Funding and Employment

Funding Within UBC

Emergency Funding

In emergency situations, Enrollment Services may be able to help out with basic short-term funding. This is available to graduate as well as undergraduate students, and international as well as domestic students.

For more information, see:
http://students.ubc.ca/enrolment/finances

EDST also has its own emergency funding for students.

Please see the “EDST Emergency Funding” policy on the EDST Policies page.

General Funding Options

UBC Faculty of Graduate and Post Doctoral Studies (GPS)
Scholarships, Awards and Funding

Major Graduate Student Funding at GPS and EDST  [PDF]

Please check the regular NewsFlash you will receive from the Office of Research for pertinent information on upcoming grants.

UBC Policy 72: Access to the University of British Columbia

LINK: https://universitycounsel.ubc.ca/policies/financial-aid-policy/

EDST Internal Awards, 2024-2025

 

Graduate Student Research Grant. Annual funds available: $5,000 (5 awards of $1,000 each).

Full-time Faculty of Education graduate students (magistral or doctoral) may apply for the “Graduate Student Research Grant,” which is intended to offset the financial costs of conducting or producing research that is necessary for the completion of the applicant’s current degree (MA, PhD, EdD). Eligible expenses are those that can be shown to be necessary to complete the research, such as transcription services, translation services, travel to archives, etc. Conference travel is not eligible.

 

Student applications should include:

 

Applications due: Friday, October 4, 2024 by 4:00 PM PT; Email to: grad.edst@ubc.ca.
Please include the name of the award in the subject line.

 

Graduate Studies Completion Award in Educational Studies. Annual funds available: $6,000. 6 awards: (1 MA and 5 Doctoral), receiving $1,000 each.

Awards totaling $6,000 have been made available annually through a gift from Dr. Shauna Butterwick (B.S.N. 1978, M.A. 1987, Ed.D. 1993) for M.A., Ed.D. and Ph.D. students in the Department of Educational Studies who are in the final stages of completing their thesis or dissertation, who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement and received limited funding assistance to finish their degree. Financial need may be considered. Dr. Butterwick taught at UBC for twenty-five years and is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Educational Studies. In 2017 she received the CASAE/ACEEA Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education in recognition of her exceptional contributions to the field of adult education in Canada. The award is made on the recommendation of the Department of Educational Studies in consultation with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

 

Student applications should include:

 

Applications due: Friday, October 4, 2024 by 4:00 PM PT; Email to: grad.edst@ubc.ca.
Please include the name of the award in the subject line.

 

 

Patricia Dyer Memorial Award in Education. Award value: $700. Application due date TBA.

A $700 award has been endowed in memory of Patricia Dyer by her family, friends, and colleagues. The award is offered to a graduate student in Educational Studies who demonstrates enthusiasm for ideas and commitment to their practical application. Specifically, the student is committed to building a sense of community and to ensuring equity in educational settings. The award is made on the recommendation of the Department of Educational Studies in consultation with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Nomination letters from faculty supervisors should include detailed description of nominee’s eligibility based on award description.

 

Gina Blondin Memorial Graduate Award (Ts”kel). Award value: $1,700. Application due date TBA.

An award of $1,700 has been endowed in memory of Georgina (Gina) Blondin, M.Ed. (Ts”kel Program) 1988 by the Government of the Northwest Territories, friends and colleagues. The award is offered to a Ts”kel First Nations graduate who has made the greatest contribution toward the well-being of fellow First Nations students at UBC and who exemplifies Gina Blondin’s scholarship and qualities of leadership. The award will be made on the nomination of a committee chaired by the Director of Ts”kel Graduate Studies Program, in consultation with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Nomination letters from faculty supervisors should include detailed description of nominee’s eligibility based on award description.

 

UBC EdD Leadership Award. Award value: usually $3,000 each. Application due date TBA.

Awards to a maximum of $3,000 each are offered to students in the Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership and Policy on the recommendation of the Department of Educational Studies in consultation with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. New and continuing students who wish to be considered for an EdD Award should complete an application form and provide all supporting materials to the EdD Management Committee, Department of Educational Studies. See “Funding” on this page for more details: https://edst.educ.ubc.ca/programs/edd-in-educational-leadership-and-policy/#tab_Admissions-1 .

Funding Advising and Resources

UBC Enrolment Services Professionals : http://students.ubc.ca/about/esp

International Student Guide : http://students.ubc.ca/international

Travel Grants

EDST : Graduate Student Travel and Conference Funding Policy can be found on our policies page

G+PS : Graduate Student Travel Fund – LINK

Office of Research (Faculty of Education) : Student Travel Grants – LINK

Doctoral examiners travel funding

EDST provides matching funding for the G+PS Doctoral Examiner Travel Fund, which can be used for one member of the Doctoral Examining Committee (either the External Examiner or a Co-Supervisor/Supervisory Committee Member from outside of UBC).

Funding Through SSHRC

SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) is a federal agency that supports post-secondary research and training in the humanities and social sciences. See the application  Information Panel Booklet.

Although the date on this booklet is for 2009 deadlines, the information remains a valuable resource on the SSHRC/UGF grant application process. Applications must be submitted through UBC.

How to Apply for SSHRC

In order to help you to optimize your success in Tri-Council and UGF grant competitions, the Office of Research have produced videos and other resources to provide you with advice and guidance through the application process.

Employment

Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA)

GTAs are assigned to a course based on the tuition revenue generated by the course. The two main models are (a) one GTA assigned to assist the instructor in a course with over 50 students, or (b) multiple GTAs assigned to the instructor of a large-lecture course; the GTAs then typically lead break-out discussion groups. EDST currently does not offer any courses that fit these models, although the Faculty of Education is examining whether there are courses that could in the future be converted to either of these models. EDST is also exploring whether it may want to offer new undergraduate courses in the future.

Sessional Lecturer

Doctoral candidates can apply to teach a course as a sessional instructor at UBC. Graduate students can teach courses within the conditions stipulated by Policy 75 (http://universitycounsel.ubc.ca/files/2012/02/policy75.pdf) and where they are appointed as Sessionals and hired into positions that have met posting requirements and other aspects of the hiring of Sessionals (http://www.hr.ubc.ca/faculty-relations/collective-agreements/appointment-sessional/#8).

Policy 75 stipulates that:

  • Only post-candidacy PhD students can be appointed to teach courses as Instructors.
  • Permission needs to be provided at a variety of levels, including G+PS, with this form: http://www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/request-permission-teach
  • Those students must be appointed as Sessionals and not as GTAs to teach a course.
  • Policy 75 allows for rare “exceptions” for pre-candidacy PhD students. G+PS may grant exceptions on a one-time, individual case basis.

Graduate Research Assistant (GRA)

GRAs are hired by individual faculty members, typically with funding from a research grant. GRA positions can, but do not need to, be posted publicly. GRA positions are not distributed equally across the department: faculty members who obtain larger research grants are able to hire more GRAs.

Graduate Academic Assistant (GAA)

In the past several years EDST has typically hired several GAAs per year, for roles such as Peer Advisor and Academic Research & Publication Assistant. Available funding and roles may vary year to year.

Employment limits for students with funding

Students receiving scholarships whose cumulative total is equal to or greater than the value of the Tri-Agency Master’s scholarship ($17,500) are required to limit their number of hours of paid employment to 12 hours per week, averaged over the year. Requests for exceptions may be made to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies: http://www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/request-exception-employment-limit-form

International Students

International students: Please check the information at http://students.ubc.ca/career/resources/working-canada