phd in pharmacology in canada for international students

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Pharmacology (PhD)

Program description.

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Pharmacology offered by the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences is a research-intensive program that emphasizes cutting-edge and rigorous learning opportunities. The program's objective is to equip students with skills in critical thinking, literature review, and scientific communication to pursue professional opportunities in academia or industry.

The program may also be taken with as the Environmental Health Sciences option which adds a distinct focus on the interplay between the environment and health research, including a broad environmental perspective, exposure sciences, hazard screening methodologies, epidemiological approaches, health implications of environmental quality, and policy approaches.

Keywords: drug discovery, neuropharmacology, endocrine pharmacology, cellular signalling, reproductive toxicology, nanomedicine, regenerative medicine.

Unique Program Features

• The program is designed to provide students the opportunity to acquire knowledge in pharmacology, to conduct an original research project, to analyze data, and to write a thesis. Students will also receive essential training in research professionalism and scientific communication;
• The Department is committed to helping graduate students secure adequate funding for their research and studies;
• Faculty members areas of specialty include neuropharmacology, reproductive pharmacology, endocrine pharmacology, receptor pharmacology, cardiovascular pharmacology, cancer, developmental pharmacology, autonomic pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, biochemical pharmacology, molecular biology, toxicology;
• Faculty members research laboratories are located in the McIntyre Medical Sciences Building and in a variety of affiliated hospitals, institutes, and industry partners including the Douglas Hospital Research Centre, the Allan Memorial Institute, the Montreal Children's Hospital, the Montreal General Hospital, the Montreal Heart Institute, the Lady Davis Research Institute, Pfizer Canada, and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (RI-MUHC);
• The Department benefits from the participation of researchers from both industry and government ensures the relevance of the Department's applications-oriented training programs.

University-Level Admission Requirements

• An eligible Bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA out of a possible 4.0 GPA
• English-language proficiency

Each program has specific admission requirements including required application documents. Please visit the program website for more details.

Visit our Educational credentials and grade equivalencies and English language proficiency webpages for additional information.

Program Website

PhD in Pharmacology website

Department Contact

Graduate Program gradstudies.pharmacology [at] mcgill.ca (subject: PhD%20in%20Pharmacology) (email)

Available Intakes

Application deadlines.

Note : Application deadlines are subject to change without notice. Please check the application portal for the most up-to-date information.

Application Resources

• Application Steps webpage
• Submit Your Application webpage
• Connecting with a supervisor webpage
• Graduate Funding webpage

Application Workshops

Consult our full list of our virtual application-focused workshops on the Events webpage .

Department and University Information

Graduate and postdoctoral studies.

• Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD)
• Graduate School
• Prospective Students
• Graduate Degree Programs

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

Go to programs search

The Deptment of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics has a long-standing reputation of excellence in the field of drug research that goes back to 1951.  Facult members in the Department are engaged in researh in areas of neural, cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine and clinical pharmacology, pharmacoepidemiology, acute and chronic pain management, cardio-pulmonary sciences, clinical outcomes and patient safety, equity in medicine, evidence-based medicine and knowledge translation, intensive care, transplant and transfusion medicine, neurosciences and anesthesiology, obstetric anesthesiology, pediatric anesthesiology, perioperative technology and integration, pharmacoepidemiology, regional anesthesiology, as well as drug development.  Exceptional students with an undergraduate degree may be admitted directly into the Ph.D. program.  Some students do a combined M.D./Ph.D. program for which a separate admission into the M.D. program, by the Faculty of Medicine, is required.  Students pursuing a Ph.D. will have the opportunity to interact with basic as well as clinical scientists.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

What makes the program unique?

The shared research interests in anesthesiology, pharmacology, drug development and therapeutics allow students to gain broad-based exposure to fundamental as well as medically-related aspects of drug research. Research projects in the department are funded by operating grants from CIHR, NSERC, The Heart Foundation, etc. In addition, many of our students receive the highly competitive CIHR and NSRC studentship awards.

Quick Facts

Program enquiries, 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 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:

• Canada or the United States
• International countries other than the United States

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website 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

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement : 7.0

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

May 2025 intake, application open date, canadian applicants, international applicants, july 2025 intake, september 2025 intake, january 2026 intake, deadline explanations.

Deadline to submit online application. No changes can be made to the application after submission.

Deadline to upload scans of official transcripts through the applicant portal in support of a submitted application. Information for accessing the applicant portal will be provided after submitting an online application for admission.

Deadline for the referees identified in the application for admission to submit references. See Letters of Reference for more information.

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 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.

• 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 Pharmacology (PhD)

As the PCTH PhD program is research-based, students will need to find a faculty member who will supervise their research project.  As faculty can supervise a limited number of students, we strongly encourage students to contact and confirm a supervisor before submitting their application.

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 UBC.

Tuition & Financial Support

Financial support.

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.

Program Funding Packages

From September 2024 all full-time students in UBC-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.

Average Funding

• 6 students received Research Assistantships. Average RA funding based on 6 students was $20,226.
• 6 students received internal awards. Average internal award funding based on 6 students was $5,456.
• 2 students received external awards. Average external award funding based on 2 students was $17,500.

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 Teaching Assistants' Union .

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 eligibility and types of loans .

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 on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement .

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

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

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (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 Filing taxes in Canada 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.

Career Outcomes

23 students graduated between 2005 and 2013. Of these, career information was obtained for 19 alumni (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016):

Sample Employers in Higher Education

Sample employers outside higher education, sample job titles outside higher education, phd career outcome survey, career options.

Those with a Ph.D. join the academia, drug control agencies in government and pharmaceutical industry or start their own drug development and consultancy units. 

Alumni on Success

Ricardo Rivera-Acevedo

Job Title Chief Scientific Officer. Cannabinologist

Employer Ecovita Health Corp, Evitrade Health Systems

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (PhD). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

ENROLMENT DATA

Completion rates & times.

• Research Supervisors

Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

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

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.

• Abdelrahman, Khaled (Basic pharmacology; G protein-coupled receptor pharmacology; Neuropharmacology; Molecular Neuroscience)
• Ambasta, Anshula (Reduction of low-value services in health systems)
• Ansermino, John Mark (Other clinical medicine; Sepsis in children; Health information systems; Physiological Monitoring; Technological Innovations; Artificial Intellegence; Automation in healthcare; Global Health; Mobile Health; Outcome prediction)
• Barr, Alasdair (Mental health and addictions, with a particular emphasis on psychosis and the medications used in its treatment, Anesthesiology )
• Bassett, Ken (Gender and Blindness: testing gender specific community interventions in Upper Egypt, an assessment of community ophthalmology projects in Central India, as well as community ophthalmology projects in Nepal and Tanzania.)
• Bernatchez, Pascal (Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences (except clinical aspects); Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular System; Genetic Diseases; Hypertension; atherosclerosis; angiogenesis; Muscular Diseases; Neuromuscular Diseases; Lipid/Lipoprotein analysis; Lipid Disorders; Pharmacokinetics; Cell Signaling and Infectious and Immune Diseases; endothelial dysfunction; endothelium; Inflammation; lipoproteins; Marfan syndrome; muscular dystrophy; nitric oxide; vascular disease)
• Bhagavatula, Sastry (Age-related research, Anesthesiology, plasticity of synaptic transmission, mammalian central nervous system)
• Choi, Peter Tsz Lung (Anesthesiology, peroperative medicine, randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, research education)
• Dormuth, Colin (Clinical Outcomes and Patient Safety)
• Fedida, David (How the heart generates, maintains and regulates electrical activity, Anesthesiology)
• Goerges, Matthias (Electronic health (e-Health); Health information systems (including surveillance); Expert systems technologies in artificial intelligence; Anesthesiology; Medical devices; Human-computer systems and interface; Bio-signal processing and analysis; Digital health; predictive analytics; decision support systems; Critical Care Medicine; Biomedical Technologies; Health Care Technologies; Human Computer Interaction and Design; Medical informatics; Software Development; patient-oriented research; Data sharing / open data)
• Griesdale, Donald E (Neurocritical care, traumatic brain injury, invasive neuromonitoring, airway management)
• Hackett, Tillie-Louise (Molecular determinants of COPD, small airway obstruction, angiotensin signalling, defective airway epithelial differentiation in asthma, human lung cell repository)
• Knight, Darryl (Airway Disease; Lung and airway remodelling; Respiratory diseases)
• Kramer, John (Neuromechanical, Systems Biology, Exercise & Health)
• Kurteva, Siyana (high-risk medication use, postoperative outcomes, healthcare services utilization in a high prevalence and high social impact settings)
• Laher, Ismail (Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences (except clinical aspects); Cardiovascular diseases; animal models of sleep apnea; Diabetes; exercise; oxidative stress; regulation of small artery tone, mechanisms of pressuce-induced vasomotor responses, exercise, sleep)
• Loucks, Catrina (Medical, health and life sciences; Pharmacogenomics; Pain management; Medical Genetics; Model organism genetics; Drug reactions)
• MacLure, Malcolm (Epidemiology, patient safety, quality control, pharmaceutical sciences, health services research)
• Pang, Catherine C (Cardiovascular pharmacology, education, hypertension)
• Preston, Roanne (obstetric anesthesia)
• Schwarz, Stephan (Analgesia, Pain, Pharmacology, Pain management, Anesthesiology, cardiovascular, medical imaging, nerve, artery, valve)
• Singh, Amritpal (Other basic medicine and life sciences; single cell multiomics; single cell spatial multiomics; data integration; Machine Learning; Biomarkers; heart and lung disease; High dimensional data analysis; Bioinformatics)
• Thompson, Wade (Health services and systems; ensuring older persons are taking medications that are a good fit; deprescribing; polypharmacy)

Doctoral Citations

Sample thesis submissions.

• Investigating the nature of small airways disease and emphysema in mild & moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• The role of endothelial function in Marfan syndrome associated aortic root aneurysm : time to look beyond blood pressure control
• Characterizing movement disorders and their associations with substance use and psychosis in adults living in precarious housing or homelessness
• Investigation of HMA derivatives as small molecule inhibitors of viroporins
• Clinical and synaptosomal studies of cannabinoid receptor 1 and presynaptic proteins in the elderly

Related Programs

Same specialization.

• Master of Science in Pharmacology (MSc)

Further Information

Specialization.

Pharmacology offers training in cardiovascular pharmacology, neuropharmacology, viral pharmacology, free radical biology, and drug development. Additional training programs exist in therapeutics, evidence-based medicine, and clinical investigation which reflecting the close association between the disciplines of anesthesiology, pharmacology, and therapeutics.

UBC Calendar

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