Program Overview

---

Program Overview

The PhD in Recreation and Leisure Studies program is designed to provide students with the training needed to become scholars, researchers, or policy analysts in the field. The program focuses on developing students' ability to conduct high-quality independent research, analyze and evaluate programs, policies, and organizational structures, and apply and disseminate knowledge to practitioners, policymakers, and managers.

Research Fields

The program offers research opportunities in the following areas:

• Leisure, health and well-being
• Leisure and community
• Leisure, space and place
• Leisure and social justice
• Leisure organizations, services and policy

Research Project Opportunities

The program offers research project opportunities, including:

• Risk, Injury, Sport, & Equity (RISE) Youth Sport Lab: This lab studies the ways in which athletes feel safe and included in sport, recreation, and leisure environments and how they experience injury and risk within these spaces.
• Gender Intelligence Lab: This lab conducts and translates academic expertise in gender studies, equity, technology, and transformative social change.

Program Details

Department/School

The program is offered by the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies.

Faculty

The program is part of the Faculty of Health.

Admit Term(s)

The program admits students in the Fall term (September - December).

Delivery Mode

The program is delivered on-campus.

Program Type

The program is a doctoral, research-based program.

Length of Program

The program is 48 months (full-time) in length.

Registration Option(s)

The program offers full-time and part-time registration options.

Study Option(s)

The program offers a thesis-based study option.

Application Deadlines

• February 1 (for admission in September) Note: Applications submitted after this date will be considered on a rolling basis until all available spots are filled.

Admission Requirements

• A Master of Arts (MA) degree, or its equivalent, in Recreation and Leisure Studies or a related field, with a minimum 75% average in master's level coursework.
• Completion of an MA thesis.
• A written statement outlining research interests.
• Students seeking admission to the PhD program should indicate in the letter of application who would be an appropriate faculty advisor.

Degree Requirements

• Review the degree requirements on the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar, including the courses that can be anticipated as part of completing the degree.
• Check out Waterloo's institutional thesis repository - UWspace to see recent submissions from the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies graduate students.

Application Materials

• Resume/Curriculum vitae: Indicating past academic and professional experience.
• Program-specific questions (PSQ): These are questions specific to the program and can be viewed once an application has been started.
• Transcript(s)
• Writing sample: A copy of previous academic work, such as a term paper, published manuscript, or master's thesis.
• References: Three academic references are required.
• Proof of English language proficiency, if applicable: TOEFL 100 (writing 26, speaking 26), IELTS 7.5 (writing 7.0, speaking 7.0)

Tuition and Fees

• Visit the graduate program tuition page on the Finance website to determine the tuition and incidental fees per term for the program.
• Review living costs and housing.
  • Learn about the PhD housing guarantee program for admitted students in fall 2026 and winter 2027.
• Review the funding graduate school resources for graduate students.

Supervisors

• Review finding a supervisor resources to learn how to reach out to potential supervisors.
• While it is not required to reach out to potential supervisors prior to applying, it is strongly recommended to ensure that the faculty member you are interested in working with is accepting new students and your research interests align.