Awards and Funding

Graduate Research Studentships are given to students working on their thesis to supplement their TA earnings. The GRS are paid as awards and are not considered taxable income. 

Teaching/Research Assistantships at the University of Waterloo are considered employment income and are subject to statutory deductions (please see the Human Resources website for more details). Annual earnings are reported on a T4 slip.

Each TA unit includes 80 hours of work per term. Please note that of the 80 hours, 76.5 hours is dedicated to the majority of your TA duties and the remainder (3.5 hours) is dedicated to pool proctoring. Please see the Math TA manual for more details.

The University has an extensive graduate funding and awards database.  We strongly recommended you review the database regularly and consider applying for any awards you may qualify for. Speak with your supervisor or Graduate Coordinator for details on how to apply. 

The major competitive external scholarship competitions are the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST), and University of Waterloo (UW) scholarships. Please note that there are limited awards for awards for international students.

You are responsible for having your fees arranged every term. Fees are posted to individual student accounts on Quest approximately three to five weeks prior to the start of lectures each term. Students are notified by e-mail at that time.

When arranging your fees on Quest, your anticipated aid (TAs, GRAs, awards/scholarships, bursaries, etc.) is used to create a promissory note.  These funds are applied to your tuition first and amounts that exceed your tuition and fees are “refunded” into your bank account. UW Finance has additional information on Refunds for Scholarships, Bursaries & Awards.

Please note that you must be "Fees Arranged" in order for excess awards to be refunded.

When arranging your fees, you may see a breakdown of your anticipated aid, but you will not be given notice on whenthose funds will be disbursed to your bank account. As each student’s funding will vary, you should see your Graduate Coordinator to understand the breakdown of your fees and the timing you can expect your payments. Please also refer to the GSPA Funding Payment Information for more information.

In general, awards/scholarships and TAs are paid out in the following manner:

• Scholarships and awards - usually disbursed during the first month of the term (often, but not always in the first and second week).
• TAs and GRAs - normally paid over four months on the last Friday of the month, after tax and other deductions.

The Univeristy has many funding opportunities for graduate students that demonstrate financial need including emergency loans, parental leave/day care/medical bursaries, and more.