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 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.
• Have a minimum grade point average of 7.0/9.0 (UVic scale) or a first-class standing to be considered for a UVic donor award, British Columbia Graduate Scholarship (BCGS), or a UVic Entrance Award.
• Have a minimum grade point average of 6.0/9.00 (UVic scale) or a second-class standing to be considered for a UVic Fellowship (masters or doctoral).
• Be registered in a minimum of 1.50 units per term during the graduate year to receive UVic Fellowship funds.
• Be registered in a minimum of 3.0 units per term during the graduate year to receive a UVic donor award, President’s Research Scholarship*, BCGS, UVic Graduate Entrance Award, or Tri-agency funds (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC).   
  • *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 with a disability are eligible to be considered for graduate scholarships, fellowships, awards, medals and prizes. Students with a disability must maintain registration in a minimum of 1.50 units for credit per term. Students must identify themselves to FGS and provide supporting documentation from the Centre for Accessible Learning.

• 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.
• Graduate funding may be held until a student has 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 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 a student has a Canadian mailing address; students may also sign up for direct deposit (must have a Canadian bank account).
• Tuition and fees are not deducted from graduate award payments.
• 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 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.
• Has insufficient registration for the award offered (see above eligibility requirements).
• Has provisional admission status.
• 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).

Funding may take up to five to ten business days after resolving any issue; payment is not instantaneous.

Donor-funded scholarships, fellowships and awards

Private donors fund scholarships, fellowships and awards for students in graduate degree programs at UVic. Eligibility for donor-funded graduate scholarships and fellowships includes elements of both GPA and other criteria, such as, program of study or research, volunteer or community service, achievements outside of academia and personal demographic information. Specific eligibility and application details for all graduate donor-funded scholarships, fellowships and awards can be found on the Faculty of Graduate Studies website, via the online search tool. Donor-funded scholarships, fellowships and awards are adjudicated and approved by the Faculty of Graduate Studies Graduate Funding Committee. 

UVic Donor Awards are normally adjudicated over the fall. Successful recipients will be contacted late November and funds will normally be disbursed in early December.

Donor eligibility and regulations

• Except where the terms of reference for a graduate scholarship or award otherwise specify, recipients of a donor award must normally register and maintain enrolment in a minimum of 3.0 units in each term in the academic year or,
• 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.
• Students normally must have a minimum grade point average of 7.0/9.0 (UVic scale) in order to receive a donor award.
• FGS reserves the right to limit the amount of money awarded to any student, and if necessary, to reassign scholarships and awards to other students.
• 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 recipient withdraws from UVic or fails to meet the eligibility criteria for the scholarship or award. 
• Students understand by accepting donor award funding they are agreeing that their names be released to their department and donor. 

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.
• Takes their final oral and/or written examination (funding ceases at the end of this term).

Funding may take up to five to ten business days after resolving any issue; payment is not instantaneous.

FGS funding may be paid in installments over the graduate academic year (September to August) depending on the value of the student’s award. Your offer of award letter will outline your payment schedule.

Funding will be paid in one of two ways: Direct deposit to a Canadian bank account or a mailed cheque to a student’s Canadian address. It is up to the student to ensure their address and, where applicable, Direct Deposit information are up to date on their Online Tools, Profile account.

 General funding information

• Funding amount and the payment schedule will be outlined in your FGS offer letter – i.e., one payment in one term, two payments over two terms, etc. 
• FGS funding of $1,000-$3,500 is 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.
• FGS funding of $3,500-$6,000 is paid in two installments over two terms, typically at the start of each term (i.e., September and January term).
• FGS funding of $6,000-$10,500 is paid in three installments over three terms, typically at the start of each term of registration (i.e., September, January and May).
• FGS funding of $10,500 and higher is paid in 12 monthly installments over the academic year, typically in time for the first of each month. This includes federal council awards (CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC) and any other externally funded awards.
• FGS donor awards are disbursed to students in early December and may not adhere to the above payment schedule. Please refer to your Notice of Award from FGS for funding details.
• 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 and may be contingent upon the maintenance of a cumulative grade point average outlined in the award offer letter.

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.
• 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.