Scholarships & Funding

Base Program Funding

The School of Engineering guarantees financial support to all full-time MASc and PhD students admitted to the program.  Stipends may be comprised of: Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA), Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA), growth funds, as well as internal and external awards and scholarships (if secured).  Descriptions of these funding types can be reviewed below.  Financial support is not provided to MEng students or students pursuing their degree on a part-time basis.

M.Eng .

There is no guaranteed funding for MEng students.  MEng students may apply to Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) positions, and are considered Level 2 applicants.  The GTA application process is a highly competitive process and qualified Level 1 applicants (MASc.Engg and PhD.Engg students) will be given priority consideration.

MASc.

For students commencing their full-time MASc.Engg studies in W25 or later, the minimum guaranteed stipend is $20,000 per year for 2 years.

PhD

For domestic students commencing their full-time PhD engineering studies in W25 or later, the minimum guaranteed stipend is $25,000 per year for 4 years.

For international PhD engineering students commencing their full-time studies in W25 or later, the minimum guaranteed stipend is $34,100 per year for 4 years.


Possible Funding Sources

As a full-time MASc. or PhD student, you will receive a funding package as part of your offer of admission.  Funding packages are composed of the following components:

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) - Full-time students in both the MASc. and PhD programs will be guaranteed a GRA.  The GRA is provided by the faculty advisor to support research being conducted by the advisor and will be used in preparation of the student's thesis.  Students in the MASc program are guaranteed funding for 6 semesters and those in the doctoral program for 12 semesters.  GRA stipends are renewable each semester based on satisfactory performance.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships - GTAs are awarded through an open competition and students enrolled in full-time studies in the School of Engineering are expected to apply for GTA positions within their area of expertise.

Scholarships & Awards - A number of internal and external scholarships/awards/bursaries are available to incoming and current graduate students.  Please consult the Scholarships & Awards tab for more information.

Needs Based Funding - A number of needs based bursaries and funding opportunities exist for students who can demonstrate financial need.  Please review the Financial Aid & Counselling tab for more information.
 

[Updated – October 30, 2024]

Tuition

All students are required to pay tuition fees.  Information on graduate student tuition fees can be found by visiting the Student Financial Services Guelph Graduate Fees page. You are encouraged to review the financial arrangement or other methods of payment.

All Awards/Scholarships will automatically be applied to the student account as the first form of payment.  Please review the Statement of Financial Responsibility.

[Updated – October 30, 2024]

Graduate Teaching Assistantships

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs) are essential to support the delivery of our undergraduate programs. Applicants are selected to provide undergraduate students with the best learning experiences possible. GTA work assignments also provide graduate students with employment and experience performing teaching-related duties. A GTA appointment usually spans 14 weeks - 12 weeks of classes plus preparation and/or examination time.

The assignment of Graduate Teaching Assistantships is a complex and dynamic process in the School of Engineering due to the large number of undergraduate courses and applicants for the posted work assignments. The aim is to make the process as transparent, fair and efficient as possible.

The School of Engineering has a Teaching Assistant Guide available on SharePoint, which includes details on GTA applications, levels of consideration, the GTA hiring process, and TA expectations. 

GTA positions are available in the Fall and Winter semesters. Students are notified when GTA positions are posted. Fall GTA positions are posted in July, and offers are extended in late August. Winter GTA positions are posted in November, and offers are extended in December.

 

How to Apply

Candidates need to apply for GTA work assignments using the TA/Sessional hiring website. 

The onus is on the applicant to contact the School if a confirmation email is not received upon submission of an application. Only candidates who apply, before the posted deadline, will be considered for a GTA.  To be eligible for a GTA, candidates must be a registered student during the term of the work assignment. Applicants who have successfully completed their program or who have a scheduled defense, will be removed from the pool of applicants. Students who are guaranteed a GTA (Level 1) for a particular semester must apply to at least one posting AND identify themselves as Level 1.  
 

[Updated – November 16, 2022]

Scholarships and Awards

There are many scholarship and award opportunities available to University of Guelph graduate students. Many award opportunities both internal and external to U of G can be viewed on the OGPS Scholarships and Awards page. Another helpful resource when looking for available scholarships is Student Financial Services' Graduate Award Search, which provides a comprehensive list of all internal awards that are available university-wide or specific to a College. The search can be used to find entrance awards, awards for in-course students, and travel awards. Some specific scholarship opportunites are listed below.

 

Government Awards

 

University of Guelph Internal Awards

 

College of Engineering & Physical Sciences and School of Engineering Awards

All College and School awards can be reviewed using the Graduate Awards Search tool.  All scholarship applications should be submitted to soe.gradawards@uoguelph.ca by 23:59 on the stated deadline.  Late applications will not be accepted.

 

Contact and Submission Information

In-course graduate students receive regular correspondence through the graduate student listserv regarding upcoming scholarship opportunities to their GryphMail (@uoguelph.ca) email account. Questions about scholarships and awards can be directed to soe.gradawards@uoguelph.ca.

Prospective and current students submitting scholarship applications should email these to: soe.gradawards@uoguelph.ca.
 

[Updated – November 9, 2022]

Bursaries

Bursaries are given to students who apply and demonstrate a need for financial assistance. Academic achievement is not taken into consideration when awarding bursaries, however, you must be registered in the semester you receive a bursary.  All bursary applications are processed by Student Financial Services.  Please check the following link for graduate student bursaries.

The Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) offers several different awards and bursaries for students in financial need.  You must be a member of the GSA to apply.

 

Accessibility Awards and Financial Aid

The University of Guelph strives to provide equal opportunity for academically qualified students with disabilities. We recognize that having a disability can incur additional financial costs. As a result, students with Permanent Disabilities may be eligible for loans, bursaries, scholarships, waivers or other awards designed to help offset disability-related costs related to your education.

To learn more about what might be available to you as a student with a permanent disability, please refer to the details outlined by Student Financial Services for students with permanent disabilities, and to the links provided on the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) website.

 

Emergency Funds for Graduate Students

If you are experiencing financial difficulty due to extenuating circumstances there may be sources of funding available to you.

The Request for Financial Assistance form   is for emergency purposes only; you should first check with your advisor, your Graduate Coordinator, and the Associate Dean Research & Graduate Studies of your College to determine if funds may be available to assist you.  You must also check with Student Financial Services to determine if you qualify for financial need assistance.  Once you have consulted all parties and obtained signatures on the form, please email the form to the Graduate Awards Officers (grschol@uoguelph.ca) or drop the form off at the front desk of the OGPS, 3rd Floor UC.

There is also the GSA Compassionate Bursary Fund which may provide up to $2,000 for expenses that are incurred due to extenuating circumstances. Please see the GSA website for further details.

 

Government Financial Assistance

The following government-funded programs are administered by Student Financial Services:

  1. Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)
  2. Out of Province Student Loans
  3. USA Student Loans
  4. University of Guelph Work Study Program

 

Financial Counselling

It’s best to seek help early.  Financial counselling can help relieve stress, resolve your immediate financial problems and help you to plan for your future.

Counsellors are available in Student Financial Services (SFS) to assist you with your financial situation.  Please see their website for information on making an appointment to meet with a counsellor.  Emergency counselling is available on a drop in basis during the first two weeks each semester.

 

[Updated – November 9, 2022]

New Payroll Setup for Graduate Students (Domestic and International)

GRA and GTA payments are paid through the UofG payroll system, on a bi-weekly basis. Students receiving GRA and/or GTA payment must submit the required information in order to be paid through payroll.  Delays in the submission of this information will result in delayed payment of GRA/GTA income.  A GTA position is considered employment income and is taxed as such, therefore a T4 is issued for this income.  

If you have not been paid through the UofG payroll system by the School of Engineering previously, and once the onboarding process has been started by the department, the following will be required in order to have your payments set up:

  1. Please check your UofG email (spam and junk folders too) for a communication from the University of Guelph HRMS system (hrms_donotreply@uoguelph.ca) regarding your employment (GRA and/or GTA positions). You should receive two emails, the second one about two hours after receiving the first email. Please follow the instructions in these emails to activate your account user profile and complete your personal information including your banking, SIN information and Tax forms. All information must be complete in order to receive your payments. Instructions can be found at Update Your Personal Information (sharepoint.com) if you have central login credentials.
  • The TD1 and TD1ON tax forms are very important for determining the amount of income tax that will be deducted by payroll on your GTA payments, and are filled out by the student and are based on the student’s personal situation. Of particular importance to students is Line 5. Tuition (full time and part time) on the Government of Canada form. This represents the amount of tuition the student anticipates paying from January to December, and will decrease the amount of tax deducted from the GRA/GTA payments. Please refer to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), or a tax professional for further assistance with the TD1 tax forms, as we are unable to advise on how to fill out the forms.  Please note, if your personal tax situation changes at any point throughout the year we encourage you to submit new forms to ensure your income tax deductions are accurate.

If you have any login issues or are unable to complete any of these steps, please submit a ticket to gryphonsatworkhrmshelp@uoguelph.ca and copy soehr@uoguelph.ca. If you have any issues or cannot locate the required emails to complete your personal information, you can login into Gryphons at Work directly via: Gryphons at Work. Through your employee profile you can click on the UofG logo in the top left corner (or drop down menu beside that) to get back to the home screen to see the “complete paperwork” in the “For you Today” section.