Four Year Fellowships (4YF) for Ph.D. Students
Four Year Fellowships (4YF) for Ph.D. Students provide tuition fees plus $16,000.00 per year to full-time Ph.D. students for years one through four or years two through five of their Ph.D. program. Approximately 180 new 4YFs are awarded each year on the basis of merit to students regardless of citizenship and visa status. Continued 4YF support is subject to satisfactory academic progress.
Students who receive Tri-council or other external awards must accept such awards. Tri-council award recipients (except Vanier and CGSD award holders) will receive an annual 4YF-funded tuition award in addition to their external award funding. 4YF award holders who also hold external awards will receive 4YF funding when their external award ends for the remainder of the first four years of their Ph.D. program.
4YFs are allocated to graduate programs using quality input and outcome measures related to the performance of their Ph.D. students. Allocations will be reviewed annually and adjusted according to performance. Graduate programs then offer 4YFs to the best and brightest full-time Ph.D. students, normally to commencing Ph.D. students. Students applying for enrolment in the Ph.D. will automatically be considered by their graduate program for the award of an 4YF. Graduate programs will establish and publish criteria by which they award their 4YFs.
Students should contact their graduate program for further information.
The funds for the 4YFs are made available from the University budget and various graduate student award budgets.
Graduate Support Initiative
The Graduate Support Initiative (GSI) is a program for funding graduate students through entrance scholarships, multi-year funding packages, tuition awards, and scholarship top-ups. Students who are enrolled in Ph.D., D.M.A., or master's programs (except full cost-recovery programs) are eligible for the GSI. Both domestic and international students are eligible for GSI funding. Each faculty will establish and publish criteria by which the GSI funding will be distributed. Students should refer questions regarding the application process to their graduate program or faculty.
Izaak Walton Killam Doctoral Fellowships
The Izaak Walton Killam Doctoral Fellowships are the most prestigious awards available to graduate students at UBC. The awards are funded from an endowment to the University from the I. W. Killam Trust. Awards are made each year to the top doctoral candidates in the Affiliated Fellowship competition. The fellowships are offered for a two-year term, with a stipend of $27,500.00 per annum and a travel/research allowance of $2,000.00 over two years. The value of the awards is reviewed annually. No special application is required since all Affiliated Fellowship nominations are automatically considered for Killam Doctoral Fellowships.
Affiliated Fellowships
Awards are made on the basis of merit, and are open to any graduate student regardless of citizenship or visa status. Fellowships cover a twelve-month period beginning September 1 and are offered for either one or two years. Fellowship values range from $200.00 to $25,000.00 per annum.
The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies administers an annual competition that provides approximately 75 graduate fellowships to students who are engaged in full-time study or research leading to a graduate degree. The funds for these awards are made available from various endowed and annual award budgets.
Awards are made on the basis of nominations provided by graduate programs to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Students must contact their graduate programs for deadline dates (generally in mid- to late September). Recipients are notified in late April.
Department-Recommended Awards
There are a number of awards available to graduate students in specific fields of study. Details can be found at Graduate Awards. These awards are normally made on the recommendation of a graduate program or Faculty. In many cases students are automatically recommended by their programs; in other cases programs may hold an internal competition to which students must apply. Students should contact their graduate programs to discuss the process by which department-recommended awards are given out.
Travel Awards
Graduate students are eligible for the Graduate Student Travel Fund once per degree program. The Travel Fund provides one-time travel support, to a maximum of $400.00, to a student who presents a paper or poster at an official conference or symposium (student workshops are ineligible) while they are enrolled full-time in a graduate degree program.