Graduate Student Funding

Tuition information can be found here.

The Department of Chemistry offers funding to all incoming graduate students.  The current 2023-24 academic year amounts are:

MSc Students: $27,000

  • Funding is guaranteed for two years to entering MSc students, and five years (from the point of graduate admission) to students who transfer from the MSc to the PhD program. Funding includes contributions from scholarships, graduate fellowships (GF's), Teaching Assistant (TA) appointments, and/or other funding. The guarantee is subject to satisfactory degree progress and TA performance.

PhD Students: $29,000 *(+ $5,400 PhD Research Scholarship in years 1-4)

*The $5,400 PhD Research Scholarship is used to support new and current research-based PhD students at SFU, as long as they meet all the eligibility requirements and conditions as outlined in these Terms of Reference

Prospective students can compete for an NSERC or Major Entrance Award. Exceptional candidates who apply by April 30 will be considered for the Dean's Graduate Entrance Scholarship. The Graduate Dean Entrance Scholarship (GDES) is currently valued at up to $21,000 per annum. A number of one-time Special Graduate Entrance Scholarships  ($4,000 - $6,000) are awarded to promising incoming graduate students. In addition, a large number of internal graduate fellowships are available on a competitive basis so that current graduate students can focus on their dissertation research.

Please refer to the Graduate Awards Guide for more information on various awards, bursaries and scholarships administered either by the University or external sources.

Teaching assistant positions (TA-ships) are offered on a competitive basis each semester to qualified graduate students. A full TA-ship includes set hours per semester for responsibilities that may include class time, course preparation, grading laboratory notebooks or tutorial papers for exams and/or other duties as assigned or required by the Department Chair or the Course Supervisor. See TSSU Collective Agreement for more information.

Graduate students receive invaluable experience in their field. Their responsibilities vary as widely as their fields, but most graduate students will participate in a range of activities from practical research to grant writing to community engagement to presentations of their research.

Full-time international students with a valid study permit do not require a work permit to be a teaching assistant on campus. (Citizenship & Immigration Canada: Working on Campus). A Social Insurance Number will be required.