Student Finances

The Department of Chemistry at Western offers stipends that are competitive with other Canadian universities. Your dollar also goes further at Western: the cost of living is substantially lower in London than in other cities, and your tuition also includes a year-round bus pass valued at approximately $880.

Stipends vary according to whether you are a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant, or an international student, as outlined below.

Canadian Students or Landed Immigrants

If you are a Canadian citizen or have been granted Canadian landed immigrant status, then you fall into this general category. To receive the indicated stipends, non-scholarship students perform two TA units, while scholarship students perform either one unit or no units (see Program Information for TA details). The tuition and fees include a year-round, London transit pass valued at $880.

Outstanding domestic and international applicants for a graduate program in physical chemistry are eligible to receive a Christian Sivertz Scholarship worth $3500. The Graduate Admissions Coordinator of the Chemistry Department will select awardees based on grades and supporting information in their application file, and all physical chemistry applicants will be considered. The Sivertz Scholarship is in addition to all stipends listed below.

1. Non-scholarship students
We guarantee a highly competitive, minimum stipend of 22,500 for both M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. Students are required to perform two TA units.

2. OGS or OGSST holders

For holders of Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS) or Ontario Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (OGSST). Students are responsible for tuition fees.

OGS or QEII Graduate Scholarship	$15,000
One unit of TA	$4,732
Scholarship ($1500/term) max. $4500 as of May 2013	$4,500

3. NSERC Postgraduate Master's holders
For holders of NSERC PGS Master's scholarships.

NSERC PGS Master's Scholarship	$17,300
Western Graduate Tuition Scholarship	current tuition fee
One unit of TA	$4,732
Scholarship (first year only)	$2,000

4. Canada Graduate Scholarship Master's holders
For holders of CGS Master's scholarships.

CGS Master's Scholarship	$17,500
Western Graduate Tuition Scholarship	current tuition fee
One unit of TA	$4,732
Scholarship (first year only)	$2,000

5. NSERC Postgraduate Doctoral holders
For holders of NSERC PGS Doctoral scholarships.

NSERC PGS Doctoral Scholarship	$21,000
Western Graduate Tuition Scholarship	current tuition fee
One unit of TA	$4,732
Scholarship (first year only)	$2,000

6. Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral holders
For holders of CGS Doctoral scholarships. These students will not have any TA responsibilities so they could concentrate on completing their thesis work.

CGS Doctoral Scholarship	$35,000
Western Graduate Tuition Scholarship	current tuition fee
No TA required	$0
Scholarship (first year only)	$2,000

International Students

The amount of the yearly stipend is $22,500/year. Part of this money comes from research and part of it comes from TA'ing. The stipend provides a monthly salary of approx. $1875 before deductions. This money is paid to you at the end of each month, therefore it is important to make sure you have enough money to pay your tuition and living expenses for the first term when you begin your program as fees are due the first week of each term. International students receive a tuition scholarship at the beginning of each term which is applied directly to their tuition account. This scholarship helps to reduce the amount of fees to a little more than a domestic student pays. Fee schedules can be viewed at http://www.registrar.uwo.ca/student_finances/fees_refunds/index.html
Another helpful site for international students http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/int/

Example: Current Yearly Stipend $22,500
Total stipend for term $7500. Below shows how much the fees were for international students. Subtract the "fees to be paid" from the "total term stipend" leaves $4367.38 for living expenses for the term.

International Fees     $6082.62
International Schol  - $2950.00
Fees to be paid         $3132.62

Outstanding domestic and international applicants for a graduate program in physical chemistry are eligible to receive a Christian Sivertz Scholarship worth $3500. The Scholarship Committee of the Chemistry Department will select awardees based on grades and supporting information in their application file, and all physical chemistry applicants will be considered.

International students interested in pursuing graduate studies should be aware that external scholarship programs also exist:

The Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Program, for citizens of the Commonwealth
The Organization of American States (OAS) Fellowships Program, for citizens of Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
The Government of Canada Awards Program, for citizens of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, and Russia.

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.