Graduate Student Funding

 

Graduate students are typically supported by fellowships or employed as departmental teaching and research assistants. Applicants are automatically considered for any departmental and university funding we have to offer. This funding (recruitment fellowships, teaching assistantships, etc.) is allocated at the discretion of the Graduate Admissions Committee.

Masters Funding

Funding for PhD students in sociology is prioritized over MA student funding. However, when available, MA students may receive some funding support, and are able to apply for teaching assistant positions or other opportunities within the department.

Doctoral Funding

To the extent possible, PhD students are offered a 4-5 year guaranteed minimum funding package, towards covering living costs and tuition expenses, consisting of a combination of fellowships, teaching assistantships and research assistantships. These are baseline guarantees; if a student’s earnings are greater than or equal to the funding guaranteed in a given year, then the department’s obligations are considered to be met.

External Funding

All graduate students are expected to apply for all external funding for which they are eligible. Applications for some fellowships may be made before arrival at McGill.

The department communicates directly with students via electronic mail about new fellowship, assistantship and other student training/employment opportunities. However, the major funding opportunities pursued by students are the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) MA and Ph.D. competitions, and the Provincial FRQ MA and Ph.D competitions. For more information on additional funding prospects, we encourage you to consult GPS’s funding pages – internal funding and external funding. Students are also encouraged to independently search for additional funding opportunities - some students may be able to find scholarships and other funding opportunities for which they or their research are specifically eligible.

Postdoc Funding

The Department of Sociology does not offer financial support for postdoctoral students. Students who wish to pursue a postdoctoral position working with one of our faculty need to bring their own funding and contact the faculty to reach an agreement with them before they can apply for a postdoctoral position in the department.

Payments

In order to be paid on time (whether for a teaching assistantship or otherwise), be sure to complete all required documentation (from the department and university) and ensure that your banking information is up-to-date on MINERVA. It should be entered in the ‘Bank Account Used for Student-Initiated Payments’ section under the Direct Deposit Account Menu on MINERVA in order to receive pay outs via direct deposit. If your banking information has not been added, you will not receive payment of any kind including Teaching and Research Assistantships as well as various awards allocated to you as part of your funding package.

Tuition Deferral

If a student is unable to pay their tuition fees in one lump sum, they can request a deferral. This is commonly (but not exclusively) done by students who receive their funding in the form of monthly stipends from departmental, institutional, or external funding sources. See Student Accounts’ Fee Deferral page for instructions.

 

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