Financial Support
1. Grant & Teaching Assistant Support
The Department of Mathematics and Statistics endeavours to ensure a reasonable minimum level of financial support for all its graduate students, subject to their satisfactory progress.
Research based programs. Students admitted into our research graduate programs with full funding receive a minimum of $18,310 annually at the Master's level, or $21,310 at the Doctoral level. This support generally comes from a combination of the following sources:
- Graduate Fellowship support from the School of Graduate Studies
- Teaching Assistantship duties
- Research Grant held by the student's supervisor
Supervisors have the discretion to vary the amount of their contribution, and so the financial packages offered often exceed the minimum levels indicated above.
Graduate Fellowship. Fellowship support from the School of Graduate Studies is awarded on a competitive basis. To be eligible for fellowship support, applicants who have attended North American schools must have obtained an average mark of 80% in required courses. Eligibility for applicants coming from overseas is determined by the School of Graduate Studies on a case by case basis.
Since fellowship monies are limited, some students are offered admission with only partial funding (in the vicinity of $6,000 to $7,000).
Teaching Assistantships. In return for an assistantship, a student is expected to perform one of the following duties: i) marking assignments, ii) delivering lab sessions, iii) assisting undergraduate students in the Math Help Centre, and iv) invigilating exams. These duties will be kept small so that they do not interfere substantially with the student's graduate program. The current assistanceship rate in our department is $5,310.
Graduate Instructorship. Whenever possible, qualified doctoral students may hold a Graduate Instructorship, which provide $5,144 per course taught (in addition to the financial support already being provided).
Master's students are not eligible to receive SGS baseline financial support beyond the first 2 years of their programme. Similarly, Ph.D. students are not eligible to receive SGS baseline financial support beyond the first 4 years of their programme.
In order to be considered for full financial support, the department prefers that students commence studies in September and have their application complete before the end of the previous January.
Course-based programs. Students admitted into our course-based graduate programs are not eligible for Graduate Fellowship support from the School of Graduate Studies and will normally only be offered Teaching Assistantships in their admission letters.
Frequently Asked Questions about Financial Support
- Do you offer tuition waivers?
- What scholarships do you offer?
- How do I apply for a Graduate Assistantship or SGS Fellowship?
- Can I apply for a Graduate Instructorship?
- Which are the duties of a Teaching Assistant?
- If I have an NSERC or Canada Graduate Scholarship, then what additional funding can I qualify for?
If you have other questions about financial support in our department, please contact our Graduate Officer by email mathgrad@mun.ca at or the departmental secretary at mathstat@mun.ca.
We do not offer tuition waivers. However, our tuition rates are among the lowest in Canada. (http://www.mun.ca/sgs/MinimumExpense.pdf).
What scholarships do you offer?
We have a separate section of our website on which we discuss awards and scholarships that are open to graduate students.
How do I apply for a Graduate Assistantship or SGS Fellowship?
To be considered for these types of support, simply answer Yes to the question on the application form that asks if you wish to be considered for financial support.
Can I apply for a Graduate Instructorship?
Not at the time that offers of admission are prepared. Doctoral students are entitled to have their teaching credentials assessed. If these credentials are satisfactory and with the supervisor's consent the student can be awarded a Graduate Instructorship in the third or fourth year of its program.
Which are the duties of a Teaching Assistant?
Depending upon the activity assigned, these duties are:
i) marking assignments: pick up solutions and assignments on time, mark the assignments and report the grades back to the instructor at the specified date, ii) invigilating in exams: be present at the place of exam at least 15 minutes before the schedule time of the exam, assist in the exam, iii) lab sessions delivery: prepare the material provide by the instructor and deliver it accordingly; administrate and grade quizzes when requested, and
iv) Math Help Centre assistance: be at the Centre the assigned period of time and attend the requests for help from the undergraduate students.
If I have an NSERC or Canada Graduate Scholarship, then what additional funding can I qualify for?
In addition to an automatic top-up of $3000, students who hold NSERC or Canada Graduate Scholarships can receive Graduate Assistantships and Graduate Instructorships.
2. Awards & Scholarships
- NSERC, CIHR & SSHRC Funding
- Atreya-Haritha Scholarship in Mathematics
- A.G. Hatcher Memorial Fellowship
- F.A. Aldrich Fellowship
- F.A. Aldrich Graduate Award
Memorial University offers competitive funding packages to academically eligible full-time graduate students, both Canadian and international, in eligible programs. Select PhD students will also automatically be considered for the School of Graduate Studies Dean's Doctoral Award, through a competitive process. The award is an additional funding incentive amount of $5000 per year for up to four years, which is separate from additional Fellowships, TA's and supervisor grant stipends.
We also encourage you to visit Memorial University School of Graduate Studies for a complete list internal and externall scholarships and awards.
NSERC, CIHR & SSHRC National Funding Agencies
The Tri-Council (CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC) agencies offer a number of programs for graduate students who may be interested in applying for research funding or prizes. The final decisions regarding the selections are made by these individual organizations.
Atreya-Haritha Scholarship in Mathematics
This scholarship is the result of a generous donation by Dr. K.R. and Nandinin Kothandaraman. Valued at $1000 annually, it will be awarded on the basis of scholarship standing to a full-time student, either a senior level undergraduate or a graduate student in Mathematics and/or Statistics. In the case of an undergraduate student, the scholarship will be awarded by the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Scholarships and Financial Aid upon recommendation of the Head, Department of Mathematics and Statistics. In the case of a graduate student, it will be awarded by the Dean, School of Graduate Studies, also upon recommendation of the head, Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
A.G. Hatcher Memorial Fellowship
Normally, up to three A.G. Hatcher Memorial Scholarships are awarded annually commencing in the Fall Semester. The awards are to be made solely on the basis of high academic merit. Typically a minimum of a first class degree is required. One scholarship shall be awarded to an applicant who graduated with an undergraduate degree from Memorial University, one to an applicant who graduated with an undergraduate degree from a Canadian university, and one to an applicant who graduated with an undergraduate degree from a foreign university. The value of the scholarship is $15,000, and it may be held for one year only. Recipients holding a major external award of $15,000 or greater will retain $3,000 of the A. G. Hatcher Memorial Scholarship. One nomination from each category listed above, for these awards, should be forwarded to the Dean or Director by June 1st. Deadline for the Dean or Director to submit nominations to the School of Graduate Studies is June 15th.
Six to eight fellowships valued at $20,000 per annum on the doctoral level and $15,000 on the masters level will be awarded to incoming full-time Canadian students. Renewal for one year at the doctoral level will be possible. These fellowships were established to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the School of Graduate Studies in 1999 from a portion of the proceeds of the Opportunity Fund and in honor of Memorial's first Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Dr. F.A. Aldrich (1970-1987). Recipients will be selected by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, on the recommendation of the Awards and Medals Committee, on the basis of exceptional academic achievement.
The F.A. Aldrich Graduate Award
The F.A. Aldrich Graduate Award has been established in memory of the first Dean of Graduate Studies at Memorial University. Up to three annual awards of $2,000 may be made. Awards will be made by the Dean of Graduate Studies to alumni of Memorial who are in the first year of a full-time graduate program at the time of application and will be based on academic merit, and need only if all other things are equal. If the application is based on need, please make a case. For further information, contact the School of Graduate Studies.