Financial Support
for Graduate Students
Financial Support for Domestic Graduate Students
Effective September 1, 2012, the Department of Biology guarantees a minimum annual stipend of $20,000 per year to all domestic graduate students for their normal program duration (two years for Master’s students, four years for Doctoral students, five years for students who roll over to the Doctoral program from the Master’s program). This $20,000 annual stipend is normally comprised of three components (1) Graduate Teaching Assistantship (TA) from September 1st through April 30th, (2) Western Graduate Research Scholarship, and (3) a summer stipend from the supervisor. Funding for major scholarship holders differs and is noted below.
First, the TA rate for 2011/12 is $9,464.00 based on a full TA of 10 hours/week over two terms. All students are expected to be on campus and available to TA from 1 September through 30 April. If a student has a full TA in both the fall and winter terms, they receive $1,183.00 on the second last banking day for the months of September through April. The TA money is deposited directly into the student’s personal bank account provided automatic deposits are set-up. Second, students who are admitted with and maintain a cumulative average of 70% receive a Western Graduate Research Scholarship (WGRS) of $4,536 per year. At the beginning of each eligible term (i.e. January, May, September), $1,512 is applied to their UWO tuition account offsetting the tuition amount that the student must pay. Third, the student’s supervisor typically provides a summer stipend of $6,000, with $1,500 being paid out on the second last banking day of May through August. Summer stipends are deposited directly into the student’s personal bank account provided automatic deposits are set-up. In addition to this minimum annual stipend of $20,000, in each term that a TA is appointed, one-time payments will be provided at a pay rate contained within the GTA collective agreement. For the 2011/2012 academic year, contracts for 140 hours per term will receive $1,172 plus 4% vacation pay. Those who work less than 140 hours per term will receive a prorated one-time payment.
Financial Support for International Graduate Students
The Department of Biology guarantees a minimum annual stipend of $27,359 per year to all international graduate students for their normal program duration (two years for Master’s students, four years for Doctoral students, five years for students who roll over to the Doctoral program from the Master’s program). This $27,359 annual stipend is normally comprised of four components (1) Teaching Assistantship (TA) from September 1st through April 30th, (2) Western Graduate Research Scholarship, (3) a summer stipend from the supervisor, and (4) a tuition waiver. Funding for major scholarship holders differs and is noted below. In addition to this minimum annual stipend, in each term that a GTA is appointed, one-time payments will be provided at a pay rate contained within the GTA collective agreement. For the 2011/2012 academic year, contracts for 140 hours per term will receive $1,172 plus 4% vacation pay. Those who work less than 140 hours per term will receive a prorated one-time payment.
First, the TA rate for 2011/12 is $9,464.00 based on a full TA of 10 hours/week over two terms. All students are expected to be on campus and available to TA from 1 September through 30 April. If a student has a full TA in both the fall and winter terms, they receive $1,183.00 on the second last banking day for the months of September through April. The TA money is deposited directly into the student’s personal bank account provided automatic deposits are set-up. Second, students who are admitted with and maintain a cumulative average of 70% receive a Western Graduate Research Scholarship (WGRS) of $10,450 per year. At the beginning of each eligible term (i.e. January, May, September), $3,483.33 is applied to their UWO tuition account offsetting the tuition amount that the student must pay. Third, the student’s supervisor typically provides a summer stipend of $5,386.00, with $1,346.50 being paid out on the second last banking day of May through August. Summer stipends are deposited directly into the student’s personal bank account provided automatic deposits are set-up. Fourth, international students receive an annual Tuition Waiver of $2,059. This waiver is paid at a rate of $686.33 on the second last working day of the first month of each term (i.e. January, May, September). As with the TA and summer stipend, the Waiver is deposited directly into the student’s bank account.
Major Scholarship Holders (NSERC, OGS, QEII)
Major scholarship holders, comprising students receiving an NSERC, OGS, or QEII, receive an additional WGRS of $1,333.33 per term during the tenure of their scholarship. This WGRS top-up is directly applied to the tuition for the appropriate terms. Holders do not typically receive any summer stipend from their supervisor as the scholarship covers the department’s minimum stipend obligation.
A Note on Teaching Assistantships
The Department of Biology considers teaching to be an essential component of graduate education; thus, all students admitted to our graduate program must teach at least one half course during their degree as part of their degree requirements. Non-scholarship students are guaranteed a full TA (10 h per week for two terms, or 280 h total) each year to contribute to their minimum stipend and those students are expected to TA from 1 September through 30 April. If a student cannot be on campus during the fall and winter terms to meet their TA obligation, they must seek approval from their supervisor, who must cover the missed TA portion of their minimum stipend. Major Scholarship holders are guaranteed a half TA (5 h per week for two terms, or 140 h total). Holders may choose to not TA in any given term but must TA at least once (70 h total) during their degree in order to graduate.
CONTACTS:
Graduate Chair, Dr. Beth MacDougall-Shackleton........ emacdoug@uwo.ca
Graduate program inquiries: Mrs. Carol Curtis….clcurtis@uwo.ca
