UVic graduate funding

Graduate scholarships, fellowships, awards, medals and prizes are offered to graduate students who are in continuous registration during the graduate academic year (September to August).

To be eligible for UVic graduate funding students must:

• Be nominated by their department/program or faculty.
• Be unconditionally admitted to their masters or doctoral degree program at UVic to receive funding.

GPA required for funding: 
6.0/9.0 cumulative or second-class standing for entering international students:

• UVic Fellowship
• International Doctoral Entrance Fellowship
• UVic Donor Award

7.0/9.0 or first-class standing for entering international students: 

• British Columbia Graduate Scholarship (BCGS)
• UVic Graduate Entrance Award 
• Tri-agency awards 

Registered units required for funding: 
1.50 units per term:

• UVic Fellowship
• International Doctoral Entrance Fellowship

3.0 units per term:

• UVic Donor Award,
• BCGS
• President's Research Scholarship
• UVic Graduate Entrance Award
• Tri-agency funds (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC)
• Other external awards

• *Students must have an ‘active’ tri-agency award to receive President Research Scholarship (PRS) funds. If a tri-agency award is completed or if the student is no longer eligible, PRS funding will be forfeit.
• Students must be in continuous registration throughout the graduate year, unless they are on an approved leave, to receive funding. 
• If a student is registered with the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL), they may be registered in a minimum of 1.5 units per term and provide FGS with a reduced course load letter from CAL.

FGS general funding regulations:

• Award payments will cease at the end of the term you take your final oral and/or written examination.
• Any payment made for a period during which you are not eligible to hold graduate funding must be reimbursed to the university.
• Graduate funding may be held until you have met the registration and eligibility criteria.
• Meeting the general GPA eligibility does not guarantee that you will receive a graduate award.
• Award funding is only for the graduate current academic year (September to August); funding is not renewable, unless it is specifically outlined in the Notice of Award letter from FGS.
• Renewal of graduate awards is not automatic; consideration of renewal is at the discretion of the department offering the award and is contingent upon the maintenance of a cumulative grade point average outlined in the award offer letter.
• Graduate awards are not portable from one department to another, nor can they be transferred to a different institution.
• Funding will only be issued if you have  a Canadian mailing address; you may also sign up for direct deposit (must have a Canadian bank account).
• Tuition and fees are not deducted from graduate award payments. It is your responsibility to ensure your tuition and fees are paid by the deadline in each term of study.
• Awards may be interrupted only for: parental, medical or compassionate circumstances. Requests for interruptions must be approved by both the student’s academic unit and the Faculty of Graduate Studies and may require additional documentation. Contact the Faculty of Graduate Studies before initiating a leave of absence.
• A scholarship or award may be withheld or cancelled if there is a lack of suitable candidates, if a donor withdraws the scholarship or award, or if the student receiving the scholarship or award withdraws from UVic or fails to meet the requirements for the scholarship/award.
• The university reserves the right to limit the amount of money awarded to any student, and if necessary, to reassign scholarships and awards to other students.
• FGS President's Research Funding will cease at the termination of the student's tri-agency funding. 

Funding will not be issued if a student:

• Is not registered.
• Does not have an approved Indigenous Citizenship Declaration (ICD) for Indigenous specific funding.
• Has insufficient registration for the award offered (see above eligibility requirements).
• Has provisional admission status.
• Is not registered in courses in their graduate level - i.e., doctoral student, but registered in masters level courses; funding will not be paid until the level matches the course level registration.
• Has overdue fees or fines from a previous term.
• Does not have a Canadian address in their Online Tools, Profile account.
• Takes their final oral and/or written examination (funding ceases at the end of this term).

Please note, if your funding was on hold and is now resolved, payments will resume but it may take up to 10 business days for the payment to be processed; it is not an instantaneous payment.

Donor-funded scholarships, fellowships and awards

Private donors support scholarships, fellowships, and awards for graduate students at UVic. Eligibility may be based on academic achievement, program of study or research, volunteer and community service, leadership, personal achievements, and demographic criteria. Information on available donor-funded awards, eligibility requirements, and application procedures can be found through the Faculty of Graduate Studies' online awards search tool. All donor-funded awards are adjudicated and approved by the Faculty of Graduate Studies Graduate Funding Committee.

UVic Donor-funded awards are typically adjudicated during the fall term. Successful recipients are normally notified in late November, and funds are generally disbursed in early December.

 Eligibility and Regulations: 

• Maintain full-time registration throughout the graduate academic year (September–August), normally a minimum of 3.0 units per term.
• Have a minimum GPA of 6.0/9.0 (UVic scale), or equivalent second-class standing for entering international students.
• Meet all award-specific eligibility requirements.

Students registered with the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) may be considered full-time when registered in a minimum of 1.50 units per term. Students must self-identify themselves to FGS and provide a copy of their CAL award accommodation letter to scholoff@uvic.ca.

Students must have an approved Indigenous Citizenship Declaration (ICD) to be eligible to receive Indigenous-specific funding. 

Funding Conditions: 

Funding may be withheld, reduced, cancelled or reassigned if: A student no longer meets the award's eligibility requirements.

• A student withdraws from UVic or changes their registration status such that they are no longer eligible.
• A donor withdraws funding.
• There is a lack of suitable candidates.

FGS reserves the right to limit the total amount of funding awarded to an individual student and, where necessary, reassign awards.

Students who receive funding and subsequently become ineligible may be required to repay all or part of the award.

By accepting a donor-funded award, students consent to the release of their name to their academic unit and the donor.

Funding will not be issued if a student:

• Does not meet the registration requirements of the award.
• Has provisional admission status.
• Is registered in courses that do not match their program level.
• Has outstanding fees or fines from a previous term.
• Does not have a Canadian address listed in Online Tools.
• Has not received approval of an ICD for Indigenous-specific funding.

Funding normally ends at the close of the term in which a student completes their final oral and/or written examination, unless the award terms specify otherwise.