Jith
University of Saskatchewan, PhD in Veterinary biomedical sciences
Reviewed on Mar 4, 2025(Enrolled 2016)What Students Say
Likes
- Very structured program
- Fast completion schedule for both MSc and PhD
- Very supportive faculty and staff
Dislikes
- Very high tuition
- Limited teaching options for students
- Hard to find jobs elsewhere as the program is intense
Course Curriculum
10
- The course curriculum was extensive, involving theoretical, practical components.
- Classes and well structured and practical lessons are very useful and interesting. Sometimes I felt that the course schedule is overwhelming.
- I attended two classes per day and the rest was for research. Varies for different classes, typically 10- 25 for graduate courses.
Only a few Indian students are there for the course I attended.
Admission Experience
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Applied to several universities in the US, Europe, Canada and China.
Can’t remember how many I applied ( its 10-12 years ago) and got few good responses from Europe and China.
But didn’t receive any responses from most of them.
Chinese academy of science fellowship, Erasmus Mundus fellowship, Daad fellowship are some of the fellowships I applied for and was not successful. - I received a fellowship from U of S and that was the main reason I joined U of S
- I got a fellowship and the program was very interesting and I really liked the research area. Another reason is that the U of S is one of the top universities in Canada and the college is one of the best in North America.
- First I contacted the PI and discussed my interests and further goals.
- Next I got PI’s acceptance letter and officially applied for the program.
- Applied for two different fellowships and got one fellowship within two months. Applied for my visa and it took several months to get approved
- And joined the university ( University of Saskatchewan, U of S) after that.
- I completed my studies from University of Kerala (MSc and M Phil). University of Kerala is exempted from any requirement for English language proficiency (varies for different universities).
- Minimum GPA is 4-4.5 for fellowship in U of S.
- Getting a fellowship is challenging and very competitive.
- Admission procedures were very easy and fast.
- The only problem I faced was to gather all necessary documents ( official transcripts and certificates) from University of Kerala and send them to U of S via mail.
- I applied in September.
- The admission process takes about 2 months to complete. After receiving the acceptance letter from the PI ( took one week), I applied officially to the university. Once my application was accepted, they asked me to pay the application fee which is 90CAD. Within a week they send official requests for official transcripts from the parent university to complete the admission process.
- Only time consuming process was getting all documents ready and mail from my parent University to U of S (took about 1 and half month).
Faculty
10
- The course that I attended only had one faculty member and few teaching assistants.
- The faculty members are very knowledgeable and very professional.
- Well structured courses and interesting discussions
- Courses are very informative and updated and practical component is very helpful in understanding the concepts
- I am not aware about if faculty members help in finding jobs
Campus Life
8
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Only one campus in Canada as far as I know.
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Facilities including library, gymnasium, food courts, and medical services including hospital, massage and dental facilities are available for students.
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A central bus station is also working on campus for transportation.
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Summer events are very popular and interesting.
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Have different clubs for yoga, meditation, sports, and crafts.
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Students union os very active and have a lot of good programs and activities
Part Time Jobs
- I have no idea how many students received TA positions(only universities know about these information).
- But most of them get some level of financial aid.
- Pay was 20 CAD per hr.
- Students can work in the library, food court, campus residence assistance, shops and other business outlets.
- I never worked in both on campus/ off campus, so not sure about the pay scale.
- 20 hr per week is the maximum limit.
- It is very difficult to find both on campus and off campus jobs. I tried to secure a job and was not successful at all.
- Both on campus and off campus. Pay scale ranges from 12- 20 CAD per hr. I never worked so I'm not sure about the actual pay scale but this is what I heard from friends. It is very difficult to find part time jobs and I applied for several positions but was not successful. I applied directly to the manager or the company though website and some students directly go in person looking for openings
Placement
6
- I don’t know about the success rate and these questions can be answered correctly only by the university/ department.
- I can tell you my experience as it was not that hard for me to find a job following my degree.
- Salary range I am unable to answer as I don’t have information about others
- Applying directly is the main way of getting a job.
- Linked in, job portals etc are useful resources
Accommodation
Off Campus
4
- On campus accommodation. Find it from the university website.
- 6 bedroom apartment unit and everything is included in the rent.
- Have wifi and laundry in the building and shared kitchen and bathrooms .
- Rent was 480-500 CAD.
- It was easy to find it as it was close to university and had a vacancy.
- In my opinion it was not a great deal and the unit was an old building and had a lot of issues. Not recommending it for anyone, finding something outside the campus is a better option.
- The only reason I stayed in the university residence is it was close to my department. Yes, most of the international students lived in the building I stayed in, including Indian students.
- It is good option ( the university residence) for settling down in the university when someone joins and can find better options after
Exams
- No English language proficiency required for me as my university/ qualifying program was excerpted from language requirements. This is because my university program was excepted from English language proficiency results as the medium of teaching was in English. I don’t take any other exams for my admission process. But several of my colleagues have taken the entire language tests. University websites always include these details.
- CV, letter from referees, official transcript from qualifying degree University. Application fee ( was 90 CAD when I applied)
- I had an interview with my PI before receiving the acceptance letter. Asked about my expectations and future plans and why I am applying for the program/ position
Fees
- Very expensive University and the program. University housing is also very expensive.
- International students need to pay 1.5 times the fee compared to domestic students.
- The tuition fee alone ranged from 8000-12000 CAD per year.
- Hostel fee ranges from 4500-5000 CAD.
- Fees can be paid monthly or semester wise and for international students like me can’t pay a full semester together and opt for a monthly payment plan.
- Tuition is 800-900, rent is 450-500 and living expenses are ~200 so 1500- 1600 per month.
Scholarship
- Yes I was awarded with two fellowships. For the first 3 years it was a WCVM-CGPS scholarship and the rest was Graduate teaching fellowship.
- For both fellowship minimum GPA is 4-4.5 and good academic track records is a must.
- Most of them were supported by my PI’s grant and one of my lab mate also received Dean's scholarship from U of S.
- I don’t know how many students received fellowships as that information is confidential with the university.
- The scholarship that I received was only given to 4 people for the entire time period that I spent for my PhD period.
