During her university studies, Amanda Jagdis received the UVic Excellence Award scholarship, the Sheila Calvert Memorial Scholarship and the Seaspan International Scholarship. She plans to pursue a career in medicine.

Over 70% of UVic students come from outside the Greater Victoria region, and they must budget for accommodation as well as tuition, books and other expenses. To cover their costs, many students work two or three part time jobs; others take out loans. The average debt for students who borrow is $28,000 – an obstacle that can prevent some students from completing their degree programs.

By increasing the number and value of undergraduate awards, we ensure that no qualified student is turned away from UVic for financial reasons.

Supported by major awards and fellowships as a graduate student, Gregory Poole was able to pursue his groundbreaking research into galaxy clusters. He earned a perfect 9.00 GPA and was awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal for his PhD thesis.

Graduate students are the key drivers of groundbreaking research and new knowledge advances that will change lives and keep Canada among the leading nations of the world.

When they complete their education, graduate students become leaders in business, government, the arts and sciences and health professions – the highly talented people who will fuel innovations and enhance the quality of life we value. But Canada is not keeping pace with the need for more people with masters and doctoral degrees – universities in Canada produce only 4000 PhD’s a year, not nearly enough to replace the professionals who will be retiring over the next decade. Financial assistance is the key to attracting and retaining the high achieving students we want to keep in our community.

When UVic microbiology co-op student Julia Hassler was applying for her fourth co-op work term, she knew she wanted to travel. When she decided to pursue a work term at a medical institute in Uganda, she knew it would be a new and eye-opening experience. She was right—within three weeks of arriving in Uganda, Hassler had delivered her first baby and discovered a real interest in pursuing a medical career.

One of the defining features of the University of Victoria is co-operative education. This integrated learning model enables highly motivated students to alternate academic terms with relevant, paid work experience in their chosen field. Co-op employers become partners in education, providing guidance to students and gaining access to enthusiastic potential employees.

Because the co-op program is not funded by government grants, students must pay additional fees to cover the costs of placement, supervision, evaluation and administration. Students must also cover their travel costs for international placements. UVic students urgently need scholarship support to allow them to benefit from the experiential learning offered by the co-op program. UVic makes its co-op program available to non-profit organizations, which often do not have the budget required to pay the co-op salary. Scholarships will help to defray expenses and enable non-profit organizations to hire co-op students.