MBB holds an annual Graduate Fellowship (GF) competition (valued at $7000). Cumulative grade point average (CGPA) requirement is 3.50.

President's PHD Scholarship reward PhD students who have made excellent progress in their degree, completing all university and program requirements. This award is held during or before the student's 12th term. Students who did not complete a Master's program before transferring into a PhD are eligible to hold the award within the first 12 terms of their PhD, from the PhD start date.

Applicant (Student) Eligibility Requirements:

• Must formally participate in the event (e.g., oral or poster presentation at a conference)
• Open to both domestic and international students
• Open to students supervised by Full, Associate, or Adjunct MBB faculty members
• Travel must take place between January 1, 2026 and August 31, 2027. Both past and confirmed future travel are eligible with proof of registration.
• During Spring 2027 (the payment term), the student must be:
  • registered full-time and in good academic standing, and
  • within 9 terms (3 years) of the start of their MSc program, or within 15 terms (5 years) of the start of their PhD program (for MSc–PhD transfers, term count begins at the first PhD term). Approved leaves do not count toward term limits
• May be held only once during a student’s graduate program    

In a single merged PDF file named "Lastname-TARA.pdf", submit to mbb@sfu.ca, in the following order:

1. Student Submission:

• Current CV: please generate and submit a Canadian Common CV
• A one-page statement of interest including:
  • A description of the conference or research activity, with exact travel dates, accomodation details, and the student's role
  • A description of the anticipated benefits from event participation
• The abstract submitted to the event (formatted as required by the conference/host)
• A current graduate transcript    

2. Supervisor Submission:

• A support letter describing the student’s role in the research and what will be presented or undertaken, that is cosigned by the supervisor and student
• A budget of expenses (past or projected), prepared jointly with the student
• A commitment to cover expenses not funded by TARA
• A justification of financial need and/or the significance of the opportunity

Applications will be reviewed by the Scholarship Committee, considering:

• evidence of the student's research achievementsjudication Criteria:
• Academic impact and educational value of the opportunity (priority will be given to international events or those with large audiences)
• Supervisor's financial need (priority may be given to opportunities that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive)
• Availability of funds within the TARA budget

Administration note: For travel completed before Spring 2026, supervisors may have already reimbursed student expenses from their research grants. In such cases, the TARA payment will be treated as part of the student’s Spring 2027 stipend (contributing to the departmental minimum stipend guarantee). Supervisors may reduce their stipend contribution in that term by an amount equal to the TARA award.