Traditional elements of this PhD program include the development of a research dissertation in a field of interest in the environmental sciences, the completion and approval of a candidacy examination, and a final oral defense.

Admission to a graduate degree program as a regular student is granted, on recommendation of the Department concerned, to: i. the holder of a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, or a four-year honours or majors baccalaureate or its equivalent, as set out below; or ii. a student who has satisfied the requirements for transfer from provisional student category as described below. The minimum requirement for admission to graduate studies in the Faculties of Science and Veterinary Medicine is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, or equivalent; or a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree, or Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degree, or equivalent, normally of four years’ duration, in an honours or majors program or equivalent from a recognized university or college, the applicant having achieved an average of at least second-class (“B,” i.e., 70% to 79.9%) standing in the work of the last four semesters or the last two undergraduate years.