Funding & Scholarships
There are several ways that students’ graduate studies may be funded at URegina, and most students are supported through a combination of these sources:
- Stipend funding from research supervisor or through training programs
- Scholarships, grants, and bursaries
- Teaching assistantships (TAing)
- Part-time employment on or off campus
We have provided further information on these sources of funding below. Click the “+” sign beside each type of funding to read more about it.
NSERC and other research funding: Research supervisors write grant proposals to national and other funding bodies such as NSERC. If successful, these grants provide stipend funding for graduate students who assist with the research. Generally, students are not involved in preparing these proposals and join projects after professors have received the funding. The funding for these projects may come from NSERC, industry partners, or other government sources.
MITACs project grants: MITACs is a national funding body that supports projects in collaboration with industry partners. If they have an industry partner, students and their supervisors can apply together for grants such as the Accelerate program to support projects. These grants provide stipend funding for students. MITACs also provides webinar training opportunities for students on professional skills and other topics.
NSERC CREATE grants: there are grants provided through the tri-council funding bodies (national research funding in Canada) for training students, and these may be grants professors and students can apply for to obtain additional stipend funding or training experiences (e.g., NSERC CREATE grants). Ask your research supervisor if there are any NSERC CREATE or other training grants you might qualify to apply for; the departmental advisors may also be aware of these opportunities.
Here are a few links to relevant NSERC CREATE programs:
- NSERC CREATE INSPIRE – URegina graduate students with a connection to synchrotron sciences may be eligible to apply to participate in or obtain support through this program. Note there are course requirements to obtain funding. Contact Dr. McBeth in the Department of Earth Sciences for further information.
- Some research supervisors may have connections to other universities’ NSERC CREATE programs. Ask your supervisor!
only, or women, or in the case of bursaries may require proof of financial need. Carefully check the eligibility requirements prior to applying.
In addition to the awards students can apply for themselves, our department has some internally distributed scholarships that students may automatically qualify for, or their supervisors may apply for. Speak with the M.Sc. and Ph.D. Program Student Advisor if you are interested in learning more about these awards.
List of awards students could apply for (if eligible):
Graduate students can work as teaching assistants (TAs) during their studies, and most grad students TA for labs in at least one course per year, and some TA for several courses each year. It is worth discussing TA options with your supervisor and the departmental advisors early in your program to identify which courses you could potentially TA based on your educational background and experience. Watch for internal departmental emails soliciting applications a month or so prior to the start of each semester; you can also reach out to the departmental advisors for more information on upcoming opportunities. We will sometimes accept additional applications if there is still a need after the application deadline (usually one month before the start of term).
Download the TA application form (Word Document).
TAs are paid as per the CUPE 2419 collective agreement (Appendix A); rates differ by the year of employment and education level of the employee. Note that hours will vary by course, reach out to departmental advisors for further information.
Graduate students are normally working full time on their research during their graduate studies, so don’t generally have time for additional employment aside from TAing; however, in some cases, particularly near the end of their program when they are writing up, graduate students may find employment in industry to get started on their post-graduation career.
For further information on jobs and employment opportunities, check out the job and employment resources we have provided for undergraduates in our department.
Note that international students will have limits on hours or options for employment based on their visa status.
We encourage students to discuss funding options with their research supervisor prior to seeking additional employment.