The Nova Scotia PhD Program in Educational Studies is a full-time program. To be considered in residency, students must attend all required courses scheduled within the first four semesters of the program, and complete the requirements of the Research/Scholarly Portfolio. The full-time residency period of four semesters extends over two summer seminars and one academic year (14 months).

Once students have defended their Portfolio, they can opt to complete the remainder of their program on a part-time basis (still considered to be in residency). Full-time and part-time candidates are required to meet and communicate regularly with their supervisors.

During their residency, all students play an active role in the scholarly activities of their university of record. As part of their residency, students may have the opportunity to teach a university course(s) consistent with their expertise.

The student must be pursuing graduate studies as a full-time occupation. The student must be geographically available and visit campus regularly. It is understood that a doctoral student may be absent from university while visiting libraries, attending a course at another institution, doing field work and the like. The student must not be employed on or off campus for more than an average of 20 hours per week in any term.