What will I learn?

The Department offers programs leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics, Forest Economics, and Rural Sociology. A joint specialization in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics is offered collaboratively by the Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, and Economics.

Program Requirements

Students are required to complete a minimum of 18 in coursework and a thesis.

Coursework

Agricultural/Resource and Forest Economics

Six 3 graduate-level courses from the Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, approved by the department
Programs will depend on the student鈥檚 academic background
Students are required to take microeconomic and macro-economic theory, graduate-level applied econometrics.
Additional coursework may be required.

Rural Sociology

Six 3 graduate-level courses approved by the department
Programs will depend on the student鈥檚 academic background
Students are required to take courses in social theory, quantitative methods, and qualitative methods, plus two courses that are directly or indirectly related to the student鈥檚 field of research
Additional coursework may be required.

Thesis

Registration in 900-level THES. All candidates for the PhD must prepare and defend a dissertation on an approved topic.

Length of Program

The time required to complete the PhD will vary according to the academic background of the applicant and the nature of the research undertaken; however, a minimum of 36 months is normally required.

The maximum time to complete the PhD program as set by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research is six years.

Which department am I in?

Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences

Study options

Full Time (36 Months)

Tuition fees

CAD$8,874.00 (5,38,177) per year

Given fees may be subject to change in future

*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please

Start date

September 2025

Venue

University of Alberta

North Campus,

116 Street and 85 Avenue,

EDMONTON,

Alberta (AB),

T6G 2R3, Canada

Entry requirements

For international students

The Department's minimum admission requirements are an approved master's degree with an admission GPA of at least 3.3 on the 4-point scale from the University of Alberta, or an equivalent qualification and standing from a recognized institution.

Applicants to the PhD program are required to submit a test score for a Graduate Record Examination (verbal, quantitative, and analytical sections).

English Language Proficiency:

TOEFL: total score of 90 with a score of at least 21 on each of the individual skill areas (internet-based) or equivalent;
Academic IELTS: 6.5, with at least 6.0 on each test band;
CAEL: overall 70 with at least 60 on each subtest;
PTE Academic: 61 with a minimum band score of 60.

Application Deadlines:

The final application deadline is May 1.
All applications are for entry in the Fall term.

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.