Why join us for your graduate degree?
We have a large, dynamic graduate population of over 150 students, many of whom are international; and a friendly Graduate Student Council that represents students and organizes social events. We have committed faculty who love advising graduate students (and typically stay in touch with their former students long after graduation), and a responsive Graduate Committee always looking to enhance the academic life of our students.
We offer two types of Masters degree to flexibly meet your needs (see table below): a year-long course-based program, achieved by passing courses and writing a Major Research Paper, and a two-year long, more research-oriented thesis program, in which students graduate after a thesis defence.
We also have a thriving Ph.D. program, for more in-depth research; this typically takes 3-4 years.
Within the department, we offer expert training in Animal Behaviour & Welfare, Animal Breeding and Genetics, Animal Nutrition, and Animal Physiology.
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The science we do here ranges from the very applied (designed to solve practical problems in animal agriculture) to basic, cutting-edge research aimed at testing fundamental hypotheses in animal biology.
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If you are Canadian or a Permanent Resident, and doing a thesis degree full-time, we guarantee a minimum stipend for 2 years if you’re an MSc student, 3 years if you’re Ph.D. For students entering in 2022-2023 this is set at $20,270 (MSc) and $24,230 (PhD). See 'Funding your degree' for more details.
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Our students are very successful during their programs: our thesis students publish on average a paper a year and present at least once annually at conferences.
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Our students are also very successful after they graduate. Within 6 months of graduating, over 90% of our students go on to future training or careers related to their graduate training. This includes going on to PhDs, post-docs or faculty positions; working in the industry (such as for animal nutrition or animal breeding companies); working in zoos and humane societies; going on to vet school, and working for governmental and similar agencies involved in animal-related policy (e.g. OMAFRA and the CCAC).
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We are also part of three collaborative programs with other departments: Bioinformatics, Neuroscience, and Toxicology.
How to join us, and when to apply?
If you're looking at MSc degrees, think about whether you want to take one by thesis or by coursework; the differences are summed up below:
M.Sc. by coursework | M.Sc. by thesis |
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Typically takes 1 year, largely spent taking courses (with one semester devoted to research) | Typically takes 2 years, largely spent conducting research |
Student self-funds | Student is paid our minimum stipend; thus acceptance by an advisor may depend on whether they have GRA funding available |
Primarily assessed via coursework | Primarily assessed by the quality of research and resulting thesis |
When to apply?