The School of Religion at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ recognizes that undertaking graduate work in any discipline requires a serious investment of time and money on the part of students. We are committed to assisting students to meet the financial costs of this program. Each student accepting an offer of admission receives financial assistance though a combination of external and/or internal awards, and teaching or research assistantships. All students are guaranteed a minimum funding award of $15,000.
In order to be considered for financial aid, you must request financial aid on your application form. Requesting financial aid does not prejudice your application in any way. In the past we have been able to offer some bursaries to international students to help cover the cost of tuition.
Potential gradate students are expected to apply to external granting agencies for student awards. This will ensure that they will be considered for ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ fellowships without further application. Further information can be found on the website.
Ontario Graduate Scholarship
The Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) program is designed to encourage excellence in graduate studies at the master’s and doctoral levels. An Ontario Graduate Scholarship is awarded for one academic year, which may consist of two or three consecutive terms. The value of the OGS is $5,000 per term, totalling $15,000 for three consecutive terms of study.
The deadline to apply for an OGS is February 1st, which is the same deadline for the application for admission and all supporting material. Applicants who wish to be considered for an OGS are, as a part of their application to the MA program, directed to the School of Graduate Studies OGS website. There they will find a link to the online ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ OGS application, as well as information about the application process. Note that additional letters of reference or transcripts in support of the OGS application are not required; they will be drawn from the original MA application.
Canada Graduate Scholarship - Masters (CGS-M) Competition
The objective of the CGS-M Program (administered jointly by SSHRC, CIHR and NSERC) is to help develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies. The scholarship is valued at $17,500 for 12 months, non-renewable. Students submit their application to the university at which they propose to hold their award via the Research Portal that is found on the NSERC website. For more information, see the funding section of the School of Graduate Studies website.
Eligible CGS holders who identify ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ as their destination of choice (host institution) are automatically considered for ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Tri-Agency Recipient Recognition Awards, which are valued at $5,000 for master's students.
Teaching Assistantships
Teaching assistantships form a large part of funding for graduate students. Graduate TAs in the School of Religion normally work 10 hours a week, 13 weeks a term, 2 terms a year, a total of 260 hours. Pay rates for teaching assistants are set by their Collective Agreement.
Typically the department hires a number of teaching assistants for its three large first-year courses, RELS 131 World Religions/Religious Worlds, RELS 162 Religion, News and Media, and RELS 163 Religion and Popular Culture. Teaching assistants may also be required for other courses, based upon enrollment.