SFU's Indigenous Graduate Entrance Scholarship

"SFU’s Graduate Studies Office is pleased to announce an exciting change to the Grad Aboriginal Entrance Scholarship! The funding has been increased and the award is now worth $18,000 for master's students and $21,000 for Doctoral students, per year. This award is for an entering student (starting their graduate program in January 2016 , May 2016 or September 2016 ) who has aboriginal ancestry. 

More information about the award can be found on our website. 

This award is through nomination; if you are eligible we recommend discussing your nomination with your graduate program. You will need to email your program a current CV (including a list of any publications) and Transcripts. Your program may ask for further documents.

I was the recipient of the 2014 Aboriginal Entrance Scholarship. I will complete my MA in August of this year, just a short six months away. The time, while littered with challenges, albeit successes as well, flew by like the proverbial roller coaster. I faced many personal challenges on this journey in terms of my mental and spiritual health. But having this scholarship and not having to worry about paying tuition each semester has been a blessing. It has given me confidence in my abilities to have been first nominated, and then to have won such a prestigious award; it has been a wonderful addition to my CV and has opened doors for me; it has given me the motivation to continue the work, even when I was challenged; and it has increased my networking ability within SFU. 

I would highly recommend, each and every entering Indigenous SFU grad student to pursue this opportunity with enthusiasm. It has changed my life, and can yours as well. 

Christina Coolidge is currently attending SFU as a graduate student in the department of Communications. She is the Indigenous Program Researcher with the Career Services department. Christina is Coast Salish from Tsleil-Waututh First Nation and her matrilineal ancestry includes Metis (Cree and Scottish) from the Red River area. She hopes to help build a bridge between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous communities in order to better understand one another and to live together in a spirit of unity.