Financial support

All students who are admitted to a graduate program in the Department of Physics and Astronomy have access to a funding package that draws from various sources of funding and that complies with our financial support rules.

Questions?

Please visit the Frequently Asked Questions page.

There are several sources of financial aid available for prospective graduate students in the Physics and Astronomy Department. Major sources of funding, other than external awards, include University of Victoria Awards, Research Assistantships, Teaching Assistantships, and Donor Awards. Note that no special application is required for any of these awards; you will automatically be considered when your application to enter a graduate program is evaluated by our department.

Students should also note that they are responsible for paying tuition fees and living expenses out of the funding package that they receive. Domestic and International students pay different fees.

Graduate tuition is due at the beginning of each of the following three semesters: Fall, Spring and Summer. Normally, tuition is paid early in September, January and May; however, it is also possible to set up equalized monthly debits from a declared bank account. A Graduate Student Tuition Income Offset Plan Form is required to set this up. See Accounting for the current form. You should be fully aware of the deadlines for tuition payments so that you can plan your finances accordingly (please note that payments arrive at different times of the month depending on the funding source — see Distribution of Payments below).

Nearly all International students qualify for Fellowship Awards (see below) and receive extra funding that approximately compensates for the higher tuition fees for International students. Amounts quoted are in Canadian dollars.

Depending on your funding source, you will receive your payment at different times of the month. Direct deposit is available for all funding types, and is required for TA payments as per the CUPE 4163 negotiated collective agreement.

At the beginning of each month (usually the 1st of each month), you can expect to receive your Scholarship, Fellowship or Award payment. If you elect to receive a paper cheque, you can expect your cheque to be delivered to the department within 7 business days of the 1st of the month.

In the middle of each month, you can expect to receive your RA payment (usually the 18th) and TA payment (usually the 15th).

At the end of each month (usually the 30th/31st of each month), you can expect to receive your TA payment.

At the beginning of the first month each term, you can expect to receive your departmental Fellowship payment. Basic distribution of Fellowship payments is shown in the table below; deviations from this distribution will apply in some cases (e.g. for students with entry points other than September).

It is the responsibility of the individual student to manage their finances taking into account the above information. Tuition fees and living expenses are the responsibility of the student.

distrib_payments_2024-25

All amounts are Canadian Dollars (CAD).

The guaranteed minimum funding for MSc students is $26,716 and for PhD students is $28,716.

The table below shows some examples of guaranteed funding for a few representative cases for the current year. These represent minimum levels guaranteed by the department.

 image

Graduate funding support must comply with the following rules:

  1. The guaranteed minimum funding level assumes 1 TA.  Possible Donor Awards are above and beyond any funding the student is receiving, regardless of the source.
  2. The guaranteed support levels will be in effect as below. There is no guaranteed funding beyond these time limits. Arrangements for RA contributions after the time limits given below are between the student and supervisor.
    1. 2 years for a student in a MSc program.
    2. 3 years for a student in a PhD program who has a MSc from UVic.
    3. 4 years for a student in a PhD program who arrives at UVic with a MSc from another university.
    4. 5 years for a student in a MSc to PhD transfer program.  
  3. The guaranteed minimum funding level is in effect subject to the student maintaining a cumulative GPA of no less than 6.0.
  4. The guaranteed minimum funding level is in effect subject to the condition that the student's academic and professional performance is judged to be satisfactory by the Supervisory Committee.
  5. Students must meet eligibility requirements set out by the Faculty of Graduate Studies for academic merit awards (ie: GEA and Fellowship), which include maintaining a minimum cumulative GPA of 6.0 to be eligible for UVic Fellowships.
  6. Normally a student assumes 1 TA in either the Fall or Spring term. Application for these TA's must be done by the deadline (usually July 1st). Students are encouraged to apply for a second (optional) TA position, which will increase their total income accordingly.
  7. International students receive an additional $1,707 contribution to their Fellowship each year (shown in the Distribution of Funds table), to offset the higher cost of international tuition, subject to meeting the eligibility for Graduate funding support.
  8. Graduate Entrance Awards may be offered to incoming students on a competitive basis.
  9. A graduate student will not be admitted unless a supervisor is in a position to support the student at the minimum level. Students should, however, be aware of the inherently unstable nature of grant funding.
  10. If a student receives scholarships from research-funded agencies totaling $50k/year or more (not including Donor Awards), RA support will be at the discretion of the supervisor.
  11. If a student receives scholarships from research-funded agencies totaling $50k/year or more (not including Donor Awards), the student will not be eligible for Fellowship payments.

Depending on your funding source, you will receive your payment at different times of the month. Direct deposit is available for all funding types, and is required for TA payments as per the CUPE 4163 negotiated collective agreement.

At the beginning of each month (usually the 1st of each month), you can expect to receive your Scholarship, Fellowship or Award payment. If you elect to receive a paper cheque, you can expect your cheque to be delivered to the department within 7 business days of the 1st of the month.

In the middle of each month, you can expect to receive your RA payment (usually the 18th) and TA payment (usually the 15th).

At the end of each month (usually the 30th/31st of each month), you can expect to receive your TA payment.

At the beginning of the first month each term, you can expect to receive your departmental Fellowship payment. Basic distribution of Fellowship payments is shown in the table below; deviations from this distribution will apply in some cases (e.g. for students with entry points other than September).

It is the responsibility of the individual student to manage their finances taking into account the above information. Tuition fees and living expenses are the responsibility of the student.

image

All amounts are Canadian Dollars (CAD).

The guaranteed minimum funding for MSc students is $27,002 and for PhD students is $29,002.

The table below shows some examples of guaranteed funding for a few representative cases for the current year. These represent minimum levels guaranteed by the department.

image

Graduate funding support must comply with the following rules:

  1. The guaranteed minimum funding level assumes 1 TA. Possible Donor Awards are above and beyond any funding the student is receiving, regardless of the source.
  2. The guaranteed support levels will be in effect for 2 years for a student in an MSc program, 3 years for a student in a PhD program, and 4 years for a PhD student who arrives at UVic with an MSc from another university and up to 5 years beyond the BSc level for a student in a PhD transfer program. There is no Fellowship beyond these time limits. Arrangements for RA contributions after the time limits are between the student and supervisor.
  3. The guaranteed minimum funding level is in effect subject to the student maintaining a cumulative GPA of 6.0.
  4. The guaranteed minimum funding level is in effect subject to the condition that the student's academic and professional performance is judged to be satisfactory by the Supervisory Committee.
  5. Students must meet eligibility requirements set out by the Faculty of Graduate Studies for academic merit awards (i.e.Fellowship and GEA), which include maintaining a minimum GPA of 6.0 to be eligible for UVic Graduate Awards.
  6. Normally a student assumes 1 TA in either the Fall or Spring term. Students are encouraged to apply for a second (optional) TA position, which will increase their total income accordingly.
  7. International students receive an additional $1,707 in Fellowship payments per year, to offset the higher cost of international tuition, subject to meeting the eligibility for the Fellowship.
  8. Graduate Entrance Awards may be offered to incoming students on a competitive basis.
  9. A graduate student will not be admitted unless a supervisor is in a position to support the student at the minimum level. Students should, however, be aware of the inherently unstable nature of grant funding.
  10. If a student receives scholarships from research-funded agencies totaling $50k/year or more (not including UVic Donor Awards), RA support will be at the discretion of the supervisor.
  11. Students who receive scholarships from research-funded agencies totaling $50k/year or more (not including UVic Donor Awards) will not receive Fellowship payments.