Financial support

Fundamentals of financial support

The University recognizes that graduate students make critical contributions to the University’s missions of teaching and research.

Simultaneously, graduate students are achieving their own academic, personal and professional goals through their studies at the University.

The University acknowledges students’ agency in planning and assessing the feasibility for graduate studies at Waterloo and encourages students to evaluate meaningfully their financial capacity to participate in graduate studies.

Given this balance, the University’s motivations for providing financial support to graduate students include:

Making graduate studies financially possible for students who, absent this support, would not be able to pursue their research degrees.
Acknowledging the contributions graduate students make to the University’s teaching and research.
Expanding and diversifying the financial supports for equity-deserving groups with a goal of removing systemic barriers.
Providing financial support through bursaries and loans when students experience short-term, unforeseen emergency circumstances.

Types of financial support

Graduate students receive support from a variety of sources, both internal and external to the University. These include:

Research support from external grants held by a research student’s supervisor. These come in the form of a Graduate Research Studentship (GRS) when the research being conducted is directly related to a student’s thesis and is paid to the student as a (non-merit based) scholarship. When the research activities being conducted are not related to the student’s thesis, a student may receive a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA), paid as monthly salary, which constitutes an employment relationship with the University and is therefore taxable income.
Graduate Teaching Assistantships (TAs), paid as monthly salary, are funded by the University to compensate students’ contributions to the educational mission of the University. Income received as a TA is taxable. For more information on TAs, see Policy 30 – Employment of Graduate Student Teaching Assistants.
Scholarships provided by external sources, such as the Tri-Agencies (CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC).
Scholarships provided by University funds, such as a UW Graduate Scholarship, that are competitive and awarded based on merit.
Awards provided by University funds that are intended to address strategic objectives, for example the International Doctoral Student Award (IDSA).
University awards intended to reduce barriers for equity-deserving groups, such as support for Indigenous students.
Awards provided by the University from funds received from donors. The composition of these awards is continually evolving. Students typically qualify based on their personal attributes or their areas of study.
External and internal funded programs that are intended to support students whose financial resources have changed substantially and in unforeseen ways during their academics. Students experiencing these challenges may be eligible for university bursaries or loans.

Relationships among programs of study and financial support

The University’s PhD programs require a significant time commitment, typically 12 terms of full-time study. Successful students in the PhD programs make substantive contributions to the University’s research mission. Given these observations, the University maintains a required, minimum support level for all full-time PhD students who are within term limits, and who are in good academic standing.

Students enrolled in the University’s research master’s programs also make contributions to the University’s research goals. While practices vary across the Faculties, full-time research master’s students regularly receive financial support while within term limits.

Students participating in course-based Master’s programs, those without a research component (such as a master’s research paper or thesis) typically do not receive scholarships from institutional operating or research funds.

Research students who are not required to withdraw, but fail to maintain good academic standing, will be placed on conditional status and will receive financial support consistent with their offer of admission for at least one term. Students who do not return to good academic standing within one term, may continue to receive support at the discretion of the student’s Program or Faculty.

For all adjudicated awards priority is given to students within term limits, at the discretion of the University, Faculty or Program.

The process by which TA appointments are made is governed by Policy 30 – Employment of Graduate Student Teaching Assistants. One criterion for TA selection is the need to satisfy funding commitments to students. As such, fulltime, research graduate students typically have precedence in receiving TA appointments.

Funding Transparency

The University is committed to transparency for students in regard to both the University-based support they receive and the Universitycontrolled costs they incur during their studies.

In their offer of admission, students are provided with an articulation of their support throughout their academic program and the conditions necessary to maintain eligibility for that funding.

To support students in understanding the study and living costs associated with graduate programs, the University maintains an online estimating tool. Fees are approved annually by the Board of Governors and include both tuition and student incidental fees.

International applicants are required to apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for a Study Permit (IMM 1442) and must provide evidence of financial support to cover study and living costs. International applicants should consult the IRCC website: Study in Canada as an international student.

Support for doctoral (PhD) students

The minimum level of financial support provided for doctoral students is reviewed regularly. Any changes to the minimum applies to both new (incoming) and current eligible doctoral students. For the most current minimum funding guidelines, visit the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) minimum funding page.

Support for master's research students*

Financial support for master’s research students is not guaranteed at the University of Waterloo. Practices vary by Faculty.

Students are encouraged to visit their prospective or current Faculty or program web page to understand the typical funding commitment. Questions on funding level should be directed to the Department/Program Graduate Coordinator.

*Research programs are those in which a key program milestone is the completion of a thesis or a master’s research paper.