University funding
The School of Accounting and Finance normally provides funding of $25,500 per year for four years. Funding is contingent upon working as a research assistant or a teaching assistant for up to 10 hours per week, during each of the four years. Additional scholarships are provided to international students, who are charged higher tuition fees.
Learn more about awards and funding from the graduate studies site.
In addition, students are encouraged to apply to the external sources of funds described below.
Government sources
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) Program
The deadline for application is in fall of the preceding year. This award is for $15,000 per year and can be held for up to four years. Applicants need not be residents of Ontario; even holders of student visas can apply, but only a restricted number of awards are available for this category. No previous graduate-level training is required to apply, so it is possible to receive an award for the first year of a PhD program.
If you are not already registered in a graduate program at Waterloo, your proposed department is the graduate program to which you are applying for admission. Your OGS/QEII-GSST application and supporting documents should be emailed to this department.
According to the Ontario government, the CPA funding described below can be held in addition to OGS because it is in the form of a loan and not considered to be an award. A student can not hold both a SSHRC award and an OGS award.
The University of Waterloo supplements Ontario Graduate Scholarships by providing the recipient with up to $10,000 of additional funds in the form of a President's Graduate Scholarship.
Learn more about the Ontario Graduate Scholarship.
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Awards
The application deadline is fall of the year before the award is to start. Only Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada can apply; holders of student visas are not eligible.
There are two types of SSHRC awards, both of which use the same application form: CGS Doctoral Scholarships, which are for $35,000 per year for up to three years; and SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships, which are for $20,000 per year for up to four years.
The University of Waterloo supplements both types of SSHRC awards by providing the recipient with up to $10,000 of additional funds in the form of a President's Graduate Scholarship.
Learn more about SSHRC awards.
Private sources
Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario member fee reduction
PhD students in our program who are Ontario CPAs qualify for a 100% reduction of their fees for Institute membership. Students at both the course work stage and the thesis stage of the program are eligible to apply.
The Institutes of other provinces generally have some type of fee reduction for full-time university attendance, so students who are CPAs from other provinces may wish to check with their Institute.
Learn More about the CPA member fee reduction.
Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario Doctoral Studies Support Program
The goal of the Doctoral Studies Support Program is to increase the supply of well-qualified full-time accounting faculty in Ontario universities. Many people associated with the University of Waterloo have received support from this program with the number of supported students rising in recent years. Every CPA admitted to our PhD program should apply for this funding.
The institute will provide forgivable loans to a maximum of $15,000 per annum for three years. As a guideline, for each $15,000 awarded, the candidate will be required to teach in Ontario one academic year in order for that amount of loan to be forgiven.
Completed applications should reach the Institute by January 31 for support commencing in the fall of that year.
Chartered Professional Accountants outside Ontario
Programs similar to the Ontario one operate in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec. Quebec’s funding amount is $10,000. Students from other provinces may wish to consult their local institute to see if similar funding can be provided. For example, one of our graduates, Jeff Pittman, received support from the Newfoundland Institute.