Student Funding Opportunities

Assistantships

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS, LONG-TERM COSTS OF RAPID CONSTRUCTION, DEADLINE OCTOBER 18, 2023

2 graduate research assistants
Start date: October 23, 2023
Hourly compensation will be pegged to experience +/- $20/hour for 80 hours

Report to:
Professors Mohamad Araji, Andrea Atkins, Adrian Blackwell, Maya Przybylski

The Long-Term Costs of Rapid Construction of Multi-Unit Residential in Waterloo Region

Description: The Waterloo Region (WR) has been experiencing an explosion in the construction of high-rise condominiums, raising fundamental questions about their environmental and social effects, including critical considerations for lifecycle assessment such as energy performance and embodied carbon, and for core community housing needs of suitability for family size and ability, adequate repair, and affordability. This research undertakes a longitudinal study of high-rise buildings in the region built in different eras of housing to better understand possible futures and potential failures of contemporary residential buildings. The project is part of a larger national SSHRC funded partnership grant led by the University of Montreal that involves 14 different universities and numerous citizen, government and professional partners.

Responsibilities:

Documenting case studies of existing residential buildings in the Waterloo Region through spreadsheets, photography, and architectural drawings. Participating in activities related to a national network on Quality in Architecture and working with students across the country.

Required Skills:

  • Excellent organizational and time management skills
  • Flexibility to manage variations in workload over the term
  • Skills in photography, digital modeling in Revit and ability to manage data on a spreadsheet
  • Experience coordinating and executing projects independently and as part of a team
  • Genuine interest in the project theme

Submission Requirements:

Please submit a 250–word statement that expresses interest and describes relevant skills and/or experience, a current CV, and a portfolio. Submit files together in a single PDF document to adrian.blackwell@uwaterloo.ca by Wednesday October 18th with subject line:

Quality of MURBS in WR URA application.

General eligibility requirements:

Currently enrolled undergraduate student in Architecture or Architecture Engineering eligible to work in Canada students are eligible.

Internal Funding

At Waterloo, graduate students may be able to receive funding from various sources such as Teaching Assistantships (TA), Research Assistantships (RA), Graduate Research Studentships (GRS), internal awards, external awards, bursaries and emergency loans.

Graduate funding and awards database

Visit our graduate funding and awards database to identify internal Waterloo award opportunities for current and prospective students. 

Many internal Waterloo awards have been made financially possible through donations from the Waterloo community of Faculty, Staff and Alumni, as well as donations from the public sector and private donors. Graduate students who receive a Waterloo award from an endowed or donated fund from a specific donor will be notified of this via email. Recipients will be asked to complete a short online form expressing how the award has impacted them personally. The Office of Development will then share these stories with the donor.

The majority of internal awards do not require an application. Instead, students are nominated by their departments based on specific award & selection criteria. Graduate students can also contact their Department Graduate Co-ordinator for further details about internal Waterloo awards. 

President's Graduate Scholarship (PGS)

Waterloo is pleased to provide the President's Graduate Scholarship (PGS) to outstanding graduate students who hold certain major federally and provincially funded competition-based scholarships.

External Funding

At Waterloo, we encourage our top graduate students to apply for external awards including those from Canada’s three major research granting agencies and Ontario's major scholarships programs. Students who choose to study at Waterloo and are successful in the major federal and provincial competitions will also receive the President's Graduate Scholarship.

Application procedures vary. It is the responsibility of the applicant to check our external awards web pages below, as well as the agency specific websites for complete details on eligibility, application and applications instructions.

Federal master's

Federal doctoral

Provincial scholarship

Other prestigious external scholarships

Architecture focused external scholarships

Additional resources

  • The Universities Canada web site contains useful tips and tools for international students planning to study in Canada, as well as a searchable database for scholarship programs for all students pursuing post secondary education.
  • The Government of Canada International Scholarship Program website lists Canadian scholarship programs for non-Canadians wishing to study and conduct research in Canada. For details on Waterloo’s administrative process for graduate students, please contact Waterloo International. 
  • MPOWER Financing is a non-Waterloo website containing external scholarship/funding opportunities for international students.
  • The Scholarships Canada database is an extensive database to find scholarships, bursaries and grants. You'll also find information about student loans, applications and budget planning. 

  • Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organization that designs and delivers research and training programs in Canada. Working with 60 universities, thousands of companies, and both federal and provincial governments, Mitacs builds partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada. Open to all disciplines since 2007, Mitacs has expanded in response to industrial and university needs, including programs in R&D management, professional skills development, and international research training.

  • Visit the Waterloo International website for other external international opportunities.

  • Visit the St. Paul’s University College website for Indigenous awards, scholarships and bursaries.

  • Visit our Graduate funding and awards database to identify additional external award opportunities.

Award payments for recipients of external funding from independent corporations/companies

Students will often seek funding opportunities independently through external corporations or companies who often prefer to send the scholarship funds to the University in order that they be applied to the student’s tuition. If a cheque or EFT is being provided by the external corporation, it should be made payable to the University of Waterloo and be accompanied by a letter or memo containing details about the purpose of the funds along with the student’s name and ID number.

External award cheques should be mailed directly to Finance who will then collaborate with Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs to have the award processed in Quest.

Mailing address for external award cheques:

Suzanne Goggin
UW Finance – East Campus 5
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo ON  N2L 3G1

Questions about external award payments

Any questions about this process or about the status of an external award that has been sent to UW, can be directed to grad-payments@uwaterloo.ca.

T4A tax forms for external awards

The University of Waterloo has an obligation to issue a T4A tax form for all award payments made through the University including payments made on behalf of an external corporation.

T4As are produced each February for awards issued during the previous calendar year and will be available to access online.

Note: The University of Waterloo is unable to exclude specific scholarship/award payments from our T4A reporting processes. In the event that the external award provider has also issued a T4A for the same funds, you will need to ask them to revise their T4A form so that the award is not double-reported to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

International Student Funding

At University of Waterloo we have a variety of great funding opportunities available to our international students.  These include:

For information regarding payment of scholarships and awards please visit our funding payment information web page.

International Doctoral Student Award (IDSA)

An IDSA will be provided automatically to eligible international students registered full time in a doctoral program at the University of Waterloo. Students must meet the academic progress requirements of their program, not have outstanding probationary admission requirements, and not be concurrently receiving tuition awards (e.g., PSI or Lazaridis Tuition Awards) or funding which exceeds the minimum PhD funding value from any external awards, sponsorships or self-funding.

Interested students can refer to the IDSA database descriptions for detailed eligibility criteria and values. 

International Master’s Award of Excellence (IMAE)

Effective May 1, 2019 (spring 2019 admissions cycle), the International Master’s Award of Excellence (IMAE) will be awarded to eligible international master’s students normally entering a research-based graduate program at the University of Waterloo. The award will be valued at $2,500 per term for a maximum of five terms. Faculties will nominate eligible students based on their award allocation and select recipients based on academic excellence as demonstrated through their application for admission to the graduate program and other criteria as identified by the Faculties.

Interested students can refer to our IMAE database description for detailed eligibility criteria. 

Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)

The OGS program is funded by the provincial government to encourage excellence in graduate studies at the master’s and doctoral levels. It is a merit-based scholarship and awards are available to students in all disciplines of academic study. A small number of these awards are available to international students. Interested students can refer to our OGS web page for eligibility criteria and Waterloo’s internal application process.

Trudeau Foundation Scholarships

The Trudeau Scholars Program grants up to fifteen new scholarships every year to outstanding doctoral candidates in the social sciences and humanities. The Foundation supports doctoral candidates pursuing research of compelling present-day concern, touching upon one or more of the four themes of the Foundation: human rights and dignity, responsible citizenship, Canada in the world, and people and their natural environment. Trudeau Scholars are actively engaged in their fields, in which they are expected to become leading national and international figures.

Trudeau Scholars are selected through a process that involves nomination by a university, an application supported by references and transcripts, internal and external review and selection panels, an interview, and the formal approval of the Board of Directors.

Interested students can refer to our Pierre Elliott Trudeau Scholarship database description for eligibility criteria and Waterloo’s internal application process.

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS)

The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) program was created to attract and retain world-class doctoral students and to establish Canada as a global center of excellence in research and higher learning. Vanier Scholars demonstrate leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health-related fields. Canadian and international students are eligible to be nominated for a Vanier Scholarship, which is valued at $50,000 per year for up to three years. 

The scholarships are administered by Canada's three federal granting agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Students wishing to apply for a Vanier CGS must do so through the Canadian university to which they are applying for doctoral studies. In an effort to support students in broadening their research horizons and seeking new challenges, the Vanier CGS program strongly encourages candidates to pursue their studies beyond the university that granted their undergraduate and graduate degrees. Based on university-assigned allocations, universities forward a limited number of nominations to the appropriate federal research granting agency (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) annually.

If a student is successful in the Vanier CGS competition, they must hold their award at the university that nominated them. The Vanier CGS cannot be taken to another university as it is not transferrable. To determine eligibility as well as how nominees are evaluated, please review the official eligibility criteria and evaluation criteria on the Vanier website.

Please visit our Vanier web page for further details.

Bursaries

For additional scholarship resources please visit our Graduate funding and awards database.

International Experience Awards 

Several international experience award funds are available to University of Waterloo graduate students who participate in: an academic exchange, a study term related to their research (field work) or an academic requirement (placement), work, or volunteer experience. Award selection is based on a variety of factors such as academic achievement, financial need, duration, location, nature of experience and whether it is an applicant’s first time travelling to a destination etc. Only one application is required in order to be considered for any of the International Experience Awards.

Value:

The value and number of awards vary. International experience awards are not intended to fully cover all expenses but rather to provide assistance to as many eligible students as possible based on the available funds.

Please visit their web page for full details on the award, including eligibility and deadlines. 

Financial Need Awards

Open to students of Engineering Faculty

The following awards are based either partially or solely on demonstrated financial need.  Applicants must meet the following criteria (except for Inch Engineering Research Award):

  • have applied to OSAP (unless restricted from doing so),
  • be Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents of Canada and;
  • be Ontario residents over the last 12 months.

In order to be considered for these awards, carefully read the eligibility criteria as outlined in the Awards and funding database descriptions and use the Graduate Student Award Application which when completed can now be uploaded online (no signatures required), along with all other required documentation through the Graduate Student Bursary/Award Submission Form.

Open to students University-wide

Due to the limited number of awards available, only those with substantial financial need who meet all eligibility criteria will be awarded. However, students should also be seeking out other financial need funding, specifically the Full-Time Bursary through Student Awards and Financial Awards (SAFA) for domestic students and the Graduate Student Contingency Bursary through GSPA for international students.