Direct-Entry PhD
The standard direct-entry policy of the CS department is 1 year MSc Thesis + 4 years PhD. But finishing your PhD in 1+3 years is not too uncommon, too, and can be beneficial for you. There are pros and cons on both options, which can be discussed in one-on-ones.
Timeline for First 3 Terms
- Fall:
- There may or may not be a TA duty.
note
Fall 2026: You have a TA duty.
- Onboarding week (1 week before the semester starts, or 1st semester week).
- Reading Course (CS 9820) on your research topic.
- 1 standard course:
- CS 9875: Theoretical Machine Learning.
- Weekly group meeting (rotating speakers) to showcase what you've been working on to the group, and receive feedback.
- Weekly one-on-one with Agustinus, personalized topic.
- Weekly reading group.
important
Aiming for a polished proposal by December. Doubles as an NSERC CGRS-M and OGS applications material.
- There may or may not be a TA duty.
- Winter:
- TA duty.
- 2 standard courses:
- CS 9840: Probabilistic Generative AI.
- CS 9670: Reinforcement Learning.
tip
Make sure that the final projects in these courses (if any) are well-aligned with your own research topic.
- Weekly group meeting.
- Weekly one-on-one.
- Weekly reading group.
- Summer:
- No TA duty.
- No courses.
- Full throttle on research.
important
Aiming for a polished, advanced draft/submission by July (TMLR is a great venue for this). See below on why.
- Weekly reading group.
- Weekly group meeting.
- Weekly one-on-one.
You should also attend research talks. They are a great platform to get inspiration and to network with other researchers (e.g., by asking questions). In-person talks' attendance is mandatory.
Transfer to PhD
The transfer process to PhD is initiated in the Summer (3rd term). You need to submit the following documents to Agustinus, in early–mid July:1
It's in your best interest to be timely with this. The sooner you are converted to a PhD, the more stipend you will get. Plus, the university can decline your request if goes past the timeline.
- Latest CV.
- Motivation letter (1 page).
- What exactly is your goal in the future? E.g., being a Prof, being an excellent research scientist, etc.?
- Why is a PhD the right thing to do, given your goal?
- Why you'll be a good PhD student.
- Summarize your progress so far.
- Research proposal for PhD (max 3 content pages).
- Similar to the OGS proposal, but on a longer timescale.
- Include planned timeline: which conferences each year you're targeting to submit what paper, when you want to do internships, when to start writing the thesis, etc.
- Polished, advanced paper draft/submission.
- MSc transcript.
The same writing advice applies. Esp., write draft as soon as possible and polish often.
Agustinus will then write a recommendation letter and attach the above, addressed to the Graduate Executive Committee. They will scrutinize your case. From there, the case will be brought up to SGPS, who will have the final say.
Your job is to make it easy for Agustinus to write a glowing recommendation letter. This starts from the very beginning—your first semester.
Following the timeline above, together with the How to Grad Apprentice guide, are keys.
Non-Conversion
In case you are not successful in converting to PhD, you will continue finishing up your MSc Thesis for 2 more terms. Agustinus' commitment as a supervisor doesn't change: you're still guaranteed the same level of supervision until you finish.
A non-conversion isn't a verdict on you as a researcher. It just means the PhD path isn't the right fit with me specifically, at this moment. MSc Thesis completion is a fine outcome; several strong researchers take this path and thrive elsewhere or go to PhD later.