Graduate students can supplement their standard support with grants, scholarships, and awards. The Faculty of Arts and Science maintans a list of scholarships on their Graduate Students Scholarships page and the School of Graduate Studies does so on their Fees & Financial Aid page.
PhD students beyond their fifth year (who do not receive University of Toronto Fellowships) can expect to be offered TA work in both the Fall/Winter and Summer sessions. They may also work as Research Assistants. Another major source of funding for such students is the university's Doctoral Completion Awards, which are awarded by the department.
Two major sources of additional funding for our students are Ontario Graduate Scholarships and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Scholarships. All eligible students are asked to apply for these scholarships. (A page of advice for in-program students applying for these scholarships is available on our Intranet. For information about activating payment of one of these scholarships, see this SGS page.)
Ontario Graduate Scholarships
These scholarships, funded by the Ontario government, are merit-based and have a value of $5,000 per semester. In a given academic year, MA students are eligible to receive two semesters of support and PhD students are eligible to receive either two or three semesters of support. Starting with awards for 2013-14, the application and award procedures are changing. All students who wish to apply for an award must do so through the university at which they plan to hold the award. In particular, students who wish to hold an award at the University of Toronto must submit applications online to SGS. Awards for domestic students will be adjudicated by the Department of Economics and awards for foreign students will be adjudicated by SGS. For details of the procedures, see this SGS webpage. Please read that page carefully regarding the eligibility conditions, especially the ones relating to the minimum grade requirement. Additional instructions for applicants in economics: You must include in the scanned file you upload of all post-secondary transcripts a calculation of your average grade according to the OGS rules (see the SGS webpage for the courses to be included in this calculation, and include in your calculation a list of the courses and grades you used). Applications that do not include this self-reported average will be considered incomplete. Our application deadlines: International applicants - beginning of March; domestic applicants - beginning of April. (Note that other departments and universities have different deadlines.) All applicants will be notified of the result of their applications by email by the end of June.
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Scholarships
The Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) offers fellowships to Masters and Doctoral students. Awards are restricted to Candian citizens and permanent residents. The value of the awards ranges from $11,667 for a student in a two-semester Masters program to $35,000 per year for a PhD student. Applications are completed online and submitted to the Department. Our deadline is usually late October.
Website:http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/umbrella_programs-programme_cadre/talent-eng.aspx
The remainder of this page describes other sources of support.
Scholarships and awards administered by the Department of Economics
All eligible students will be considered for awards that do not require an application. For awards that require an application, the deadline is August 2nd each year. Award recipients will be notified by November 15th. Please note that not all awards are available in any given year, and that the amount of money in some awards is very small.
Professor James Pesando Doctoral Fellowship in Economics
Description: To be awarded to two PhD students, domestic or international, in the Faculty of Arts &
Science in the Department of Economics on the basis of academic merit. This is a
renewable award up to a maximum of 5 years, as determined by the Office of the Dean or Department.
Eligible students: All PhD students.
Department of Economics Student Award
Description: Awarded to a graduate student in the Department of Economics. Financial need must be considered. Academic merit will also be considered.
Eligible students: Any graduate student who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and a resident of Ontario. You must demonstrate financial need by qualifying for OSAP/UTAPS or by completing the OSOFT Financial Need Assessment Form. Submit a letter explaining your reasons for the application, together with the OSOFT Financial Needs Assessment Form to the Departmental Graduate Office.
Application required.Needs assessment form required.
Lawrence and Tracey Smith Bursary in Economics
Description: To be awarded to graduate students in the Department of Economics (Master's or PhD level) on the basis of financial need. Academic merit may also be considered.
Eligible students: Any graduate student who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and a resident of Ontario. You must demonstrate financial need by qualifying for OSAP/UTAPS or by completing the OSOFT Financial Need Assessment Form. Submit a letter explaining your reasons for the application, together with the Financial Needs Assessment Form to the Departmental Graduate Office.
Application required.Needs assessment form required.
Dorothy J. Powell Graduate Scholarship In International Economics
Description: To be awarded to a graduate student in the field of International Economics on the basis of academic merit. Financial need may also be considered.
Eligible students: All graduate students.
H. Stanley Hunnisett Fund
Description: To be awarded to graduate students in the Department of Economics on the basis of academic merit and financial need.
Eligible students: All graduate students.
Edward B. Kernaghan Fellowship
Description: The fellow, if a graduate of the University of Toronto, shall enrol in this or any other university for an approved course of study or research; if not a graduate of the University of Toronto, he must enrol in the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Toronto.
Eligible students: All graduate students.
Brian A. Miron Graduate Scholarship in Financial Economics
Description: To be awarded to (a) graduate student(s) enrolled in the Master of Financial Economics Program, based on academic merit. Financial need will also be considered. Should there be no suitable candidate(s) in the Master of financial Economics Program, the scholarship will be awarded to a graduate student emolled in the Masters Program in the Department of Economics, based on academic merit and financial need.
Eligible students: MFE and MA students
Maurice Cody Research Fellowship
Description: To be awarded to full-time graduate students in Economics, History, or Political Science, with preference, other things being equal, to students whose research deals with (1) Canadian Confederation, (2) conditions immediately preceding the Confederation of the provinces and territories of British North America, or (3) objects of Confederation.
Eligible students: All full-time graduate students.
The Helleiner Graduate Fellowship
Description: To be awarded to a doctoral student in Economic Development or International Economics on the basis of academic excellence.
Eligible students: All PhD students.
Harry Eastman Graduate Award
Description: Awarded for the most outstanding second-year PhD paper in International Economics.
Eligible students: All PhD students.
Tom Easterbrook Graduate Scholarship in Communication and the Mass Media
Description: Open to Graduate students in the Departments of History, Economics, Political Science, and Sociology who wish to pursue studies related to communications and the mass media (broadly defined) in democratic societies. The research may be comparative, or focus on single countries (including Canada).
Eligible students: Graduate students in the Departments of History, Economics, Political Science, and Sociology.
Application required.
Samuel Hollander Graduate Award
Description: To be awarded to a graduate student (PhD) in the Department of Economics: most distinguished student in economics, with a preference in History of Economic Thought.
Eligible students: All PhD students.
Royal Bank Graduate Fellowships in Public and Economic Policy
Description: To be awarded on the basis of financial need; academic merit will also be considered.
Recipients will be graduate students who are undertaking a course of study in the area of public and economic policy. At the discretion of the Faculty of Arts and Science Student Awards Committee, the use of funds may be restricted to funding field research.
Eligible students: Any Doctoral Stream MA or PhD student who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and a resident of Ontario. You must demonstrate financial need by qualifying for OSAP/UTAPS or by submitting the OSOFT Financial Need Assessment Form. Submit a letter explaining your program of study and/or research interests, together with a curriculum vitae and the Financial Needs Assessment Form to the Departmental Graduate Office.
Application required.Needs assessment form required.
Master of Financial Economics Graduate Award
Description: Awarded to students in the Master ofFinancial Economics
Program based upon undergraduate/graduate record.
Eligible students: MFE students
Canadian Labour Market and Skills Researcher Network Fellowship
Description: Fellowship funded by CLSRN, administered by Department of Economics.
Eligible students: All PhD students.
Scholarships and awards administered by other units of the University of Toronto
Administered by: Rotman Institute for International Business
Description: This fellowship is presented to candidates upon completion of their PhD with research on a relevant policy issue.
Eligible students: All students in the departments of Economics and Political Science and Faculties of Management and Law.
No application required.
Vivienne Poy Chancellor's Fellowship in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Administered by: Faculty of Arts and Science
Description: For graduate research in the humanities or social sciences. Financial need is considered.
Eligible students: Graduate students who are landed immigrants or Canadian citizens and who are enrolled in a doctoral-stream humanities or social science program. For application procedure, see the website for the award.
Application required.
Website:https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/graduate/graduate-funding/graduate-scholarships#graduate-scholarships-accordion-3
Connaught Scholarship
Administered by: School of Graduate Studies
Description: The Connaught Scholarship is a prestigious entrance award intended to attract excellent doctoral-stream international students. The scholarship is renewable, though successful candidates are expected to apply for external awards.
Eligible students: International PhD applicants.
No application required.
Website:https://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/awards/connaught-international-scholarship-and-ontario-trillium-scholarship/
Research Travel Grant
Administered by: School of Graduate Studies
Description: Helps fund travel for doctoral students within Divisions I and II for whom travel is essential for the completion of their research and doctoral program. Please note that travel to conferences is not eligible within this grant. The competition is run annually in the spring.
Eligible students: All PhD students.
Application required.
Website:https://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/awards-category/travel-conference-awards/
Emergency Grant
Administered by: School of Graduate Studies
Description: The Emergency Grant Program assists currently registered, full-time, graduate students beyond their first year of study who generally are not part of the funded cohort and who encounter an unanticipated serious financial emergency. It is not considered to be a source of routine or long-term funding.
Eligible students: Currently registered, full-time, graduate students beyond their first year of study.
Application required.
Website:http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/currentstudents/Pages/Completion-Grants-Emergency-Funding.aspx
Administered by: School of Graduate Studies
Description: Awarded to master's students in both course-work and research programs who still have a small amount of work outstanding, due to reasons and factors that are unanticipated and beyond the student's control.
Eligible students: Full-time Master's students
Application required.
Website:http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/currentstudents/Pages/Completion-Grants-Emergency-Funding.aspx
Administered by: Ontario government
Description: In the past, this fellowship has been offered through OSAP. However, we are currently unable to find a website with information about the award.
Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships
Administered by: Commonwealth governments
Description: The Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) is an international program under which member governments offer scholarships and fellowships to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. The CSFP was set up to provide a framework through which any Commonwealth government could offer scholarships or career development opportunities to citizens of other Commonwealth countries. It is for each individual country to decide whether to offer awards and, if so, what type of awards.
Website:http://www.scholarships-bourses.gc.ca/scholarships-bourses/can/csp_nzl-pbc_nzl.aspx?lang=eng
Scholarships administered by other agencies
Canadian Federation of University Women
Description: Founded in 1919, the Canadian Federation of University Women is a voluntary, non-profit, self-funded bilingual organization of over 10,000 women university graduates. It offers a variety of fellowships for women.
Website:http://www.fcfdu.org/fellowshipsawards/listoffellowshipsandawards.aspx
Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation of Canada Graduate Scholarship
Description: The Mackenzie King Scholarships were established as an independent trust under the will of the late Rt. Hon. William Mackenzie King (1874-1950).
Two classes of Mackenzie King Scholarship are available to graduates of Canadian universities: the Open Scholarship and the Traveling Scholarship. Both are to support graduate study.
Website:http://www.mkingscholarships.ca/index-e.html
SGS offers financial counseling; the sessions are confidential. Please contact the Graduate Awards Office at SGS to schedule an appointment: 416-946-0808, graduate.awards@utoronto.ca. Counseling works as follows:
A telephone or email information and referral service from 10 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday.
An initial one-hour appointment for providing information on your situation.
Casework appointment for students who are seeking ongoing support to deal with their financial situation.
A drop-in service (need to pick a few day(s) and times) for immediate information.
It is important that you bring with you to your appointment a budget or list of expenses and financial resources and any documents relating to your debts.