Graduate Funding Opportunities

MSc & PhD Degree Program – Funding Information

Student Awards

Assured Funding Policy: Funding Terms and Stipend Levels

Applicants are strongly encouraged to seek external support if they wish to be admitted to this department. Usually this means that applications to funding agencies must be filed about a year before planned entry into graduate programs.

Funding Information

MSc & PhD Degree Program – Funding Information

2016-2017 Fees and Student Stipend

Top-up Practices

A student who receives $15,000 or more, as a major, competitive, external award, will be provided with an additional $4,000 top-up in recognition of receiving an external award. In such cases, the student will be paid the amount of his/her award plus the difference between his/her award and the total stipend plus a $4,000 top-up.

Payment of top-ups will occur for the duration of the award. Thereafter, payments to the student will revert to the graduate student funding package amount.

Awards eligible for top-up, must be major, competitive, external and not restricted to a limited group of students, such as those at a hospital-based research institute. They may, however, be restricted by research topic area. For example, eligible awards include but are not limited to CIHR, NSERC, Canadian Cancer Society, Heart & Stroke Foundation, Canadian Diabetes Association and other national and international funding agencies. Additional awards that meet these criteria may also be eligible for top up.

For 2016-17, OGS recipients will be rewarded with a top-up amount of $2,000. It was also agreed that this amount ($2,000) will be paid to 2015/2016 OGS award winners. Students who receive an award of greater value than the total stipend plus $4,000 (e.g., Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships) will be ineligible for a further top-up.

Awards Under $2,000

Starting in Fall 2016, any student awards under $2,000 can be kept by the student over and above the total student stipend. This includes all internal university awards, such as OSOTF awards.

Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Funds (OSOTF) Awards

Students who receive funding from needs-based/merit awards, such as OSOTFs are required to consider such funds as part of their total stipend. Because many of these awards are hospital-based and each hospital has its own rules regarding top-up practices (some allow it and some do not), it was decided that until the practice can be harmonized across all the awards that these awards will remain as part of students total stipend.

Bursaries

Non-repayable grants, such as the SGS Emergency Grant, which assists students with sudden and unexpected financial need, are not part of the total stipend outlined above. A student under these circumstances is therefore eligible to retain the entire amount of such an award.

Funding Terms

In general, provided that he/she remain “in good standing,” a doctoral stream student will be funded for his/her thesis-based program, as follows:

• MSc students are guaranteed funding for their first 2 years.
• PhD students are guaranteed for a minimum of 5 years, which includes 1 year as an MSc student (i.e., transfer from MSc to PhD students). There is currently no ceiling for how long students will receive stipendiary support. This is left to the discretion of individual departments.

FAQ

2016-17 Harmonized Stipend FAQ.

Fellowships Awarded by the University

Financial support is available to highly qualified graduate students, on the basis of academic excellence, from various sources at the University of Toronto. All complete applications for full-time studies received in the department by February 1 are automatically considered for the following awards, for which there is a very small quota:

• Connaught International Scholarship – Valued at $35,000 including tuition fee
• Ontario Trillium Scholarship – Awarded to International PhD students. The award is $40,000/annum

Fellowships Awarded by Government Agencies

Financial support is available to Canadian citizens and permanent residents from the following federal and provincial government programs. These awards are competitive and are based on academic standing and letters of recommendation. Application forms are available in early fall preceding the year of admission.

• Canada Graduate Scholarship CGS M (NSERC/ SSHRC/CIHR) – $17,500
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) – $15,000
• NSERC Doctoral Scholarship – $35,000 (CGS), $21,000 (PGS)
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR D) – $35,000 per year
• CIHR/NSERC/SSHRC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship – Awarded to outstanding PhD students.  The award is $50,000 per year for three years.

Major Canadian Scholarships/Awards Deadlines

Teaching Assistantships

Students accepted and registered in the department are eligible to apply for a teaching assistantship. These are fee-for-service contracts and not student awards. Ten hours per week is the maximum number of hours a full-time student can work. Further details can be obtained by writing directly to the chair of the department, giving full particulars of your academic training and experience.

Visit Financing Your Graduate Education for further information on financial support.