Financial Support

Prospective Students

All supervisors are responsible for financial support of full-time graduate students (GRAF - Graduate Research Assistantship Fellowships). GRAF will be available to assist thesis-based MSc and PhD students in completion of their graduate program. The GRAF may not cover the full cost of living and tuition fees. At the time of application or admission, students should discuss with their prospective supervisor whether they can expect to receive a full or partial graduate research stipend, for how long, and what the conditions of annual renewal are.  Financial support will usually be provided from the supervisor's grants, awards/ scholarships to the student, or a combination of the two. Please contact the graduate office for current funding recommendations.

As part of the graduate program application, supervisors must provide a letter of funding commitment detailing the amount, source, and duration of funding. These funding arrangement need to be mutually agreed on by the supervisor and the student. If funding is provided by an alternate source such as a different department, an additional letter from the department responsible for funding needs to accompany the application.

Prospective and Current Students - Awards

The University of Alberta has a generous financial aid programs and one of the highest graduate student funding rates in Canada. The following databases summarize funding opportunities:

Additional funding may be available from external sources not included in these databases. It is the student's responsibility to monitor applicable funding opportunities. The department will send out notifications on major awards or those with departmental deadlines.

Types of Awards/Scholarships

  1. Recruitment scholarships
    The FoMD holds recruitment award competitions for incoming graduate students. In addition, a limited number of recruitment incentive awards for incoming MSc and PhD students may be available to the department. Please contact the department for more information.
  2. Independent awards: The student submits the application directly to the funding body, with no involvement of the department.
  3. Tricouncil awards: The student follows the Tricouncil (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) procedure set out by FGSR. Important: Internal departmental deadlines apply, prior to FGSR deadlines. Eligible students will be notified by email.
    - GPS Tricouncil MSc
    - GPS Tricouncil PhD
  4. Awards with departmental allocations. Internal deadlines and competition procedures apply. Students will be notified by departmental email.
  5. Additional FGSR awards.The GPS holds many additional open or specialized awards competitions. Students will usually be notified by departmental email, but are encouraged to consult with the FGSR database.
    Examples (past department winners): Rudelle Hall Graduate Scholarship (B. Necyk), Andrew Stewart Prize (J. Benoit)

Travel Awards