Financial Aid
Financial Support
It is the policy of the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology that all M.Sc. (Thesis) and Ph.D. graduate students should, at all times of their gauranteed funding period, have financial support at a minimum of $18,000/yr stipend for MSc students and $21,000/yr stipend for PhD Students. This funding can be sourced from scholarships, Research Assistantships (RA), Teaching Assistantships, Graduate Fellowships or some combination thereof. For example, a student may hold a Teaching Assistantship for one semester, a Graduate Fellowship for the second semester, and an RA from the supervising professor's research grant for the third semester.
Research Assistant Positions
M.Sc. (Thesis) and Ph.D. graduate students in the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology are entitled to a one-semester Research Assistant position each year, funded by the senior supervisor, unless the student and supervisor have agreed to other funding arrangements.
Teaching Assistant Opportunities
Many undergraduate courses in Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology have a mandatory laboratory or tutorial component as part of the curriculum. Teaching Assistants are usually hired to run the labs or tutorials. The Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology believes strongly that a graduate student's professional development is enhanced by participation in the learning environment as a learning facilitator and, therefore, every effort is made to place thesis graduate students in the Teaching Assistant positions. In addition, graduate students are frequently hired as Tutor Markers for other undergraduate courses.
Teaching Assistantships are awarded each semester depending on the teaching requirements of the Department. Upon admission to the graduate program, M.Sc. (Thesis) students are given priority for Teaching Assistantships until they have accumulated 25 base units (approximately 5 semesters) whereas Ph.D. students are given priority until they have accumulated 40 base units (approximately 8 semesters). Eligibility for Teaching Assistantships is contingent upon satisfactory progress in the program.
The TSSU (Teaching Support Staff Union) represents all teaching support staff at SFU. Remuneration for Teaching Assistants is based on the size of the class being taught and the number of contact hours.
Available positions for Teaching Assistants and Tutor Markers are advertised several months before the start of each semester, and can be found here. Applications and enquiries should be addressed to the Graduate Program Assistant.
Scholarships and Bursaries
There are a number of scholarships that students can apply/compete for, both prior to entering the graduate program and during their graduate studies. Information about awards available to students in the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology can be found on the Dean of Graduate Studies website.
Application forms for the scholarships most frequently awarded to Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology students can be accessed from the links listed below.
BPK Graduate Entrance Award for Excellence
Private Graduate Scholarships:
- Faculty of Science Graduate Entrance Scholarship
- Dr. Tom Richardson Memorial Endowment Fund
- Glen Tibbits Graduate Student Research Award
- Gordon Diewert Graduate Scholarship in Kinesiology
- Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Graduate Scholarship in Kinesiology
- Phyllis Carter Burr Graduate Scholarship in Developmental Biology and Cell Biology
- Quirks & Quarks Graduate Award for Best PhD Thesis
- Samuel and Leatrice Cohen Prize in Environmental Physiology
- Sulzer (Bingham) Pumps Inc. Graduate Scholarship
- Wayne Goeson Memorial Award
Information about bursaries can be found on the Graduate Studies website: SFU GS
M.Sc. (Thesis) and Ph.D. graduate students in the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology are entitled to a one-semester Research Assistant position each year, funded by the senior supervisor, unless the student and supervisor have agreed to other funding arrangements.
Travel Allowances
Graduate students may apply for travel/conference allowances from the following groups:
Scholarships from External Funding Agencies