Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics (PhD)
Overview
Mathematicians use theoretical and computational methods to solve a wide range of problems from the most abstract to the very applied. UBC's mathematics graduate students work in many branches of pure and applied mathematics. The PhD program trains students to operate as research mathematicians. The focus of the program is on substantial mathematical research leading to the PhD dissertation. Students also develop their skills in presenting and teaching mathematics and its applications.
What makes the program unique?
UBC has one of the largest and most vigorous departments of mathematics in Canada. Our faculty routinely win national and international awards for their research and teaching achievements. We have an engaged and sociable cohort of graduate students who are essential members of a broad selection of active research groups. Each group holds a variety of seminars and events that allow graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, visitors and faculty to enjoy regular interaction.
UBC is the headquarters for the Pacific Institute of Mathematical Sciences (PIMS). PIMS hosts a plethora of mathematical events such as conferences and summer schools, greatly enriching the scientific environment in the quantitative sciences at UBC. Our mathematics students are also regular participants at the nearby Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery. Finally, our Institute for Applied Mathematics provides options for interdisciplinary studies for PhD students who wish to work in applied and computational mathematics.
Quick Facts
Program Enquiries
Admission Information & Requirements
In order to apply to this program, the following components may be required.
Online Application
All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.
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.
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 UBC). 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. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitve process.
Letters of Reference
A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. 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.
English Language Proficiency
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:
Supervision
Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their supervisor. Depending on program, applicants either reach out to faculty members directly or the program supports this process in different ways.
This program has not specified whether applicants should reach out to faculty members. Please review the program website for additional details.
Test Scores (GRE / GMAT or similar)
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:
Citizenship Verification
Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.
Funding Sources
All full-time students who begin a UBC-Vancouver PhD Mathematics program in September 2018 or later will be provided with a funding package of at least $24,256 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.
Applicants to UBC 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.
We encourage all applicants to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund your 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.
In addition to scholarships and awards, applicants may be eligible to apply for financial aid or other benefits in the form of loans, bursaries, tax credits, or similar.
Career Outcomes
88 students graduated between 2005 and 2013: 1 is in a non-salaried situation; for 19 we have no data (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016). For the remaining 68 graduates:
RI (Research-Intensive) Faculty: typically tenure-track faculty positions (equivalent of the North American Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor positions) in PhD-granting institutions
TI (Teaching-Intensive) Faculty: typically full-time faculty positions in colleges or in institutions not granting PhDs, and teaching faculty at PhD-granting institutions
Term Faculty: faculty in term appointments (e.g. sessional lecturers, visiting assistant professors, etc.)
Sample Employers in Higher Education
University of Oregon (3)University of British Columbia (2)
University of Notre Dame (2)
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor (2)
University of Manitoba (2)
University of Kansas (2)
Harvard University (2)
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (2)
Autonomous University of Yucatan
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
Sample Employers Outside Higher Education
Google (3)Sanoma B.V.
Centre for Human Drug Research
Futurice GmbH
Contact Energy Ltd.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)
Contextual Genomics
MDA Corp.
Amazon
Sample Job Titles Outside Higher Education
Data Scientist (3)Software Engineer (2)
Actuarial Analyst
Lead Software Creator
Quantitative Analyst
Senior Analyst
Applied Research Mathematician
Education Specialist
Programmer
Senior Software Engineer
PhD Career Outcome Survey
You may view the full report on career outcomes of UBC PhD graduates on outcomes.grad.ubc.ca.Disclaimer
These data represent historical employment information and do not guarantee future employment prospects for graduates of this program. They are for informational purposes only. Data were collected through either alumni surveys or internet research.Tuition / Program Costs
| Fees | Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat | International |
|---|---|---|
| Application Fee | $106.00 | $168.25 |
| Tuition * | ||
| Installments per year | 3 | 3 |
| Tuition per installment | $1,698.56 | $2,984.09 |
| Tuition per year (plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%) | $5,095.68 | $8,952.27 |
| Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible) | $3,200.00 (-) | |
| Other Fees and Costs | ||
| Student Fees (yearly) | $944.51 (approx.) | |
| Costs of living (yearly) | starting at $16,954.00 (check cost calculator) | |
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC 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 UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.
Statistical Data
Enrolment Data
| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications | 142 | 138 | 110 | 93 | 102 |
| Offers | 27 | 25 | 15 | 21 | 22 |
| New registrations | 9 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
| Total enrolment | 68 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 78 |
Completion Rates & Times
Disclaimer
Upcoming Doctoral Exams
Friday, 14 February 2020 - 2:30pm - 4133, PIMS Lounge, Earth Sciences Building, 2207 Main Mall
Research Supervisors
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.
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Adem, Alejandro (Cohomology of finite groups, orbifolds, stringy topology, algebra, sporadic simple group, group actions, arithmetic groups, K-theory, homotopy theory, spaces of homomorphisms)
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Angel, Omer (Probability theory, percolation, random graphs, random walks, particle processes, scaling limits)
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Anstee, Richard (Discrete Mathematics, Extremal Set Theory, Graph Theory, Matching Theory)
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Bachmann, Sven (Mathematical physics, Quantum statistical physics, Topological states of matter)
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Balmforth, Neil (Fluid mechanics, nonlinear dynamics and applied partial differential equations)
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Behrend, Kai (Moduli spaces, Gromov-Witten invariants, string theory, Donaldson-Thomas invariants, Euler characteristics, categorification)
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Bennett, Michael (Number Theory, Diophantine Approximation and Classical Analysis)
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Bryan, Jim (Quantum invariants)
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Chau, Albert (Differential Geometry and Partial Differential Equations)
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Chen, Jingyi (Differential geometry , partial differential equations)
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Colliander, James (hamiltonian dynamical systems; partial differential equations; harmonic analysis)
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Coombs, Daniel (Mathematical biology, Cell biophysics, Immune cell signalling, Disease models)
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Cytrynbaum, Eric (Bacterial cell division, Microtubule and cellular organization, Wave propagation in excitable media)
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Doebeli, Michael Walter (Mathematical ecology and evolution, evolution of diversity, adaptive speciation, evolution of cooperation, game theory, experimental evolution in microorganisms)
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Edelstein-Keshet, Leah (cell polarity, cell migration, developmental and cellular biology, swarming and aggregation, Rho GTPases)
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Feldman, Joel (Constructive Quantum Field Theory)
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Feng, James Jingtao (Complex fluids, Biophysics, Mathematical biology)
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Fraser, Ailana (Differential Geometry, Geometric Analysis)
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Friedlander, Michael (numerical optimization, numerical linear algebra, scientific computing, Scientific computing)
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Friedman, Joel (Computer Science Theory, Algebraic Graph Theory, Combinatorics)
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Frigaard, Ian (Fluid mechanics (visco-plastic fluids))
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Froese, Richard Gerd (Mathematical Physics, quantum mechanics, spectral theory, scattering theory)
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Ghioca, Dragos (Drinfeld modules, isotrivial semiabelian varieties, Lehmer inequality)
Pages
Recent Doctoral Citations
- Dr. Arman Ahmadieh
"Dr. Arman made several contributions to the area of compressed sensing. He proposed a new class of matrices, generalized a method of quantization, and showed the classical bounds on one of the main features of deterministic matrices in compressed sensing can be improved. Compressed sensing is used in signal processing, statistics and computer science." (November 2019) - Dr. Hyunju Kwon
"Dr. Kwon examined the existence and ill-posedness for partial differential equations describing the motion of fluid when the given data is rough. The construction of the various type of flows with desired properties gives a deeper understanding of the behavior of fluid flows." (November 2019) - Dr. You Hung Hsu
"Dr. Hsu constructed a categorical action of the shifted q=0 affine algebra on the derived categories of coherent sheaves on partial flag varieties. Then he applied this action to obtain an action of the q=0 affine Hecke algebra on the derived categories of coherent sheaves on the full flag variety." (November 2019) - Dr. Oliver Leigh
"Dr. Leigh considered two enumerative problems in geometry that are motivated by mathematical physics. In the first he developed a new theory for counting a special type of object. In the second he provided an explicit computation involving a string-theoretic space called the "banana threefold"." (November 2019) - Dr. William Christopher Carlquist
"Dr. Carlquist developed a method to map experimental measurements onto mathematical models that describe how a system changes in time and space. Applying his method, he unravelled the mechanism underlying dynamic pattern formation in the E. coli Min system, one of the simplest biological systems known to demonstrate diverse complex dynamic behaviour." (May 2019)
Sample Thesis Submissions
Further Program Information
Program Website
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