Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)

Overview

Established in 1983, the Department of Statistics at UBC is internationally renowned for its excellence in research and the high calibre of its faculty members. Our programs offers students different options for pursuing their interests and professional goals. Students completing our PhD program will be well-prepared for a job in industry, government or academia. During their program our students develop important professional skills that include: effective communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences, creativity and originality, and grant writing skills, among others. They also acquire a broad knowledge of modern statistical methods, including computing and data management.

NEW PhD Track Admission Stream!. More information can be found here https://www.stat.ubc.ca/phd-track.

$42,397

Net funding per year^*

Average years to completion

What makes the program unique?

The Department is renowned in Canada for its research excellence and its leadership in the research community. Students are engaged through both courses and research, and develop a strong set of skills, both applied and theoretical. The Department has always valued data driven research, consulting and collaboration, and has long held communication and computing skills as crucial for success. Graduate students participate actively in our research, teaching and consulting activities, and enjoy a wide variety of opportunities for interaction with other researchers and students on- and off-campus. In addition, our graduate students run their own statistical consulting service, which provides them with professional (paid) experience even before they finish their program.

We have recently introduced a highly innovative qualifying process – instead of writing an exam, first year PhD students register in a reading and research course where they work on research papers proposed by individual faculty members.

We also just recently introduced a new PhD Track stream. Effective now, we offer this stream for strong undergraduate students expecting to graduate in Spring 2025 interested in a PhD in Statistics. Admission under this new stream is in a MSc program but with guaranteed transition to PhD at the end of year one subject to satisfying program requirements. This track is intended for exceptional undergraduate students with demonstrated research potential. Students interested in the PhD track should identify one or more faculty members as potential research supervisors. You can find more information about this on our admissions page here https://www.stat.ubc.ca/graduate-admissions.

UBC has a large number of research faculty working on a diverse array of projects and on interdisciplinary research. I feel that UBC offers the perfect environment for me to pursue my career goals and work on many interesting projects.

Nikola Surjanovic

Quick Facts

Faculty Faculty of Science

Academic Unit Department of Statistics

Specialization Statistics

Mode of delivery In person at UBC Vancouver

Program Components Dissertation

Tuition (First Year) Domestic: 5,626.02 | International: 9,883.98

Median Funding 50% of students receive $53,419 or more funding per year in the first 4 years, before tuition and fees

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Fees	Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat	International
Application Fee	$116.25	$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year	3	3
Tuition per installment	$1,875.34	$3,294.66
Tuition per year (plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)	$5,626.02	$9,883.98
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible)		$3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)	$1,144.10 (approx.)
Costs of living	Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.

* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
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.

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

PhD students in the Department of Statistics receive a minimum funding package of $24,000 for the first four years of the program. This funding comes in the form of teaching and/or research assistantships. Motivated students can often find additional sources of funding. Domestic students are expected to apply for NSERC PGSD scholarships.

Funding Statistics

Based on the criteria outlined below, 23 students within this program were included in this study because they received funding through UBC in the form of teaching, research, academic assistantships or internal or external awards with a mean of $51,747 and a median of $53,419.

This results in a net balance (any funding provided to the student minus tuition and fees) mean of $42,838 and median of $42,397.

16 students received Teaching Assistantships. Median TA funding based on 16 students was $18,851.
22 students received Research Assistantships. Median RA funding based on 22 students was $17,000.
13 students received Academic Assistantships. Median AA funding based on 13 students was $998.
23 students received internal awards. Median internal award funding based on 23 students was $8,169.
5 students received external awards. Median external award funding based on 5 students was $30,625.

Study Period: Sep 2023 to Aug 2024 - funding for full-time PhD students enrolled in three terms per academic year in this program across years 1-4, the period covered by UBC's Minimum Funding Guarantee. Mean and median values might mask variability in sources and amounts of funding received by individual students. Beyond year 4, funding packages become even more individualized.
Review methodology

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 24 hours a week during academic sessions.

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.

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

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

ENROLMENT DATA

	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Applications	67	72	97	77	63
Offers	14	9	16	8	11
New Enrolment	5	5	8	7	6
Total Enrolment	39	37	39	32	27

Completion Rates & Times

This program has a graduation rate of 100% based on 21 students admitted between 2011 - 2014. Based on 14 graduations between 2020 - 2023 the minimum time to completion is 4.1 years and the maximum time is 7.17 years with an average of 5.54 years of study. All calculations exclude leave times.

Disclaimer

Admissions data refer to all UBC Vancouver applications, offers, new enrolment for each registration year, May to April, e.g. data for 2022 refers to programs starting in 2022 Summer and 2022 Winter session, i.e. May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Data on total enrolment reflects enrolment in Winter Session Term 1 and are based on snapshots taken on November 1 of each registration year. Program completion data are only provided for datasets comprised of more than 4 individuals. Graduation rates exclude students who transfer out of their programs. Rates and times of completion depend on a number of variables (e.g. curriculum requirements, student funding), some of which may have changed in recent years for some programs.

Quanhan Xi

Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)

Representing latent interventions in generative models

Nikola Surjanovic

Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics (PhD)

Scalable Bayesian Methods for Sampling From Complex Probability Distributions

Apply Now

Apply for September 2026

If you don't have a UBC Campus-Wide Login (CWL) please create an account first.

September 2026 Intake

Application Open Date1 October 2025

Canadian Applicant Deadline1 December 2025

International Applicant Deadline1 December 2025

Program Enquiries

Still have questions after reviewing this page thoroughly?
Contact the program

Supervisor Search

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form.

Overview

What makes the program unique?

Quick Facts

Admission Information & Requirements

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

English Language Test

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Other Test Scores

Prior degree, course and other requirements

Course Requirements

Document Requirements

2) Meet Deadlines

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts

Letters of Reference

Statement of Interest

Supervision

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

Citizenship Verification

4) Apply Online

Research Information

Research Focus

Program Components

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Financial Support

Program Funding Packages

Funding Statistics

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Foreign government scholarships

Working while studying

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Cost Estimator

Career Outcomes

Sample Employers in Higher Education

Sample Employers Outside Higher Education

Sample Job Titles Outside Higher Education

PhD Career Outcome Survey

Disclaimer

Career Options

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

ENROLMENT DATA

Completion Rates & Times

Disclaimer

Doctoral Exams Upcoming

Wednesday, September 3, 2025 - 12:30 - Room 200

Research Supervisors

Supervision

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

Related Programs

Same specialization

Further Information

Specialization

UBC Calendar

Program Website

Faculty

Academic Unit

Program Identifier

Classification

Quanhan Xi

Nikola Surjanovic

Apply Now

September 2026 Intake

Program Enquiries

Supervisor Search

Experience the colours of Vancouver