Graduate funding packages
Doctoral students
Domestic students who are admitted to the program full-time and who remain in good academic standing will be provided with four years (12 terms) of funding at or above the University minimum. Funding beyond four years is not guaranteed but may be available. Part-time students will not be eligible for department-level funding. The Department of Political Science follows the minimum funding recommendations set by The Faculty of Arts and Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.
Funding for domestic PhD students in the Faculty of Arts is approximately $25,000/year (distributed over three terms) for four years.
Students in the Co-op stream will have their funding paused while on their work-terms (12 months). Their funding will resume when they return to the program as a full-time student.
A student in the Co-op stream may have a funding package that looks as follows:
- Year 1: funded
- Year 2: funded
- Year 3: work-terms (not funded)
- Year 4: funded
- Year 5: funded
For more information on guaranteed minimum funding, please visit the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs minimum funding webpages.
Master's students
Typical base funding package for Political Science master's students :
- Term one: combination of paid teaching or research assistantship
- Term two: combination of paid teaching or research assistantship
- Term three: Graduate Scholarship
- Total: $18,000.00 (as of Fall 2022)
- Please note funding is contingent on academic standing in the program
Students may also receive various scholarships in each term of study in addition to their base funding package (as they are elgible).
Students must have an overall minimum average of 80.0% in their final two years (or final 20 courses) of undergraduate study to be eligible for the funding packages noted above. Students are automatically considered for these awards when they apply to the graduate program in Political Science at the University of Waterloo.
Master's students are eligible for more funding by:
- Taking on additional teaching assistantships in their third term of study. This income will be in addition to their funding packages but will depend on class enrolments, previous teaching assistant (TA) performance and academic standing.
- Taking on additional research assistantships in their third term of study. This income will be in addition to their funding packages but will depend on area of research, funds available by professors and academic standing.
Typical Political Science MA funding packages are not available to students who hold external awards. Students holding Ontario Graduate Scholarship or Tri-Council awards will be given the President's Graduate Scholarship in addition to their external awards.
External funding opportunities
Graduate students are encouraged to explore federal and provincial funding opportunities that they may be eligible for, including but not limited to opportunities through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council.
Additional funding opportunities
| Award | Award description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
The Walrus Award in Political Science was established to commemorate the spirit of the (1974) Walrus activities by a group of former graduate students of the Department of Political Science. This award aims to provide some relief to the financial strain often associated with graduate work. The recipient of this award must demonstrate a combination of good academic standing and financial need. Applying using the graduate student award application. A letter explaining why you should be considered for this award must accompany the application. Student must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and demonstrate good academic standing. |
$1000 -1,500 |
|
|
Graduate Student Senate Award |
This award is given annually to high quality graduate students at the MA or PhD levels to recognize exemplary academic achievement and/or to support research endeavours. Students supported from this fund must be enrolled full time in the graduate program, must be within their allowable time limits, and must not be supported by a major external scholarship (Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council or Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council). This award is contingent on available funds each year. |
$500 - $2000 |
|
Funds are available from the Department of Political Science and the Graduate Studies Office for the purpose of assisting full-time Waterloo graduate students to attend and present their research at professional conferences. See Research Travel Assistantship application (PDF) for further details. |
Varies depending on request |
|
|
Full-time graduate students in good academic standing with a minimum overall average of 75% are eligible to apply. Award must provide support for current or upcoming experiences. Experience must not be less than 2 months in length. Required documents include personal letter, proof of intended experience, and travel budget and financial need section of application. See Graduate Student International Experience Award application (PDF) for further details. Deadlines: Spring Term (March 15), Fall Term (July 15), Winter (November 15) |
$2,500 or more |
|
|
Full-time graduate students with a minimum overall average of 70%. Experience must be minimum 2 months in length but 4 week experiences will be considered as well. Required documents include personal letter, proof of intended experience, and travel budget and financial need section of application. See Graduate Student International Experience Award application (PDF) for further details. Deadlines: Spring Term (March 15), Fall Term (July 15), Winter (November 15) |
$2,500 |
|
|
A number of bursaries are available to full-time graduate students who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents and are experiencing short term financial need. To demonstrate financial need all students are expected to apply for OSAP, or the provincial student assistance from their home province, prior to applying for the Waterloo bursary. |
Varies |
|
| Graduate Student Medical Leave Award |
Effective January 1, 2018 eligible research-based master’s and doctoral students who must go inactive for medical reasons (e.g., physical or mental health) may be eligible to receive a Graduate Student Medical Leave Award, valued at a maximum of $5,000. Students must have been registered full time for at least one academic term and have been in receipt of a financial package from their Department/School in the term immediately prior to going inactive for medical reasons. Eligible students who provide medical documentation (e.g., official medical documentation completed by a health care practitioner) to AccessAbility Services, to support their request for going inactive due to medical reasons, will be automatically considered for this award. Details regarding the process for submitting medical documentation to AccessAbility Services can be found on the AccessAbility website. Visit the Graduate Studies website for more information. |
Maximum of $5,000 |
Online scholarship search engine, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs
In order to assist students with finding appropriate scholarships/awards/bursaries that they may be eligible to apply for, a graduate funding and awards database has been created. There are hundreds of awards listed on this database, many of which are external. Simply enter your search criteria to see scholarships you may be eligible to apply for.