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/
Graduate Student Research Grant
2023/2024 Graduate Student Research Grant
Terms of Reference & Instructions
The purpose of this initiative is to reimburse UBCV Faculty of Education graduate students for the financial costs of conducting research in order to complete their degrees. It is designed to cover expenses incurred while conducting research, not for disseminating it. Students can receive this award only once during a given degree program.
Grant Values
Awards of up to $1,000 each will be made available each year to successful graduate students (MA, EdD, PhD).
Expenses
The grant is not designed to be a salary grant; that is, the funds cannot be used to pay yourself a salary or wage for doing work on your own research.
Most expenses necessary for conducting research will be considered. Examples include travel to and from research sites, parking at research sites, photocopying, supplies, and services. (Please note: computer equipment, software expenses, conference travel, and other costs of disseminating research results are NOT eligible.)
In the event that you hire someone to do transcription work on your research, please do not pay the individual directly out of your own funds and later request reimbursement. You must ask the transcriptionist to provide an invoice to you (with first name, last name, Social Insurance No. [SIN], mailing address with postal code and a detail description of work) and submit the invoice to the department. The department will pay the transcriptionist directly out of the awards funds that you have received. This is to accommodate the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules on payment for salary.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for this research grant, you must
- be registered as a UBCV Faculty of Education graduate student at the time of application and at the time of the research;
- have completed all of the coursework for your degree;
- have had your research proposal formally accepted by your committee;
- have received ethical approval for your project (if applicable) before you can be reimbursed for expenses;
- incur the expenses after April 1, 2023.
Students on leave or on extension are ineligible to apply for this grant.
The Application Package
Please submit a brief document (no more than 2 pages) that includes the following:
- your program of study (MA/PhD/EdD) and start date in that program;
- a paragraph describing your research (250 words maximum);
- names of members of your supervisory committee;
- the date that your research proposal was accepted by your committee;
- a timeline for carrying out your research, with start and finish dates;
- a clear, fully justified budget of research expenses;
- a statement that you do not have access to other funds (e.g., professional development funds from your employer) to offset these research expenses;
- your signature AND the signature of your research supervisor
Application Deadline
Email your original copy of the application package to grad.edst@ubc.ca by 4:00 pm on September 15, 2023.
Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
Adjudication of Applications
The EDST Scholarship Committee will review the proposals. Successful applicants will be identified in end of October 2023.
The criteria for judging applications will include the following:
- a statement that clearly articulates the significance and potential impact of your research;
- a clear, fully justified budget;
- the strength of your academic record in your current program.
Term of Grant
Grant awardees will need to provide original or e-receipts for research expenses by February 15, 2024 to the EDST reception.
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 external examiners transport funding
Department Funding for Doctoral External Examiners was accepted at the Sept. 16, 2012 Department meeting although there was no motion.
Here is the text from the minutes : “The Faculty of Graduate Studies has decided it will match funding to bring in External Examiners for doctoral defenses. The Executive think this is a good idea. Funding would be $500 in North America and $1000 for international people, matched by FOGS.”
Link: here
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