Financial Support

Offers of financial support (assistantships and/or scholarships) are made upon admission into the graduate program (there is no separate application for financial support). Prospective students who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents are encouraged to apply for NSERC, SSHRC, or CIHR awards (see below) in early fall of the year prior to application to grad school.

Assistantships

Graduate students in good standing receive competitive funding through graduate assistantships, budget permitting, as follows:

  • Eligibility
    • Up to 5 years of funding if entering with Bachelor's degree (2 years at the Master's level and 3 years at the Doctoral level)
    • Up to 4 years of funding if entering with Master's degree
Scholarships and Awards

Psychology graduate students have been very successful in winning scholarships at many levels of competition including :

  • National (e.g., NSERC, SSHRC)
  • Provincial (e.g., Alberta Gambling Research Institute, Alberta Innovates Health Solutions)
  • Local (e.g., Dr. Jane Silvius Graduate Scholarship Field Law Leilni Muir Grad Research Scholarship, WCHRI)
  • Institutional (e.g., Dean's Excellence Award, Izaak Walter Killam Memorial Scholarship, President's Doctoral Prize of Distinction, University of Alberta Doctoral Recruitment Scholarship, University of Alberta Doctoral Recruitment Scholarship)
  • Departmental (e.g., Deptartment of Psychology Student Research Award, Recruitment Award)

Students are encouraged to compete for awards to cover living expenses, tuition, research, and/or conference travel.

Major Awards
Incentive Awards (top ups for CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC winners)
Department Awards
Other Awards
  • Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) General Awards: Current senior students may be eligible for the Andrew Stewart Memorial Graduate Prize, the Dissertation Fellowship, and the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship
  • Recruitment Scholarships: Recruitment scholarships are available for superior master's and doctoral students. Graduate applicants are nominated by the Department (no specific scholarship application required)
Travel Awards
  • Epling Travel Fund: Students may apply for travel support of up to $300 one time to make first-authored presentations at a conference in the areas of behavioral psychology, animal learning, behavioral neuroscience, or physiology and behavior
  • Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) Travel Grants: Students may apply for up to $1500 from GPS for a research travel grant once during their master's and once during their doctoral program

Further information on graduate awards may be found at GPS's Awards and Funding web page.

International Student Differential Fee
  • Tuition costs: Higher for international students, but funds are normally available to offset the fee differential
Transportation
  • U-Pass (Universal Transit Pass): Allow students unlimited access to regular public transit services for Fall (September - December), Winter (January - April), and Spring/Summer (May - August) academic terms