General Information

The College offers the following programs:

• M.Sc. in Pharmacy
• M.Sc. in Nutrition
• Ph.D. in Pharmacy
• Ph.D. in Nutrition

M.Sc. programs are approximately 24 months duration and consist of a minimum of 12 (Nutrition) and 9 (Pharmacy) credit units of graduate course work, a thesis, and participation in seminars.

Ph.D. programs consist of a minimum of 6 credit units of relevant course work, dissertation, examinations, participation in seminars, and take approximately 4 years to complete.

Areas of Graduate Study:

• Graduate Studies and Research in Pharmacy focuses on pharmaceutics/drug delivery; medicinal/pharmaceutical chemistry; bio- and nanotechnology/molecular biology; pharmacokinetics; clinical pharmacy*; pharmacy education; pharmacoeconomics and pharmacoepidemiology; toxicology; and social and adminstrative pharmacy. *Please note that for most graduate programs in the clinical pharmacy area, students must be eligible for licensure as a Pharmacist in Saskatchewan.

• Graduate Studies and Research in Nutrition include clinical nutrition, dietary assessment, nutritional biochemistry, nutrition services administration, community nutrition and nutrition education.

For more information on our current graduate students, please see Graduate Students

General Information

Applicants to the M.Sc. program require:

1.  A four-year honors degree, or equivalent, in Pharmacy (if applying to the M.Sc. in Pharmacy) or Nutrition (if applying to the M.Sc. in Nutrition) or other life, natural or social science from a recognized college or university. Students who are qualified for admission who require additional undergraduate training in certain areas in order to proceed with graduate courses and research in their selected field may be conditionally admitted and take courses either prior to or in parallel with graduate program courses.
   
   
2. The minimum scholastic standing for admission is a cumulative average of 70% in the last two years (60 credit units) of undergraduate study.  However, please note that a minimum average of 80% is required to be eligible for graduate scholarships.
   
   
3. Applicants must show promise of ability to pursue advanced study and research as judged by their academic record and letters of recommendation.
   
   
4. Students whose first language is not English are required to obtain a TOEFL score of 80 (Internet-Based Test) with minimum of 20 in each category or 550 (paper based) or 213 (computer based) or equivalent level of proficiency in another approved test (CanTEST, IELTS, MELAB or ESL program UPrep - 2).  Please note that for the TOEFL test, the University code is 0980 and the Department code is 47 for Pharmacy and 77 for Nutrition.  Please see http://www.usask.ca/cgsr/admission/proficiencynotrequired.php to see if a test of English is required.

Applicants to the Ph.D. program require:

1. Completion of a recognized Master’s program in Pharmacy (if applying to the Ph.D. in Pharmacy) or Nutrition (if applying to the Ph.D. in Nutrition) or other life, natural or social science from a recognized college or university.  
   
   
2. The minimum scholastic standing for admission is a cumulative average of 75% in the M.Sc. degree.  However, please note that a minimum average of 80% is required to be eligible for graduate scholarships.
   
   
3. Applicants must show promise of ability to pursue advanced study and research as judged by their academic record and letters of recommendation.
   
   
4. Evidence of proficiency in English as noted above.

Transfer from Master’s to Ph.D.

Under certain circumstances, it may be possible to transfer from a Master’s to Ph.D. This transfer should take place after the first year and no later than the end of the second year of the Master’s program.  A minimum average of 80% in Master’s courses will normally be required for students applying to transfer.

We welcome your inquiries! For more information on graduate programs, please call (306) 966-6327 or e-mail Grad-Pharmacy-Nutrition@usask.ca.

Application Procedures

Applications for admission are accepted at any time during the year.  The academic year is divided into three terms:  September – December, January – April and May – August.  Most applicants who are admitted begin their studies in September; however, students may also begin programs in January or May.   A minimum of 2 months prior to date that a student hopes to register is normally needed for applicants whose previous studies were done at a Canadian or U.S. university, and 4 months for international applicants.   Please note that admission to the Pharmacy or Nutrition graduate programs is based on there being a faculty member identified to be the applicant’s graduate supervisor.  

Before applying, please carefully consider: 

1. Do the areas of specialization of our graduate programs, which correspond to the expertise of the faculty, match your research interests?   Please note that it is normally not possible to determine, prior to applying, if there is a prospective supervisor here who will recommend you for admission.  
   
   
2. If required, does your score on the English language proficiency test meet the required levels (eg, TOEFL Internet score of 80 with a minimum of 20 in each category).  See Qualifications for Admission section for minimum scores required on other tests.
   
   
3. Can you arrange for three recommendations from former professors or others, acquainted with your training and experience, who can indicate your demonstrated ability for independent thought, advanced study and research?
   
   
4. Do you meet the academic qualifications for admission, including a cumulative weighted average of at least 70% in the last two years of study for the Master’s program and at least 75% for the PhD.   Please note that these are the minimum averages in order to be considered.  An admission average of 80% or greater is required to be considered for scholarships.  These averages are grade equivalents here; please check http://www.usask.ca/cgsr/admission/international_info.php to determine how to convert the grades from your country/university to the grading system at the University of Saskatchewan..

Please follow these steps to apply:

1. Fill in the online application form at http://www.usask.ca/cgsr/prospective_students/get_ready.php.  
   
   
2. Every applicant must pay a $75 (Canadian dollars) application fee (non-refundable), and you are strongly encouraged to pay this online if possible.  If this is not possible, you can pay by cash, certified cheque or money order to the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition.  If sending by cheque, a bank routing code must appear.
   
   
3. Our College will be notified of your online application and, if we have not been in contact with you already, we will email you instructions to complete the additional application process.  The “College” referred to below is the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition.  You will be asked to:
   1. Arrange for three Letters of Recommendation to be sent to the College.  The referees should be professors or others acquainted sufficiently with your training and experience to judge your ability to undertake graduate studies.
   2. Arrange to have official transcripts of all post-secondary education sent directly to the College from your University (or Universities).   In certain situations, an attested copy of a transcript may be sufficient.  If you completed all your studies at the U of S, you are not required to submit transcripts.
   3. Arrange to have the TOEFL result or equivalent English language test (as indicated in the Qualifications for Admission section), sent directly from the testing centre to the College.
   4. Complete the Pharmacy Graduate Program: Information from Applicants form or the Nutrition Graduate Program: Information from Applicants form.   You will be asked to provide details on the area in which you wish to study, and also indicate if you have funding to support yourself for the duration of the program, should you be admitted.
   5. Send your resumé or CV, including publications, familiarity with research equipment, research-related experience and other relevant information.

All of the above documents will form your complete application package.  It will be circulated to faculty members whose areas of expertise correspond with your research interests.  The faculty will review your package and consider the following in making a decision whether to recommend you for admission.

• Based on your application, transcripts, letters of recommendation and resume, does the faculty member believe you are likely to succeed in the graduate program?
• Is the faculty member able to take on additional graduate students or does he/she have the maximum number that can be supervised at this time?  A number of excellent individuals may have applied to undertake studies with a particular faculty member, and so he/she needs to decide how many and which students to accept.
• Does the faculty member have the necessary research funds available to support the research that you are interested in undertaking (eg, facilities, equipment, operating funds)?
• Do you have funding to support yourself during your program, or is your academic average such that there would be the possibility of you being awarded a scholarship? 

If admission is recommended, our College will send a Recommendation for Admission to the College of Graduate Studies and Research (CGSR), where the final decision regarding admission is made.  If this decision is positive, CGSR will send you the offer of admission.  If admission is not recommended by our College, we will notify you of this as soon as possible.  Please note that because of the high numbers of applications, there is significant competition to obtain a space in the Pharmacy and Nutrition graduate programs.   We sincerely appreciate your interest in our programs!

Tuition and Financial Assistance

Tuition Fees

The Graduate Academic Year is divided into 3 four-month terms (Sept.-Dec., Jan.-April and May-Aug.) for which tuition and student fees are assessed.

Please see U of S Graduate Studies Tuition Information.

Financial Assistance

Please note that admission to a graduate program does not imply financial support. However, the College endeavors to assist students to obtain internal or external funding. Please note that competition for graduate awards is keen. The main forms of financial support available to graduate students are:

• University of Saskatchewan Graduate Scholarships - made by the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition. Annual value is $15,000 for a Master's candidate and $18,000 for a Ph.D. candidate. Recipients are required to provide up to 90 hours of academic service during the fall and/or winter terms. Approximately 4-5 of these awards are made to students in each of the Pharmacy and Nutrition graduate programs.
• Graduate Teaching Fellowship - one award annually, based on the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition’s teaching needs and academic merit, made on recommendation of the College. Annual value is $15,000. Recipients are required to provide up to 320 hours of academic service during the fall and winter terms.
• Graduate Teaching Assistantship - one half award annually based on the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition’s teaching needs and academic merit, made on recommendation of the College. Annual value is $7,500. Recipients are required to provide up to 160 hours of academic service during the fall and winter terms.
• Externally Funded Fellowships and Awards - national, private and publicly funded agencies and organizations offer merit based fellowships and scholarships, usually to Canadian students or those who are permanent residents of Canada: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Postgraduate Scholarships and Industrial Research Fellowships. Examples of other sources of funding include disease foundations, the Soroptimist Foundation of Canada, Scottish Rite, Danone Foundation.
• Research Assistantships - administered by faculty members who are holders of research grants or contracts.
• Other Sources - endowment awards, a limited number of need-based awards, a fund for students who encounter unexpected costs, conference travel awards, and Graduate Service Fellowships.

For more detailed information on financial assistance, please see College of Graduate Studies and Research, Financial Aid.

We welcome your inquiries! For more information on graduate programs, please call (306) 966-6327 or e-mail Grad-Pharmacy-Nutrition@usask.ca.

Available Graduate Student Positions

Thank you for visiting the Available Graduate Student Positions page. Below are a links to current graduate student positions available with faculty in the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition. Please note - for the positions below, please contact the supervisor listed in the posting for more information.

PhD Opportunity in Clinical Pathways in Hospitals and Primary Care - Supervisor: Dr. Thomas Rotter, Saskatchewan Research Chair in Health Quality Improvement Science