UVic graduate funding

FGS scholarships, fellowships, and awards are offered to graduate students entering or continuing at the University of Victoria.

• FGS graduate funding may be held until a student has met the registration and eligibility criteria.
• 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 of at least 7.0/9.0.
• All graduate award holders must maintain continuous registration during the tenure of their award. A student may interrupt their award 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.
• Graduate awards are not portable from one department to another nor can they be transferred to a different institution.
• Tuition and fees are not deducted from graduate award payments.
• Communication with students is done by email. Ensure the email you use regularly is identified as your “preferred email address” on your “personal profile” in your UVic Online tools account.
• To receive graduate funding either by direct deposit or a mailed cheque, students must normally have a Canadian address on their UVic Online Tools, Profile account. If an international student arrives after the start of a term, it is their responsibility to inform FGS that their address has been updated in their Online Tools, Profile account to receive payment.
• Award payments will cease at the end of the term the student takes the final oral and/or written examination.
• Any payment made for a period during which a student is not eligible to hold graduate funding must be reimbursed to the university.
• Students who hold a UVic Fellowship or British Columbia Graduate Scholarship cannot hold tri-council (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) funding concurrently.
• 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. 

General eligibility criteria

To be eligible for graduate funding students must:

• Be unconditionally admitted to their masters or doctoral degree program at UVic.
• Have a minimum 7.0/9.0 (UVic scale) or a first-class standing for a UVic Fellowship, President’s Research Scholarship, Donor Award, or a UVic Graduate Entrance Award.
• Have a minimum 6.0/9.0 (UVic scale) or a second-class standing for a UVic Graduate Award.
• Meeting the general GPA eligibility does not guarantee that you will receive a graduate award.
• Students awarded a UVic Fellowship need to ensure they have reviewed the UVic Fellowship Regulations to ensure eligibility.

Registration eligibility

To be eligible for graduate funding students must:

• Be in full-time registration each term (minimum 3.0 units) for a UVic Fellowship, President’s Research Scholarship, UVic Graduate Entrance Award, donor award (unless otherwise specified), or any tri-agency funding.
• Be in a minimum 1.50 units per term for a general Graduate Award.
• Be registered with the Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL) to be considered full time when registered in 1.5 units. Students registered with CAL are considered for all UVic graduate scholarships when registered in 1.5 or more units. Students must identify themselves to FGS and send a copy of their CAL letter to scholoff@uvic.ca.

General registration information

• To avoid any delays in funding payments, register at least two-to-three weeks in advance of each term in the required number of units.
• A change to registration status after the start of a term will affect your scholarship. It may result in the loss of the scholarship and a requirement to repay funds to the university.
• Contact the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) well in advance of any change in registration. Email the Scholarship Officer contact in your offer letter from FGS.
• Retroactive changes to your registration status may also result in a requirement of scholarship repayment, and/or loss of a scholarship.
• Students considering a leave of absence of any kind (personal, parental, medical, or compassionate) need to speak to a scholarship officer (refer to your award offer letter for the contact information) in the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Each type of leave will have a unique impact on graduate scholarships and needs to be addressed individually.
• Overdue tuition and fees or UVic fines of any kind will result in a hold on your FGS payments.

FGS funding may be paid in installments over the academic year depending on the value of the student’s award:

• Funding is disbursed within the academic year (September to August) based on the payment schedule and value of the award.
• Funding value and start and end dates are outlined in the FGS award offer letter.
• Scholarships of $1,000-$3,000 are paid in one installment over one term, typically at the start of the first term of registration, but this will vary depending on when the nomination is made.
• Scholarships of $3,500-$5,500 are paid in two installments over two terms, typically at the start of each term (i.e., September and January term).
• Scholarships valued at $6,000-$10,000 are paid in three installments over three terms, typically at the start of each term of registration (i.e., September, January and May).
• Scholarships of $10,500 and higher are paid in 12 monthly installments over the academic year, typically in time for the first of each month. Federal council awards (CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC) and any other externally funded awards will be paid in monthly installments.
• Donor awards may be paid on a different installment schedule, as they are disbursed by the fiscal year, not over the academic year.
• If a student’s 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.
• Tuition and fees are not automatically paid out of UVic graduate funding; students are responsible for paying their tuition and fees on time.
• Funding is not automatically renewed; renewal is at the discretion of the student's department.

Funding will not be issued if a student:

• Is not registered.
• Has insufficient registration for the award offered (see above eligibility requirements).
• Has provisional admission.
• Has overdue fees or fines from a previous term.
• Does not have a Canadian address in their Online Tools, Profile account.