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 $18,000 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). 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 German studies 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 TAships in an academic year (ie two out of three terms at UW: fall, winter, spring). 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. You will also have the opportunity to be the instructor of record in courses held online and/or in the classroom.
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 applicants are currently not accepted to Faculty of Arts PhD programs due to funding restrictions. The Department of German & Slavic Studies will be unable to admit PhD applicants who require study permits until further notice. Limited numbers of international applicants to MA programs and to the IcGS MA program can still be accepted.
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. Visit the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs website for the most current information on study and living costs.