Funding at Western
As one of Canada's leading research institutions, we place great importance on helping you finance your education. While at Western, you will want to devote your full energy to the successful completion of your studies, so we want to ensure that stable funding is available to you.
Some funding is awarded to you upon entry into a program, some is based on recommendations from the program that is admitting you, and others you must apply for yourself, either to The University of Western Ontario or to an external funding agency.
There are two main types of funding available to graduate students:
- Western Funding - Provided directly by department, faculty or the University, these types of funding are distributed to students on a term by term basis.
- External Funding - Awarded by federal, provincial and private agencies, to students who apply for scholarships and awards in annual competitions to support graduate study the following academic year. Major scholarship competitions are run through the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
External Funding
All students are encouraged to apply, where applicable, for Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) grants. Ph.D. students in particular are expected to apply for these scholarships, not merely because of the financial advantage but also because grant-writing is an essential part of academic training, and success in acquiring grants will be essential to finding employment in the highly competitive academic job market.
Financial Amounts
As of Fall 2012
The amounts indicated below are per year. In the thesis and project programs, there is the possibility of an extra payment from PSAC local 610, which is negotiated during each contract renewal.
| Student | Income | Tuition | Balance |
| MSc - Cdn, Thesis program | $18,500.00 | $ 7,657.00 | $10,843.00 |
| MSc - Int'l. Thesis program | $26,050.00 | $16,775.00 | $ 9,275.00 |
| MSc - Cdn, Project program | $16,550.00 | $ 7,657.00 | $ 8,893.00 |
| MSc - Int'l. Project program | $24,050.00 | $16,775.00 | $ 7,275.00 |
| MSc - Cdn, coursework | 0 | $ 7,657.00 | $(7,657.00) |
| MSc - Int'l, coursework | 0 | $16,775.00 | $(16,775.00) |
| PhD - Cdn, Perm. Res. | $20,450.00 | $ 7,657.00 | $12,793.00 |
| PhD - Int'l. | $27,950.00 | $16,775.00 | $11,175.00 |
** MSc students are guaranteed funding for 4 terms
(if all requirements are being met)
** PhD students are guaranteed funding for 4 years
(if all requirements are being met)
Income includes - Graduate Teaching Assistantship, Research Assistantship and Scholarship
*** tuition amounts are estimated using the previous year's total
For additional information please refer to
UWO Financial Support web page
Also from this web page:
Graduate Students
