Financial support package for PhDs

The initiative is indicative of Western's commitment to "recruiting the best students into its graduate programs," and offering "competitive packages of financial support to prospective students," says Alan Weedon, Dean of Graduate Studies.

Under the new policy, only students with an annual financial package of at least $17,000 will be admitted into PhD programs, starting this fall.

"The initiative has been designed to ensure that all fundable, full-time PhD students will receive an annual financial package that provides resources for the continuation of studies at the PhD level," Weedon said. "Under the previous policy, requirements were very much de-centralized and set by individual programs. They were much more variable. Now, in order to recruit the best students and enable them to meet the majority of their expenses, we are asking graduate programs to put together packages of at least $17,000."

The FGS has been working for a number of months with graduate programs to ensure that an appropriate support package can be assembled for all eligible continuing and new PhD students. For most programs, the implementation of the initiative will involve no change in the process and policies currently used for admission, funding and progression of PhD students. This funding initiative was discussed at the 2001 Divisional Committee meetings of FGS, at the 2001 Faculty Council, at a recent meeting of deans, and at a recent Society of Graduate Students' Council meeting.

"Western places a priority on seeking to ensure that no qualified student offered admission into a program is unable to take up his or her place because of lack of financial resources," Weedon says. "At the graduate level, it is especially important that financial resources be in place for PhD students who frequently face additional costs associated with investing in a further four years of study after the baccalaureate and master's degrees."

Funding can come from a variety of sources and can differ from student to student. Sources include supervisor research grant support, external scholarship support, program, department, faculty or FGS teaching assistantships, internal scholarship support and employment other than teaching assistantships.

In order to be eligible for the financial package, PhD students must be full-time in a Western PhD program, be within the funding period as stipulated in the FGS calendar, have and maintain good academic standing, including a minimum average of 78 per cent, and apply for all available major external scholarships for which he or she is eligible.
For more information on the financial package, visit the Western Graduate Studies Web site