Doctor of Philosophy in Design, Technology and Society (PhD)

Canadian Immigration Updates

Review details about the recently announced changes to study and work permits that apply to master’s and doctoral degree students. Read more

Overview

The Ph.D. in Design, Technology and Society in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture integrates design research with disciplines such as the social sciences, the applied sciences and the humanities. The program will advance new models of research-based practice, including the accommodation of Indigenous-focused research practices, that can be implemented in real world settings.

Ìý
Ìý
Ìý
Ìý

Admission Information & Requirements

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at ÑÇÖÞÌìÌÃ). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement: 100

Reading

22

Writing

21

Speaking

21

Listening

22

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement: 7.0

Reading

6.5

Writing

6.5

Speaking

6.5

Listening

6.5

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is not required.

2) Meet Deadlines

Application open dates and deadlines for an upcoming intake have not yet been configured in the admissions system. Please check back later.

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at ÑÇÖÞÌìÌÃ. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest, sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Doctor of Philosophy in Design, Technology and Society (PhD)
Applicants should browse faculty profiles and indicate in their application who they are interested in working with. No commitment from a supervisor prior to applying is necessary, but contacting faculty members is encouraged.

Citizenship Verification

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

4) Apply Online

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to ÑÇÖÞÌìÌÃ.

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

FeesCanadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / DiplomatInternational
Application Fee$116.25$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year33
Tuition per installment$1,875.34$3,294.66
Tuition per year
(plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)
$5,626.02$9,883.98
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible)Ìý$3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)$1,144.10 (approx.)
Costs of livingEstimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.
* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see .
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and ÑÇÖÞÌìÌà reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the ÑÇÖÞÌìÌà Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the ÑÇÖÞÌìÌà Calendar, the ÑÇÖÞÌìÌà Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Financial Support

Applicants to ÑÇÖÞÌìÌà have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

From September 2024 all full-time students in ÑÇÖÞÌìÌÃ-Vancouver PhD programs will be provided with a funding package of at least $24,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships. Please note that many graduate programs provide funding packages that are substantially greater than $24,000 per year. Please check with your prospective graduate program for specific details of the funding provided to its PhD students.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the .

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review .

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work for unlimited hours and work for no more than 24 hours a week during academic sessions.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the ÑÇÖÞÌìÌà program or a .

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim or tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Research Supervisors

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Doctor of Philosophy in Design, Technology and Society (PhD)
Applicants should browse faculty profiles and indicate in their application who they are interested in working with. No commitment from a supervisor prior to applying is necessary, but contacting faculty members is encouraged.
Ìý
Advice and insights from ÑÇÖÞÌìÌà Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across ÑÇÖÞÌìÌà on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program specific.

Ìý

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

  • Beauchesne, Kim (Literature and literary studies; Colonialism; Latin America; Trans-Pacific Studies; Globalization)
  • Beaudry, Paul (National and International macroeconomic issues, Business cycles, inflation, financial markets, the macro-economic effects of technological change and globalization, and the determinants of aggregate employment and wages)
  • Beck, Sara (Natural environment sciences; Water quality; Innovative water treatment solutions; Ultraviolet disinfection mechanisms; Applications of UV LEDs (light emitting diodes); Water disinfection; Water reuse; Applied environmental microbiology)
  • Beckie, Roger (Other environmental engineering and related engineering; Hydrogeology; Mine drainage; physical hydrogeology; groundwater geochemistry; groundwater contamination)
  • Bedaiwy, Mohamed (Other clinical medicine; Recurrent Pregnancy Loss; Endometriosis; Minimally Invasive Surgery; Assisted Reproductive Technologies)
  • Bedi, Robinder (Counselling psychology; Investigating counselling and psychotherapy as Western cultural healing practices; Counselling psychology disciplinary and professional issues in Canada; Heterodox issues in counselling psychology that challenge its dominant narratives and sacred ideas; Counselling/psychotherapy/mental health with Punjabi/Sikh individuals; Neglected topics in the Psychology of Men and Masculinity)
  • Bedke, Matthew (Philosophy; Philosophy, History and Comparative Studies; Foundations of Ethics; Social Organization and Political Systems; Ethics and Fundamental Issues of Law and Justice; epistemology; ethics; metaethics; philosophy of law; political philosophy)
  • Behrend, Kai (Moduli spaces, Gromov-Witten invariants, string theory, Donaldson-Thomas invariants, Euler characteristics, categorification)
  • Belcourt, Billy-Ray (Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry)
  • Belliveau, George (Art education, drama education, pedagogy, teacher research)
  • Bena, Jan (Financial economics; Finance, n.e.c.; Stock markets; International economics and international finance; Economics of innovation and technical change; Industry economics and industrial organization; Innovation; Corporate innovation; Asset pricing of technological progress; Private equity; Corporate ownership structure; Frictions in raising external finance; Entrepreneurship; Ownership of startup companies; Finance and industrial organization; Product market interactions)
  • Benard, Francois (Medical isotopes Radioisotopes Nuclear Medicine Cancer Imaging Molecular imaging of cancer Radionuclide therapy, Cancer division, radiology, pancreas centre)
  • Benavente, Oscar (Acute Stroke Trials, Secondary stroke prevention)
  • Benedet, Janine (Law and legal practice; Penal Law; Labor Standards and Laws; Human Rights and Liberties, Collective Rights; prostitution and pornography; sexual abuse of girls; sexual harassment in employment and education; sexual violence against women)
  • Bennett, Michael (Number Theory, Diophantine Approximation and Classical Analysis)
  • Bennett, Erica (Sport and exercise psychology; stress, emotion, and coping; Aging; sport; chronic illness; disability; Physical Activity; community and critical perspectives in physical activity psychology)
  • Bennewith, Kevin (Oncology; Molecular Pathology & Cell Biology; Cancer research; Solid tumour microenvironment; Hypoxia; Metastasis research; Pre-metastatic niche; Targeting hypoxic tumour cells in therapy; Radiation biology)
  • Berard, Marie-France (Publics; Artistic and Literary Theories; Social Impact of Artistic Education; Educational Approaches; Emerging Forms of Art; Cultural Industries; Art museum education; Art education)
  • Berciu, Mona (Electronic and magnetic properties of condensed matter and supraconductivity; Physical sciences; condensed matter theory; polarons, bipolarons; strongly correlated systems)
  • Berdahl, Jennifer (Ostracism, Harassment and Bullying, Gender and Diversity in Organizations, Power and Status in Groups, Harassment, Work-Family Interface)
  • Bergmann, Luke (Social and economic geography; Geomatics; Globalization)
  • Beristain, Alexander Guillermo (Healthy Starts; cellular and molecular processes that direct trophoblast cell biology in early placental development; Examining the A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase (ADAM) family in trophoblast biology; Examining the effects of obesity-associated inflammation on the maternal-fetal interface; Identifying gene expression differences in subpopulations of trophoblasts in normal and pathological pregnancies )
  • Berkman, Jeremy (Humanities and the arts; music; Music as Healing)

Pages

Further Information

Program Website

Faculty Overview

Program Identifier

VGDPHD-DTS
Ìý
Ìý
Ìý
Supervisor Search
Ìý

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this .

Considering Vancouver as your next home?

This city won’t disappoint. It has it all: sea, parks, mountains, beaches and all four seasons, including beautiful summers and mild, wet winters with snow.