Awards & Financial Support for Prospective Students

University-Level Non-Merit Scholarships

All applicants will be automatically considered for all university non-merit scholarships; there is no need to apply separately. Below is a brief outline of Non-Merit Scholarships for graduate students. For more information, please see the university-level non-merit scholarships web page. 

Merit Scholarships

* The following is a list of merit scholarships that prospective students DON’T need to apply for separately. They will be considered and adjudicated during the admission process.

1. Four-Year Doctoral Fellowships (4YF)

Degree level: Doctoral

Citizenship: Canadian, Permanent Resident, International

The Faculty of Graduate Studies offers Four-Year Doctoral Fellowships each year to meritorious PhD students. The award holder will receive the basic 4YF award ($18,200 per year plus tuition for up to four years of their doctoral studies) and an additional top-up from the supervisor. The combination of the fellowship and top-up will be $2,000 above to the department’s minimum support for the award's duration. Please refer to the Faculty of Graduate Studies website for more information.

2. British Columbia Graduate Scholarship (BCGS)

Degree level: Masters and Doctoral

Citizenship: Canadian, Permanent Resident

The province of British Columbia has funded BC Graduate Scholarships (BCGS) in any field of study, with emphasis on research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and support for Indigenous students. The scholarships of $17,500 will be awarded by graduate programs. BCGS recipients must be Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents who are registered as a full-time student in a UBC graduate program throughout the funding period. Please refer to British Columbia Graduate Scholarship - Graduate School - University of British Columbia - Vancouver - Canada for more information.

3. Computer Science Merit Scholarship (CS Merit)

Degree level: Masters and Doctoral

Citizenship: Canadian, Permanent Resident, International

The UBC Department of Computer Science is offering CS Merit Awards to outstanding incoming international and domestic students. Students awarded a CS Merit Award are guaranteed award-level funding in their first year at UBC. 

4. BPOC Graduate Excellence Award

Degree level: Masters and Doctoral

Citizenship: Canadian, Permanent Resident, International

BPOC Graduate Excellence Award is available to outstanding graduate applicants who identify as Black or as a Person of Colour. The award is intended to recognize excellence in research and scholarly performance by BPOC graduate students and to address systemic barriers they experience in their training. The minimum value of each award is $1,500. Students will be evaluated on the basis of their past academic achievement and research potential, according to the specific expectations of their discipline and based on information provided in their admission application. Please refer to BPOC Graduate Excellence Award - Graduate School - University of British Columbia - Vancouver - Canada for more information including the priority order. 

* The following is a list of some COMMON merit scholarships that prospective students NEED to apply for separately. 

1. Canada Graduate Scholarships Master’s (CGS M) Program

Degree level: Masters and Doctoral (Direct entry from a bachelor’s program without having ever been enrolled in any graduate programs) 

Citizenship: Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) as of the application deadline date.

The objective of the Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master's (CGS M) Program is to help develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies. The CGS M Program provides financial support ($27,000 for 12 months, non-renewable) to high-calibre scholars who are engaged in eligible master's or, in some cases, doctoral programs in Canada (i.e., a doctoral program that you are entering directly from a bachelor’s program without having ever been enrolled in any graduate programs).

Please note that the deadline is usually December 1^st of the year, so we recommend graduate students apply for CGS-M when you apply for our graduate program if you are eligible. Please refer to NSERC – Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s program for more information.

2. Affiliated Fellowships Master's Program

Degree level: Masters

Citizenship: Canadian, Permanent Resident, International

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies offers approximately 50 Affiliated Fellowships each year to meritorious students for full-time study and/or research leading to a graduate degree. Awards are made on the basis of academic excellence, with applications open to current and prospective full-time UBC graduate students. Fellowship values range from $175 to $16,000. Students must be enrolled in, have applied for, or will apply for full-time admission to an eligible graduate program.

Many of the Affiliated Fellowships have no specific criteria (open/unrestricted), while many others have some affiliation or special research focus as part of their criteria (restricted/criteria-based). All graduate students in the Affiliated Fellowships competition are automatically considered for unrestricted awards. In order to additionally be considered for any criteria-based awards, students need to review the list of criteria-based affiliated awards at the end of the application to determine if they meet any of these awards' criteria, and check in their Affiliated Fellowships application the award numbers of any and all criteria-based affiliated awards for which they are eligible.

All students regardless of citizenship are eligible to apply. However, Canadian citizens and permanent residents are required to apply for Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master's (CGS M) if they are eligible to do so, to additionally be considered for Affiliated funding. The application deadline is usually December 1st of the year. Please refer to Affiliated Fellowships Master's Program - Graduate School - University of British Columbia - Vancouver - Canada for more information.

3. Affiliated Fellowships Doctoral Program

Degree level: Doctoral

Citizenship: Canadian, Permanent Resident, International

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies offers approximately 50 Affiliated Fellowships each year to meritorious students for full-time study and/or research leading to a graduate degree. Awards are made on the basis of academic excellence, with applications open to current and prospective full-time UBC graduate students regardless of citizenship or visa status. Fellowship values range from $175 to $40,000, but most are in the range of $16,000. The Killam Doctoral Scholarship is one of the scholarships offered through this award competition. 

All students regardless of citizenship are eligible to apply. However, Canadian citizens and permanent residents are required to apply to the Tri-Agency CGS D program to be considered for Affiliated funding, if they are eligible to do so. Affiliated Fellowship applicants must submit their application materials to their graduate program. The application deadline is usually early September. Please refer to Affiliated Fellowships Doctoral Program - Graduate School - University of British Columbia - Vancouver - Canada for more information.

* The following is a list of other merit scholarships that prospective students might be eligible to apply for. For other award opportunities, please refer to Award Opportunities | Graduate School at The University of British Columbia (UBC) and filter with ‘Eligibility by Citizenship’, ‘Degree Level’ and ‘Applicant Status’.

1. Walter C. Sumner Memorial Fellowships

Degree level: Doctoral

Citizenship: Canadian

2. Spring Graduate Awards Competition (#4817 Wendy Fan Memorial Scholarship)

Degree level: Masters and Doctoral

Citizenship: Canadian, Permanent Resident, International

3. China Scholarship Council Doctoral Scholarships (CSC)

Degree level: Doctoral

Citizenship: Citizen of the People’s Republic of China. Residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are not eligible

Department's Financial Assistantships

The department provides financial support to incoming graduate students without any scholarships or fellowships. For information on our financial support, please refer to our web page.