Financial assistance

Fellowships, Assistantships and Funding

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada has expanded and improved its scholarship and fellowship funding for graduate studies at all levels. There are one-year $17,500 Canada Graduate Scholarships for MA students, four-year SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships at $20,000 a year, and three-year Canada Graduate Scholarships for PhD students at $35,000 a year. Eligible students contemplating study at the University of Victoria are strongly encouraged to apply for these awards. Ongoing students in our program will be expected to apply at the earliest possible opportunity. The University of Victoria normally provides a $4,000 President's Research Scholarship to supplement an award to any student who receives a major national scholarship. This means that an MA student with a Canada Graduate Scholarship would receive $21,500 in total funding for the year.

The University and the Department do attempt to provide as much financial support as possible for students accepted for graduate study. (Please note: the regular MA program (not CSPT) is designed for completion in one year; students should not expect financial support for a second year of study at the MA level) Consideration for funding is automatic, but priority will be given to those applications received by January 15^th. A funding offer will normally be included with an offer of admission. In some cases, the Department will be able to improve on that offer as circumstances change and funds become available, but students should not plan on having any more financial support than they are specifically guaranteed.

In 2009-10, the department was able to offer financial support to most of its incoming graduate students. The majority of students received funding in the form of a Teaching Assistantship plus Academic Income Supplement for a combined value of $5,750 for the period from September to April. The top entering students received University Fellowships or Scholarships which rose their funding for the year to $10,750 or more.

Our aim is to ensure that doctoral students will have a minimum of $15,000 a year in funding for three years, from various sources (although we provide no guarantees beyond the ones contained in our initial offer of admission).

There are many other Canadian and International Fellowships and Scholarships available that students are encouraged to apply for throughout the year. These opportunities are posted by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Department of Political Science.

There is no waiver for tuition fees at the University of Victoria. Prospective students must count on paying their fees out of the fellowship or assistantship money that they receive, or from other resources that they have. Foreign students especially should note that it will cost $1,200 a month or more to live in Victoria.

Teaching and Research Assistantships

Teaching assistantships are available in Canadian Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory. Teaching assistants run tutorials, hold office hours and mark assignments in first and second year undergraduate courses. All teaching assistants must have an excellent command of English. There is an annual TA Training Workshop for new teaching assistants.

Most professors are able to provide research assistantships to ongoing students whose interests and expertise are relevant to their research projects. These opportunities vary from year to year.

The availability of research assistantships varies from year to year, and will be posted on the department website as they become available. Applicants are well advised to bring any special interests or qualifications (such as familiarity with a foreign language or culture, prior research or administrative experience, computer skills, knowledge of statistics, etc.) to the attention of the Admissions Committee.

SSHRC

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada has recently expanded and improved its scholarship and fellowship funding for graduate studies at all levels. There are one-year $17,500 Canada Graduate Scholarships for MA students, four-year SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships at $20,000 a year, and three-year Canada Graduate Scholarships for PhD students at $35,000 a year. Eligible students contemplating study at the University of Victoria are strongly encouraged to apply for these awards. Ongoing students in our program will be expected to apply at the earliest possible opportunity. The University of Victoria normally provides a $4,000 President's Research Scholarship to supplement an award to any student who receives a major national scholarship. This means that an MA student with a Canada Graduate Scholarship would receive $21,500 in total funding for the year.