University of Alberta

D.1 Types of Support

 Printer Friendly

D.1 Types of Support

Beginning with the September 2011 cohort, all students entering the graduate program receive financial support for the first 2.3 (28 months) of a Masters program,, and the first 5 years of a Ph.D. program (M.Sc. students begin at Step 1 and Ph.D students at Step 2). Students must be registered full time in order to receive the annual level of minimum financial support. The annual level of minimum financial support is:

Step 1 the value of a one term (12 hour) Step  1GTA x 3 (currently $22,794.00)

Step 2 the value of a one term (12 hour) Step 2 GTA x 3 (currently $23,406.00)

Step 3 the value of a one term (12 hour) Step 3 GTA x 3 (currently $24,048.00)

Step 4 the value of a one term (12 hour) Step 4 GTA x 3 (currently $24,723.00)

Step 5 the value of a one term (12 hour) Step 5 GTA x 3 (currently $25,431.00)

Step 6 the value of a one term (12 hour) Step 6 GTA x 3 (currently $26,175.00)

We will commit to renew Teaching Assistantships for the duration of 2.3 yr. and 5 yr. offers, contingent on satisfactory academic and teaching performance.

Financial support for graduate students may come from a variety of sources, including:

-Scholarships from:

-Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
-Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (AIHS)

-Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR)

-Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF)
-Province of Alberta
-University of Alberta

  • Graduate Teaching and Research Assistantships
  • University of Alberta Awards (see below)
  • Other external agencies
  • Supervisor's research funds (Stipends may be limited by funding agency regulations, i.e. NSERC limits student stipends to a maximum of $16,500, not including nondiscretionary benefits.

Students may choose to decline departmental support at any time if they have other support and wish to concentrate fully upon their graduate studies.

Note: Students admitted to the PhD program who completed their MSc in the same research laboratory will receive the annual level of minimum financial support for only the first 3 years of the PhD program (as opposed to the full 5 years).

Post defense funding - when does funding end?

For graduate students who defend within their time of guaranteed funding:

a) If the student defends during a term in which they have taken up a GTA, they are expected to complete their teaching commitments for that term.

b) If the student defends while being paid by their supervisor, the supervisor may terminate payment no earlier than 2 weeks after succesful defense of the thesis or submission of the thesis to FGSR, whichever comes first (passed by council, Oct 19, 2005). If the end of the guarenteed funding period occurs during this time, the supervisor is not obligated to pay the student past the end of their guaranteed funding period.

Last Modified: 2011-09-27