Doctoral Thesis Completion Award application

Doctoral thesis completion award application (PDF)

Use this form to:

• apply for a doctoral thesis completion award

A limited number of awards are available each academic term to support doctoral students who are within the last two terms of program completion (term of award plus one additional term). These awards are made possible with funds provided by the Vice-President, Academic and Provost, and Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA).  The intention is to assist highly qualified, full-time doctoral students to complete their thesis writing and defence. 

Waterloo reserves one Doctoral Thesis Completion Award (DTCA) for Indigenous applicants each term (total of three per year). Applicants may identify as Indigenous* on the DTCA application form.

*For the purpose of this award, an Indigenous person is one who is a citizen or member of a First Nations community (Status/Non-Status), Métis, or Inuit as defined in the Canadian Constitution Act 1982. Applicants who have not already done so are encouraged to review the Indigenous verification process to confirm their eligibility.

Value: $5,000 

Eligibility and Requirements:

Applicants must:

• be registered full time in a PhD program
• be in good academic standing with a realistic plan of completing their degree within 1-2 terms of receiving the award (term of award plus one additional term)

Preference will be given to doctoral students who are no longer receiving minimum funding and/or have experienced research interruptions that were beyond their control.

A change of enrolment status to part-time, inactive, withdrawal or degree completion during the term in which the award is paid will require repayment of all or part of the award. Repayment amounts are recalculated based on the University of Waterloo tuition refund policy. Any inquiries regarding OSAP/provincial student loans should be directed to the Student Awards and Financial Aid Office. However, please note, the two-term limit to degree complete is still applicable regardless of enrolment changes.

Departmental deadlines:

Fall term – July 15     

Winter term – November 15  

Spring term – March 15    

Where the advertised deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline date is the preceding Friday. 

Application process and notification:

Applicants will submit their application to their departments for signature and review. Departments are then required to submit the applications to their Faculty where they will be ranked and selections will be made.

The Faculty will contact all applicants regarding the status of their application.

Awards will be applied to the students account once the Faculty sends the nominations to Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.