match for the applicant;
- a curriculum vitae;
- $50 (CDN) application fee.
Applicants must ensure that the following items are forwarded directly to the university:
- three letters of reference, at least two academic; the third may be academic or may reflect volunteer or professional experience;
- official transcripts (undergraduate and graduate) from all post-secondary institutions at which courses have been taken.
Tuition deposit: domestic applicants $250; international applicants $1,000
Contact: Kuljeet Grewal, SDE Graduate Co-ordinator - kgrewal@upei.ca
Tuition
PhD in Sustainable Design Engineering - $15,449 per 3-year program
For a complete breakdown, visit our Tuition and Fees page.
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