Ph.D. Admission Information

Regular Admission

To be eligible as a regular student in the Ph.D. program in Molecular Biology, you must:

  • have a M.Sc. degree in an appropriate discipline or an equivalent diploma or be promoted from graduate to postgraduate studies without writing a thesis (for students enrolled in the Molecular Biology program).
  • hold a master’s degree with a minimum grade-point average of 3.3 out of 4.3
  • ensure that a professor accredited by the program agrees to supervise your research project,
  • provide an acceptation letter from a research director
  • provide 2 letters of recommandation;
  • provide attestation of internship(s), if applicable;
  • provide a curriculum vitae;
  • provide a letter of motivation;
  • provide a detailed description of your M.Sc. research project and one of your future Ph.D. project (if you already have a research supervisor)
  • submit to the Registrar’s Office an application for admission in due and proper form in accordance with established rules and procedures. Students who need help to understand the French terms and to fill the admission form may download this bilingual document.

Please consult our admission guide for the students who want to start a Ph.D.

Please take note that you must submit your application for admission

  • before February 1st, for the summer session
  • before February 1st (1st cohort) or May 1st (2nd cohort), for the fall session
  • before September  15th, for the winter session

International students should apply for admission at least 6 months before the desired date of the beginning of the studies.

Outside these dates, the files will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Once your application for admission has been submitted, your complete file will be reviewed by the Molecular Biology Programs Graduate Studies Committee. You will be given a formal response after the meeting of the Committee.

 Accelerated tracks

Please refer to the ESP support document , as well as the one from the Faculty of Medicine, on the various accelerated tracks to the Ph.D.
Direct Access

This program allows you direct access from undergraduate to Ph.D. level and an opportunity to apply for a scholarship for direct access to the Ph.D. program from an undergraduate program.

If you want to follow this path to enrol in the Ph.D. program, you must:

  • have a degree of doctor in medicine (M.D.), dentistry (D.M.D.), veterinary medicine (D.M.V.) or a Bachelor of Science degree (B.Sc.) in an appropriate field, or a diploma judged equivalent.
  • have a minimum undergraduate grade point average corresponding to 3.7 at the Université de Montréal, unless, in the opinion of the Dean, experience or studies subsequent to the undergraduate degree allow to conclude that you possess skills required to continue graduate studies;
  • provide a curriculum vitae and two letters of recommendation.

In addition, you will need to provide proof of relevant research experience that allows you to qualify for a Ph.D. program.

The Ph.D. program by direct access includes 101 credits, of which

  • at least 15 credits must be taken at M.Sc. and Ph.D. level (21 credits in the case of the Systems Biology option)
  • 86 credits attributed to the research project and written thesis.

For students who have achieved a progression honor, some courses may be credited. Please contact the program office.

Fast-track M.Sc. to Ph.D. program (for students already enrolled in the Molecular Biology program)

The fast-track M.Sc. to Ph.D. program allows you, under certain academic and temporal conditions, direct access from M.Sc. to Ph.D. level without writing a thesis and an opportunity to apply for a scholarship for the fast-track M.Sc. to Ph.D. program.

To be eligible, you must have a minimum graduate grade point average corresponding to 3.7, have completed your undergraduate course and three full-time terms in the M.Sc. program.

Deadlines for the request (step 1 below):

  • June 15, for a Ph.D. starting in Fall
  • October 15, for a Ph.D. starting in Winter
  • February 15, for a Ph.D. starting in Summer

The procedure is as follows:

  1.  You must submit a letter of application for accelerated Ph.D. passage, countersigned by your supervisor, to the director of the programs.
  2.  After obtaining the approval of the director of the programs, you should form a committee including the head of your unit or his/her representative (chairman of the committee) and a member external to the above-mentioned unit. This committee must be approved by the head of your unit and the director of the programs. Nomination of jury form.
  3.  You will need to prepare a report of 15 double-spaced pages. This document should be divided into two parts: 10 pages on the current research project and 5 pages on your proposed Ph.D. project (the latter should be mainly written by yourself).

If there is any submitted article relating to your main project, this article may be used as the first part of the report. In case of multiple authors, the research supervisor should provide a letter explaining your contribution.

We highly recommend you to present a neat and well organized work.

You must submit this report to the members of the committee as well as to the director of the programs along with your curriculum vitae and your recent transcript within two weeks after submitting your application.

The committee will examine your file within the next two weeks and may make a recommendation or request an oral presentation. If you meet the committee with an oral presentation and the accelerated passage is recommended, this meeting will take the place of the first thesis committee. If the accelerated passage is accepted without oral presentation, there will be a thesis committee held in the term following the passage. The chairman will make a recommendation to the director of the programs (a brief report which will be added to your file).

With reference to this recommendation, the director of the programs will notify you of his/her decision. In the case of acceptance, you will apply for admission to the Ph.D. In the case of a refusal, you should continue your M.Sc. program.

Master thesis Exemption (for students already enrolled in the program)

The Master thesis exemption allows you direct access to the Ph.D. without written thesis. To be eligible, you must have a minimum graduate grade point average corresponding to 3.4, have completed your minimum course work and three terms of full-time M.Sc. program. Applications for direct Ph.D. passage must be submitted between the 4th and the 6th trimester (at the latest one month before the beginning of a term). The procedure is as follows:

  1.  You must submit a letter of application for direct Ph.D. passage, countersigned by your supervisor, to the director of the programs.
  2. After obtaining the approval of the director of the programs, you should form a committee including the head of your unit or his/her representative (chairman of the committee) and a member external to the above-mentioned unit. This committee must be approved by the head of your unit and the director of the programs. Nomination of jury form.
  3.  You will need to prepare a report of 15 double-spaced pages.  This document should be divided into two parts: 10 pages on the current research project and 5 pages on your proposed Ph.D. project (the latter should be mainly written by yourself).

If there is any submitted article relating to your main project, this article may be used as the first part of the report. In case of multiple authors, the research supervisor should provide a letter explaining your contribution.

We highly recommend you to present a neat and well organized work.

You must submit this report to the members of the committee as well as to the director of the programs along with your curriculum vitae and your recent transcript within two weeks after submitting your application.

The committee will examine your file within the next two weeks and may make a recommendation or request an oral presentation. If you meet the committee with an oral presentation and the direct passage is recommended, this meeting will take the place of the first thesis committee. If the direct passage is accepted without oral presentation, there will be a thesis committee held in the term following the passage. The chairman will make a recommendation to the director of the programs (a brief report which will be added to your file).

With reference to this recommendation, the director of the programs will notify you of his/her decision. In the case of acceptance, you will apply for admission to the Ph.D. In the case of a refusal, you should start preparing your master’s thesis.

 

Scholarships

All our students receive scholarships. You will be also encouraged to submit applications for external scholarships to expand your CV.

Specific modalities for Ph.D.

The minimum Ph.D. course work duration is 6 terms. The maximum course work duration is 5 years.

You should have completed all required courses before the end of the 5th term of enrolment and your qualifying exam before the end of the 6th term.

These terms remain unchanged in the case of an accelerated passage.

Enrollment status:

  • full time: 6 terms
  • redaction: until the term of submitting your Ph.D. thesis
  • correction / assessment: the term following your thesis submission

Please see also the academic rules issued by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.