2021/2022 Graduate Student Financial Support - update

As we shared with you in mid-February, a proposal presented to the Graduate Student Relations Committee (GSRC), as part of an annual review process, has now been approved.  Effective May 1, there will be a change to the Teaching Assistantship (TA) rate, the Research Assistantship (RA) rate and the minimum doctoral funding.  Details of the changes are outlined below.

Guaranteed minimum doctoral funding in 2021/2022 will be increased by 1.86 per cent to reflect the estimated cost of living increase for graduate students and the University’s desire to remain a leader in graduate student support that attracts top talent. Due to provincial government regulation – this will be the last fiscal year that the University will be able to offer an increase of greater than 1 per cent.

• 1.86 per cent represents an increase to guaranteed minimum funding for doctoral students in good academic standing to $24,504, up from $24,055 in 2020. This change is  effective May 1, 2021 and will be implemented through an increase to the PhD hourly RA rate, from $50.09/hour to $51.05/hour.
• This commitment applies to the first four years of full-time enrolment in a doctoral program (up to cumulative term 12.0).
• This increase applies to both new (incoming) and current eligible doctoral students.
• An update has been made to the GSPA minimum funding web page to reflect this change. 

The RA rate for master’s students will also be increased by 1.86 per cent following the annual GSPA review, effective May 1, 2021. The rate will increase from $42.12/hour to $42.91/hour.

We are also pleased to announce that the University has approved the GSPA’s recommendation to combine regular hourly Teaching Assistantship (TA) compensation with academic award funding to make it easier for graduate students to budget. This proposal was put forward with the support of the Graduate Student Association (GSA).

• This change means that the hourly TA compensation rate will rise from $33.89/hour to $45/hour.
• This change will result in increased financial support for students who previously only received TA support (i.e., not coupled with an award), and for students for whom the TA is on top of minimum funding provided by their supervisors.
• For students who would have previously received both an award and TA support in a single term, the increased rate reflects a revised distribution in sources of support, with greater emphasis on the hourly wage, and less reliance on concurrent awards.
• Questions about the new TA rate can be addressed to your Faculty Associate Dean, Graduate Studies. 

RA and TA rates do not include 4% vacation pay; rates assume 10 hours per week for 16 weeks during a term. An update has been made to the TA/RA GSPA web page reflecting the new rates.