5.0 Funding, Scholarships, & Awards

The College of Graduate Studies is responsible for the delivery of merit-based graduate awards at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus. The College of Graduate Studies manages the application and the adjudication process for multiple merit-based award competitions that are both internal and external to the Okanagan campus. Many competitions run on an annual or other cyclical basis and students are expected to apply annually for support. The College is also responsible for assigning all internal and select external award stipends as per the specific award payment schedule.

For a comprehensive list of graduate scholarships and awards available to students at UBC Okanagan, please visit: https://gradstudies.ok.ubc.ca/tuition-awards-and-finance/award-opportunities/

Each award description includes information regarding eligibility, evaluation criteria, application procedures, nomination procedures, relevant forms and resources, and conditions for award holders where applicable.

SENATE REGULATIONS GOVERNING GRADUATE AWARDS

Senate Policy: O-200 was created to ensure fair, flexible and efficient administrative processes for student awards and associated funds.

The College of Graduate Studies receives a recurring funding allocation from the central University budget for the purpose of awarding merit-based scholarships to current and incoming graduate students at UBC’s Okanagan campus. The Dean of the College of Graduate Studies determines allocations for each faculty on campus and each respective faculty determines the allocation for their graduate programs. Normally, the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies reserves a portion of this funding for discretionary use. 

In addition to the awards funded by CoGS central awards budget, CoGS also administers other UBC internally funded awards offered through specific faculties and donors. 

The UBC Excellence Fund provides significant resources for initiatives that help UBC attract the best students. The College of Graduate Studies administers several awards funded by the Excellence Fund 

The College of Graduate Studies adjudicates and administers external funding for graduate students. This includes the Tri-Agency awards (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR, Vanier).

All full-time PhD students (domestic and international) enrolled at UBC’s Okanagan campus will be guaranteed the minimum level of funding for up to the first four years of their program. This applies to all PhD students, including students who fast-tracked from a UBC Master’s program. Full-time students can be expected to work at least 40 hours per week on academic activities (e.g., research, coursework, teaching or research assistantships, professional development) related to their studies. The Minimum Funding Policy does not apply to students enrolled in a Part-time PhD Program. 

For more information please see the Minimum Funding Policy for PhD Students Handbook and the Senate Calendar Language. 

THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARDS COMMITTEE  

The Scholarship and Awards Committee is a standing committee of the College of Graduate Studies Graduate Council. This committee is responsible for the fair and equitable adjudication of various awards and scholarships administered by the College of Graduate Studies. 

For terms of reference please see section 1.2. 

PROCESS FOR SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARD COMPETITIONS REQUIRING NOMINATIONS BY FACULTIES 

• Several scholarships and awards require faculty nominations. In most cases, CoGS provides each faculty with a quota of the number of nominations permitted for each competition. 
• Faculties are responsible for coordinating an internal application and adjudication process. In some cases, nominations received from the faculties are reviewed and ranked by the CoGS Scholarship and Awards Committee. 
• Nominations for IGS students are provided by the faculty in which their supervisor is appointed. 

PROCESS FOR SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARD COMPETITIONS REQUIRING NOMINATIONS BY GRADUATE PROGRAMS 

• Several endowed awards are only available to specific graduate programs. For these competitions, graduate programs select the awardee and forward their recommendation to CoGS. 
• CoGS confirms the eligibility of the nominated student. 
• Eligible nominees are forwarded to Enrolment Services for further consideration. 

If a student is selected to receive University or select external awards, they will will receive an email notification to accept the award in their Student Service Centre (SSC). 

• Internal and select external awards are typically assigned at the beginning of each term (September, January, or May).
• After every reasonable effort has been made to contact a student about their award offer, any term 1 or term 2 awards still in the offered state will be cancelled at the end of the fiscal year (March 31st).

• Scholarships are first applied against outstanding tuition.