Dean. The Dean, in consultation with the Dean of Graduate Studies and the Provost,
will determine whether or not to support proposed growth with additional funding.
3. The Need for Consistent Funding Practice within a
Program
Although individual programs may vary in their approach to funding doctoral students,
for instance in the particular mix of GTA vs. GRA funding, it is desirable for all students
within a given program to be funded in a comparable manner. Programs may therefore
wish to develop guidelines for doctoral funding, to avoid confusion among faculty and
students. Typical issues on which programs should provide clear guidance include:
• Standard funding duration and amount if the program has a policy to fund
students for a longer time or at a higher rate than the minimum guarantee
• Whether the winners of major external awards (e.g., SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR,
OGS, OGS-ST, etc.) must be “topped up” above the award level, and if so to
what amount
2
.
• Any funding guarantee at the master’s or diploma level
4. Admission of Doctoral Students Without Funding
In rare cases, a program may wish to admit a student who does not require funding, for
instance because of employer sponsorship. In such cases, the program should
complete the attached waiver request, explaining the reasons for the recommendation
and attaching any available documentation of the student’s circumstances. The request
must be signed by the applicant, the department chair, and the college dean, and must
accompany any recommendation for admission.
5. Funding Offer is Binding
The funding offer that accompanies an offer of admission constitutes a binding contract
between the University and the student. If funds from a particular source are promised
in the funding offer, they may not later be revoked if the student is successful in winning
a major external award. For example, if a student is promised “One University Graduate
Scholarship ($2000), two GTAs (approx. $9,000), and a GRA sufficient to bring the total
to $17,500 per year”, that student is entitled to all of that amount, each year, regardless
of whether s/he is successful in winning a major external award. In other words, if a
source of funding has been promised explicitly in the funding offer, the program may not
retract it, even though the student has external funding greater than the minimum
stipend. If the departmental or program policy is to cap all doctoral student funding at
$17,500, then the funding offer should say that explicitly, indicating that students who
hold major external
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Generally speaking, the University encourages programs to reward the winners of major external awards with funding that is higher than the
minimum guarantee; however this is not always feasible for a given program or discipline. In any case, it is important for faculty and students to
have clear guidance as to what minimum level of funding a particular type of award recipient should receive, based on the type of award and any
selection criteria established by the department or program. Such funding decisions should be consistent across a department or program, and
should not be left solely to the discretion of the student’s advisor.
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