Financial support

Internal support

Financial support for graduate study is currently available from federal, provincial and internal university sources. The Department normally offers incoming full-time graduate students financial support. This support includes some combination of Teaching or Research Assistantships and University of Waterloo scholarships, with typical offers at the Master of Arts (MA) level being $15,000 per year for one or two years (depending on the program), and typical support at the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) level of $25,000 per year for four years. Graduate funding is normally guaranteed for the full duration of the student's program, provided the student progresses through the program on schedule and performs Assistantship duties satisfactorily (and provided the University continues to receive adequate government funding).

All eligible MA students can normally expect to receive a portion of their support in the form of a Teaching Assistantship (TA) - the range is between $1,000 to $4,726 per term depending on willingness and ability to successfully undertake full teaching duties of undergraduate language courses. As a Teaching Assistant, you will either teach in the beginning language program (under the supervision of a faculty member), or provide assistance to the program in the form of marking and tutoring. 

All eligible PhD students can normally expect to receive a portion of their support in the form of two full TAs in an academic year (depending on willingness and ability to successfully undertake full teaching duties of undergraduate language courses). One full Teaching Assistantship (TA) is valued at approximately $8367 (plus vacation pay) per term. Financial support is subject to annual provincial funding to Ontario universities.

Additional funds can often be obtained through extra teaching assistantships, research assistantships on faculty research projects, graduate scholarships, and graduate bursaries. External scholarships (see below) would be additional to this funding. The department also makes every effort to enable students to spend a semester or a full year in Mannheim, during which time students are eligible for an additional scholarship of about $300 per month.

International students are eligible for the University of Waterloo International Master’s/Doctoral Student Award, which makes up part of the difference between the fees for international and domestic graduate students. For MA students it makes up about half the difference; for PhD students, this award makes up most of the difference but is available for only the first three years of the program.

Funding for international students is limited. Please contact the Associate Chair, Graduate Studies prior to applying to discuss your interest in our programs.

University of Waterloo Graduate Scholarships are available for students with overall averages above 80%; these scholarships have a minimum value of $4,500 per year and a maximum of $7,200 per year. The most current information on scholarships at the University of Waterloo can be viewed at the Graduate Studies website. You can also view information on the President's Graduate Scholarship.

Graduate Bursaries: For students who can show need or who are eligible for Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) funding, there are a limited number of bursaries available; currently, the average value of these bursaries is $2,000. Information on the application form for bursaries can also be found on the Graduate Studies website.

External support

Graduate students in the program are strongly urged to apply to both the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowships (SSHRC) program. An application to the latter also makes students registered at Canadian graduate programs eligible for the Canadian Graduate Scholarship program. Students can, and are urged to, apply for the Ontario Graduate Scholarships and for SSHRC MA Scholarships during their final year as undergraduates. The department and the university both offer sessions each fall giving advice on how to prepare applications for these awards. Students not currently registered at Waterloo should check the OGS and SSHRC websites to see whether they must apply through the department where they most recently attended university or directly to the programs.

Tuition costs

Tuition costs for graduate studies at the University of Waterloo are similar to those at other Canadian universities.  Students studying on a student visa pay higher tuition than Canadian citizens and permanent residents, but they are eligible for special foreign student scholarships.  The most current information on tuition fees.