Scholarships and awards

Opportunities for new and current students

Students enrolled in the Quantum Information graduate program will be eligible for Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) scholarships.

All applicants, current and new, must be nominated by their supervisor. For full scholarship consideration, please apply to your appropriate home unit by its program application deadline. Application deadlines for each program can be found here by searching for the program you're applying to. For a list of IQC's collaborative programs, please visit IQC's Graduate Studies - Programs page.

In addition to these scholarships, there are a variety of opportunities to help support you in funding your education at the University of Waterloo.

IQC ENTRANCE AWARD

Several awards valued at $5,000 are available each term. These awards are supported by a variety of sources, including the Bell Family Fund and Industry Canada. The awards are made to graduate students entering studies in quantum information at the University of Waterloo and IQC, based on academic excellence and research potential.

IQC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Several awards valued at $5,000 are available each term. These awards are supported by a variety of sources, including the Bell Family Fund and Industry Canada. The awards are made to Waterloo graduate students working on quantum information at IQC, based on exceptional achievement in research. Applications should include published papers or pre-prints of relevant work done while an IQC student, explain their contributions to the results, and describe the significance and potential impact of the work.

MIKE AND OPHELIA LAZARIDIS FELLOWSHIPS

Graduate fellowships are available to be awarded to international graduate students up to a maximum of $24,400 per year for PhD students and $20,000 per year for Masters students. Recipients will be chosen based on academic excellence and research potential in quantum information and will also receive a University of Waterloo award equivalent to tuition. The fellowship can be a multi-year award provided the recipient maintains a satisfactory academic standing in a graduate program.

IQC DAVID JOHNSTON AWARD FOR SCIENTIFIC OUTREACH

This award was created to celebrate David Johnston’s pivotal contributions to IQC at the University of Waterloo, his passion for leadership and his enthusiasm for continuous learning, innovation and achievement. David Johnston was President at the University of Waterloo from 1999 to 2010.

RAYMOND LAFLAMME AND JANICE GREGSON GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP FOR WOMEN IN QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE

This scholarship was created to celebrate Raymond Laflamme’s leadership and contributions over his 15-year tenure as IQC’s Executive Director (2002-2017). One scholarship, valued at up to $7,500, is awarded annually to a new female graduate student entering IQC in the Fall or Winter term. The scholarship not only acknowledges students who demonstrate strong academic achievement and potential for research excellence but also recognizes women in quantum information science and technology.