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As Artificial Intelligence continues to be a growing area in the tech space, one thing is certain. Academics have started to opt for courses and programs to catch up on the frenzy. As a result, here are the top Canadian universities for anyone looking to pursue a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and be a step ahead in the job market.
First on the list of the top 10 Canadian Universities for pursuing PhD in Artificial Intelligence, is the University of Toronto.
Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto is a public institution. The school has three campuses – St. George, Mississauga, and Scarborough – located in and around Toronto. Thousands of foreign students from more than 160 countries and regions attend the University of Toronto. In recent years, the top countries of origin for non-Canadian students were China, India, and the U.S. Tuition is higher for international students.
Their Artificial Intelligence faculty conducts research in six sub-areas, i.e., Cognitive Robotics, Computational Imaging, Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing Knowledge Representation, Machine Learning, and Robotics.
The university has strong ties with industry giants like Google, Facebook, and Uber and veteran professors like Geoffrey Hinton are renowned for their research in deep learning.
The University of British Columbia is a public institution located in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Founded in 1908 and opened in 1915, the university has two main campuses ie., the Vancouver campus and the Okanagan campus located in Kelowna. In a recent year, 23 percent of students at the Vancouver campus and around 13 percent at the Okanagan campus were international.
The Vancouver campus offers more than two dozen academic divisions, and the Okanagan campus has eight divisions.
Adaptive agents
Intelligent robotics
Artificial life
Machine learning
Natural language processing
Knowledge representation
Planning and scheduling in artificial intelligence
Search methodologies in artificial intelligence
Distributed artificial intelligence
Data mining
Pattern recognition and artificial vision
Computer vision in artificial intelligence
Cognitive computing
Computer modeling on perception, memory, and attention
Logic programming in artificial intelligence
Expert systems technologies in artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence, n.e.c.
One of the USPs of the University of British Columbia is its faculty which includes distinguished researchers like Nando de Freitas and Kevin Leyton-Brown, and its proximity to the tech hub of Vancouver is an added advantage. If you are looking to pursue a PhD, check out its website!
McGill University is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter, the university bears the name of James McGill, a Scottish merchant, whose bequest in 1813 established the University of McGill College. McGill is also part of Mila, the Quebec AI Institute, which is a leading AI research center.
Areas of application and research enabled by this minor include, among many others, machine learning, computer vision and image generation, natural language processing, data-driven engineering analysis and design, knowledge discovery, and the ethics of autonomous intelligent systems. The university has collaborated with Mila, fostering a vibrant AI research community. Distinguished professors such as Doina Precup and Joelle Pineau are a part of the research faculty.
The University of Alberta has a distinguished reputation in AI research, particularly in reinforcement learning. The Department of Computing Science offers a PhD program with a strong focus on AI and machine learning. The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) is a key research center affiliated with the university.
The university is affiliated with Amii, providing access to the latest research and industry collaborations. Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) was created in 2002 with significant investment from the Alberta government. As part of that strategy, the U of A spun out a not-for-profit arm of Amii to translate scientific developments into industry applications and to help organizations harness AI to increase growth and competitiveness. Leading researchers like Richard Sutton and Patrick Pilarski are a part of the faculty. These features make the university a top choice to pursue a doctorate level of education in AI.
The University of Waterloo is a public institution that was founded in 1957. The University of Waterloo is highly regarded for its innovative approach to AI and technology. The Cheriton School of Computer Science offers a PhD program that covers a wide range of AI topics, including machine learning, neural networks, and computer vision. Waterloo's robust co-op program provides students with valuable industry experience.
The Canadian university's main campus is in Waterloo, Ontario, not far from several of the Great Lakes and the U.S. border. The university has six main academic divisions: applied health sciences, arts, engineering, environment, math, and science. The university has extensive co-op opportunities with leading tech companies, making it one of the best AI research centers in Canada.
Simon Fraser University is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby, Surrey, and Vancouver.
For someone pursuing PhD in AI, Simon Fraser University is one of the top universities.The AI group at SFU works in several important subareas of the field, including machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, knowledge representation and reasoning, constraint optimization, and robotics.
The USP of pursuing a PhD in AI from here is the opportunities that are presented in cross-disciplinary areas. Distinguished faculty members include Greg Mori and Anoop Sarkar. Vancouver’s tech hub is in proximity to this university.
The University of Montreal is a public institution that traces its roots back to 1878. Initially a branch of the Université Laval de Québec, it became an independent institution in 1919.
Université de Montréal is a popular name in the AI landscape, particularly through its affiliation with Mila. The Department of Computer Science and Operations Research offers a PhD program with a strong focus on AI and machine learning. The university’s research environment is highly collaborative, fostering innovation and excellence. If you are looking for expert guidance in an AI PhD course, then Yoshua Bengio, a Turing Award winner, is among the distinguished faculty members.
This university produces a large volume of impactful AI research publications.
The University of Calgary offers a comprehensive PhD program in Computer Science with a focus on AI and machine learning. The university’s Institute for Quantum Science and Technology (IQST) and the Department of Computer Science collaborate to provide a robust research environment for AI scholars.
The USP of the university is access to advanced labs and computing resources, opportunities to work with the IQST on AI-related projects, and leading experts in AI and quantum computing. The university has a dedicated AI research community, making it one of the top Canadian Universities to offer PhD in AI.
