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Financial Support
General Info | TA-ships | Scholarships | Tuition Fees
Financial Support and Tuition Fees
It is the policy of the Department of Mathematics that all graduate students should have financial support either from scholarships, teaching appointments, professors' research grants, or some combination thereof. The Department of Mathematics guarantees funding to all incoming graduate students on the following basis:
- a) MSc students a minimum of $18,000 per year for first two years
- b) PhD students a minimum of $20,000 per year for first three years
Applicants who have have been awarded a CGS or PGS scholarship by NSERC/SSHRC/CIHR qualify for the Provost's Prize of Distinction. Together with departmental support, this amounts to an annual $10,000 top-up for the duration of the scholarship while enrolled as full-time graduate student at SFU Department of Mathematics.
Applicants with other external scholarships or with support from their home country are usually eligible for a top-up from SFU, via either a Special Graduate Entrance Scholarship or a Provost International Fellowship.
Typically, a student who is not the holder of a major scholarship will hold a teaching assistantship (TA) for two semesters in an academic year, and be supported by a graduate research fellowship (GF) or research assistantship (RA) in the third semester.
Funding is subject to satisfactory progress in the program of study and subject to satisfactory performance of TA duties. The acceptance letter sets out the details for each student.
Teaching Assistantships
The employment of TAs follows TSSU collective agreement. Within the priority system of the TSSU contract, preference for hiring will be as follows. First preference: Graduate students registered within the Department of Mathematics who have no other form of support in that semester. Second preference: Math graduate students who have demonstrable strength in the course subject area. Third preference: Other individuals who can demonstrate a strong aptitude in the subject, with a degree in mathematics (or who are approved majors/honors in one of the department's programs with a high CGPA, usually at least 3.50) and a keen enthusiasm for teaching.
Teaching Assistants in the Department of Mathematics may handle tutorials associated with courses in which the lectures are given by regular faculty members, may be assigned to workshops servicing one or more first- or second-year courses, or may be given marking assignments.
TAs with tutorial section duties work under the supervision of the faculty member teaching the associated course. Such TAs are responsible for leading the tutorial sections, holding office hours during which students may seek help with the course material, grading homework assignments, and invigilating and grading examinations.
TAs assigned to workshops work under the supervision of the Workshop Coordinator in charge of their workshop and have regularly assigned hours at their workshop, where they help students understand material dealt with in the courses associated with that workshop. In addition each such TA grades some of the homework assignments and has invigilating and grading duties for some of the examinations for courses using that workshop. Normally, new graduate students are first assigned to work as a TA in a workshop.
TAs with marking duties work under the supervision of the faculty member teaching the associated course, or under the supervision of a workshop instructor if the courses involved are handled through a workshop. This type of assignment involves marking of homework papers and marking examinations only, and does not require direct contact with students. A limited number of such assignments are available; TAs who are given such duties because of poor English language ability are expected to improve their English quickly and then be moved on to tutorial or regular workshop duties.
An average semester's workload for an individual with a full TA appointment (5.17 base units) is 205 hours over 14 weeks. One base unit = 42 hours of work.
Scholarships and Fellowships
There are a number of awards that students can compete for, both prior to entering the graduate program and during their graduate studies. Citizens and other Permanent Residents of Canada are eligible to apply for Postgraduate Scholarships awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Students from outside Canada may be able to apply for awards for graduate study in Canada depending on their home country. For example, students from Commonwealth countries can apply for Commonwealth Scholarships.
Holders of a CGS or PGS scholarship by NSERC/SSHRC/CIHR qualify for the Provost's Prize of Distinction. Together with departmental support, this amounts to an annual $10,000 top-up for the duration of the scholarship while enrolled as full-time graduate student at SFU Department of Mathematics.
Applicants with other external scholarships or with support from their home country are usually eligible for a top-up from SFU, via either a Special Graduate Entrance Scholarship or a Provost International Fellowship.
SFU has a very limited number of Major Entrance Scholarships for exceptional students, valued at $18,000 for a one-year period. If you wish to be nominated for an entrance scholarship, you are strongly encouraged to submit your application for admission by January 15, 2010. Failure to submit your application for admission by this deadline will decrease your chances for consideration in the annual Entrance Scholarship Competition to be held in February 2010.
- Bert Henry Memorial Graduate Scholarship
The recipient is an outstanding student who has obtained a master's degree and is entering any PhD program at SFU. The recipient must show high academic performance and potential for significant contribution to the chosen field of study. Tenure is for one year and may commence in any term. Students already enrolled in the intended program are not eligible.
- Simons Foundation Doctoral Entrance Fellowship
The recipient is an outstanding female scholar entering any PhD program at SFU. The recipient must show high academic performance and potential for significant contribution to the chosen field. Tenure is for one year and may commence in any term. Students already enrolled in the intended program are not eligible.
- C.D. Nelson Memorial Graduate Scholarships
Recipients are outstanding scholars entering any graduate program at SFU. Eighteen or more awards are made. Tenure is for one year and may commence in any term. Students already enrolled in the intended program are not eligible.
- SFU Alumni Association Graduate Entrance Scholarship
Recipient is outstanding scholar entering any master's or doctoral program at SFU. Students already enrolled in the intended program are not eligible.
We also have funding opportunities for students who are already enrolled in our programme:
- Graduate Fellowships
Recipients are full-time students in any SFU graduate program. These are one-semester awards which will be valued at $6,250 (MSc) or $6,250 (PhD). Students may apply through the department in an annual competition for Graduate Fellowships tenable in one, two or three semesters. Application deadline is normally mid October for applications to be held in the following Spring or Summer semester. The deadline for applications for the Fall semester is mid April.
Awards are made on the basis of academic merit; the normal minimum criterion for eligibility is a CGPA. of 3.5. In addition, the department applies the following criteria:
- Students who have never received a Graduate Fellowship tend to be favoured over comparably ranked students who have.
- We try to award numbers of Graduate Fellowships in each of the two areas, Applied Mathematics and Pure Mathematics, in proportion to actual and target student enrolments in these areas.
- We normally provide no more than one semester of Graduate Fellowship support to an individual student in any one academic year.
- Comparably ranked students who have not received other scholarship support tend to be favoured over students who have had such support.
- Some graduate fellowships have been committed as part of our recruiting efforts; students to whom such commitments have been made have priority over those to whom no such commitment has been made.
- Given comparably ranked students, applicants requesting a summer semester tenure of a graduate fellowship will be given priority over those who request a non-summer semester, unless there is a good reason indicated on the student's application for requesting a non-summer semester tenure.
- Private Awards
These are funded by endowments and annual donations. Information on requirements and deadlines is administered by the Dean of Graduate Studies.
Tuition Fees
All graduate students pay tuition fees upon registration each semester, according to the fee schedule set by the University. After six semesters in the MSc program, or eight semesters in the PhD program, the fee per semester is reduced by half. A more complete and up to date description of the fees is available on the Registrar's web site.