ARCHAEOLOGY PhD Student Minimum Funding Policy

This program-level funding policy has been developed to accompany GGR 1.17. 

Effective Date: September 1, 2024
Approved by: Archaeology Graduate Program Committee on January 25, 2024
Approved by: Graduate Studies on January 29, 2024

The primary goal in the development of a minimum funding guarantee is equity. The Department of Archaeology equity practice will comply with the equity policy being developed by the  Faculty of Environment.

Minimum funding in the PhD program has been established to support students who are not engaged in professional work. Students who are working professionals might not receive a minimum funding guarantee. For the purposes of this policy, a working professional is defined as an individual who has completed formal, specialized education or training in a particular area and/or has recognized competence in that area and is employed in a job where their specialized knowledge is required. This includes, but is not limited to, professions such as consulting archaeologist, lab manager or lab technician, specialized analyst, teacher, counselor, consultant, accountant, management consultant, electrician, analyst, plumber, engineer, or physician. 

1. Students enrolled in the PhD program in Archaeology are expected to complete the program in 5 years (15 terms). Students in the program will be funded for a minimum of 4 years (12 terms) terms. We cannot guarantee funding beyond 12 terms, but we will work with the student and their supervisor to secure some level of funding until completion.
2. In the case that there is a conflict between this policy and GGR 1.17, GGR 1.17 will prevail.
3. Students will receive guaranteed minimum funding of the minimum amount stipulated in GGR 1.17.2 (i.e., $28,000) for the term of the funding guarantee provided in 1.
4. Continued funding is contingent on maintaining a CGPA of 3.5 or higher, satisfactory progress in the program, applying for major internal and external awards for which they are eligible (i.e., Vanier CGS, CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC CGSD, Trudeau Foundation, CSC, and other major awards), and meeting the supervisor’s reasonable expectations as detailed in the annual progress review (often completed via the Graduate Progress Report) and as outlined in the Prospectus and Colloquium and Comprehensive Examination sections of the Archaeology Graduate Student Handbook.
5. All of the following count toward meeting the student’s minimum guaranteed funding amount: 
   1. Scholarship payment from supervisor’s research grant 
   2. up to 8.34 base units of Teaching Assistant or sessional teaching assignments
   3. Research assistant and research support assignments
   4. PhD Research Scholarship*
   5. Tri-Agency awards
   6. External scholarships including, for example, those adjudicated by Graduate Studies
   7. Internal scholarships adjudicated by Graduate Studies
   8. Program-specific awards, including donor awards, such as (but not limited to):
      1. Graduate Fellowship
      2. Special Entrance Graduate Scholarship
      3. Alexia Sepideh Kiaii Archaeology Graduate Scholarship
      4. Brian Williamson Graduate Travel Award in Archaeology
      5. Dr. J.V. Christensen Graduate Scholarship in Archaeology
      6. Roy L. Carlson Graduate Scholarship
6. To reward excellence, income from the following sources is not counted toward the student’s guaranteed funding amount:
   1. Additional one- to three-term (up to one year) awards, regardless of the amount, will be fully awarded to the student above the funding minimum. This includes many donor awards.
7. Student funding will not be provided in equal increments over the course of the academic year. Students are advised to budget accordingly.
8. The funding year begins in Fall and ends in Summer for all students enrolled in the program. Students who begin the program in a semester other than the semester in which the funding year begins will have their funding accordingly pro-rated for the remaining portion of the academic year.
9. The time spent in non-required Co-operative Education or Internship programs will count against the total terms of guaranteed funding.
10. To reward scholarship success and ensure more equitable distribution of funds within the program, students will receive the following funding adjustment in addition to their guaranteed minimum funding amount if they are successful in securing the following competitive scholarships and/or awards.
    1. As per 6 above, if students receive additional awards up to and including 1 (one) year in duration, they will receive the full award amount above their funding minimum. This includes many donor awards.
    2. The following funding scenarios are examples of funding students will receive in addition to the guaranteed minimum, should they win multi-year funding:
       1. Graduate Dean’s Entrance Scholarship (GDES) award holders will receive a minimum of $2,000 in addition to the minimum funding while they hold the GDES.
       2. PhD SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship award holders ($20,000 per year for up to 4 years) will receive a minimumf $2,000 in addition to the minimum funding while they hold the award.
       3. PhD PGSD (NSERC Doctoral Award) award holders ($21,000 per year for up to 3 years) will receive a minimum of $2,000 in addition to the minimum funding while they hold the award.
       4. PhD CGS-D award holders ($35,000 per year for up to 3 years) will receive a minimum of $5,400 in addition to the $35,000 while they hold the award.
       5. When a student does not hold a multi-year award, they will receive the minimum funding amount as stated in 3.
       6. If a student receives a multi-year award not listed here, the program shall provide them with additional funding in the spirit of the examples above.
11. This policy will be reviewed and adjusted as required at least every three years. Policy revisions will apply to newly-admitted students.

* Students who receive a tuiton waiver will not be eligible for the PhD Research Scholarship and may have their total minimum funding amount reduced accordingly.