Resources for Graduate Students

FAQ for Graduate Scholarships

Deadlines

For external graduate scholarship applications, there are often internal SFU deadlines that occur prior to the deadline listed on the funder’s website. Please ensure that you consult the Awards + Funding webpage, which is managed by the Office of Graduate Studies. The Office of Graduate Studies is responsible for setting and facilitating all internal SFU deadlines for external graduate scholarships.

For questions, please reach out to the Administrative Assistant, Scholarships (edgpadmin@sfu.ca) internal to the Faculty of Education as your first point of contact. If needed, your next point of contact is the Awards + Funding Team (gradawards@sfu.ca) in the central Office of Graduate Studies.

Funding Opportunities

You can explore the various graduate funding opportunities, your eligibility, and correlated timelines through the Awards + Funding webpage, which is managed by the Office of Graduate Studies.

For questions, please reach out to the Administrative Assistant, Scholarships (edgpadmin@sfu.ca) internal to the Faculty of Education as your first point of contact. If needed, your next point of contact is the Awards + Funding Team (gradawards@sfu.ca) in the central Office of Graduate Studies.

Support & Resources for Applying

  • Your Supervisor
    • Your supervisor is an expert in your field as well as with research project conception and articulation. In their role as your supervisor, they are expected to support your scholarship applications. They should act as your #1 advisor for developing your research proposal and providing feedback on your draft(s).
    • Tip: consult with them as early as possible about their capacity, availability, and preferred process, as well as your needs and the deadline
  • Administrative Assistant, Scholarships, Faculty of Education (edgpadmin@sfu.ca)
    • This Faculty of Education staff member is your go-to administrative support within Graduate Programs to support your scholarship journey while a graduate student in our Faculty at SFU.
  • Research Hub in the Faculty of Education
    • Annual Research Hub Workshop for Graduate Scholarships: the Faculty of Education’s Research Grant Facilitator (edgrants@sfu.ca) offers a multi-part annual workshop during the Summer semester, which includes (but is not limited to):
      • Best Practice Guidance for Writing Research Project Proposals
      • Tips & Tricks from Previous Faculty of Education Awardees of Major Graduate Scholarships
      • Deadline & Eligibility Overview by the central Office of Graduate Studies
      • Brainstorm & Feedback Session(s)
    • Asynchronous Canvas Course
      • Recordings: all presentations from the Annual Workshop are recorded and available to watch
      • Library: examples of successful research proposals are also accessible
      • Enrol here: https://canvas.sfu.ca/enroll/7RNA8A
    • Writing Retreat for Graduate Students
    • IDEAS Graduate Research Podcast:
  • Awards + Funding Team in the Office of Graduate Studies (gradawards@sfu.ca)
    • This SFU Central team sets and manages all internal SFU deadlines as well as advising on eligibility criteria and available opportunities
    • Library: this team offers a document library of successful applications through their Graduate Student Portal
    • Additional Resources: under some opportunities on the Awards + Funding webpage, there are downloadable flowcharts and applicant worklists
    • This team offers seasonal drop-in sessions for support (often 3-6 weeks in advance of internal SFU deadlines); please check here for the latest information and schedule

Contacts

Research Hub Writing Retreats & Research Skill Workshops for Grad Students

The Research Hub offers regular writing retreats and research skills workshops for graduate students. Whether you are crafting a paper for class, composing a journal article for publication, or embarking on your thesis writing journey, the Research Hub's Writing Retreats and Research Skill Workshops provide a perfect opportunity to boost your productivity and connect with your peers. You will receive both academic and social support through these events! 

Announcements for upcoming sessions are sent to all graduate students in advance, so please keep an eye out for them and be sure to register if you are interested!  

If you have any questions, please contact Amy Jin (yja108@sfu.ca) or the Research Hub (education_researchhub@sfu.ca). 

Research Hub Online Community

You are invited to join the Research Hub @ the Faculty of Education, a growing online community in Canvas. Stay updated on upcoming events by the Research Hub, be connected with Education faculty and graduate students, and access valuable programs, services and resources provided. Click to join now: https://canvas.sfu.ca/enroll/GHNPJH. Log in with your SFU computing ID and you will be part of our community.

IDEAS Podcast

Innovative Dialogue in Educational Approaches and Scholarship (IDEAS) is a series of podcasts created by and for graduate students and researchers as a platform to showcase their research practices. The series features graduate students from diverse disciplines at different points in their research, sharing their challenges, accomplishments, and experiences. Special thanks to Ms. Ruo-Han Wang, Ms. Shaila Shams, Dr. Poh Tan, and Dr. Kari Gustafson for conducting podcast interviews. Also, we are grateful to our amazing podcast guests. Episodes are released on the last Wednesday of the month.

We would like to respectfully acknowledge that IDEAS podcast series is recorded and launched at SFU located on the unceded traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səlil̓wətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Kwikwetlem (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm) Nation.

Episode 69: Embracing the Cracks: Self-Care, Collective Care, and the Everyday Aesthetics of Teaching and Mothering

In this episode of Embracing the Cracks, we speak with Dr. Misty Paterson, who newly passed her thesis defence in late September, 2025 from Arts Education, SFU, about her journey from classroom teacher to pedagogical artist and creator of Pop-Up Studio. Misty shares how her inquiry-based practice emerged from navigating systemic pressures, community needs, and her own experiences as a mother. Together, we explore the concept of “stress contagion,” the interplay of teacher well-being and student success, and how collective, arts-based care practices can transform educational spaces. This conversation invites us to consider how teaching, learning, and parenting intertwine, and how cracks in our systems and selves can open pathways to creativity, care, and hope.

For more information about Misty's Workshop, please check the link, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kcLlGI5Evs5PDtcl6H3mcCJgw2VjaRIL/view?usp=drivesdk. 

Note: In Canada, a T4 is a tax slip issued to report employment income. It’s mentioned in this episode in the context of work and compensation.

References

Misty Paterson’s Thesis and Publication (Defence taken place on Sept. 17, 2025)
· Paterson, M. (2025). Making care matter through co-inquiry: The HeART of well-becoming (Doctoral dissertation, Simon Fraser University). https://summit.sfu.ca/_flysystem/fedora/2025-09/etd24046.pdf
· Paterson, M. (2024). Weaving care threads: Matrixial encounters in teacher professional learning. Artizein: Arts & Teaching Journal, 9(1), 11. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/atj/vol9/iss1/11/

Research that Misty drew on in this episode
· Kennedy, J. (2024, July 28). Men are spending more time looking after their children – and it’s not just cultural, it’s in their genes. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/28/men-children-cultural-parenthood-hormones
· SickKids. (2023, September 18). Hospital visits for self-harm rise during the pandemic, especially among young females. https://www.sickkids.ca/en/news/archive/2023/hospital-visits-for-self-harm-rise-during-the-pandemic-especially-among-young-females/
· Sparks, S. D. (2017, June 7). How teachers’ stress affects students: A research roundup. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/education/how-teachers-stress-affects-students-a-research-roundup/2017/06
· Oberle, E., & Schonert-Reichl, K. A. (2016). Stress contagion in the classroom? The link between classroom teacher burnout and morning cortisol in elementary school students. Social Science & Medicine, 159, 30-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.04.031
· Wray, D., Badets, J., Keating, N., & Fast, J. (2023, November 29). Canada’s care economy: A conceptual framework. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-652-x/89-652-x2023002-eng.htm

Abbreviations
UBC-University of British Columbia
SFU-Simon Fraser University

Speaker Bio

Misty Paterson is a mother, a recent PhD graduate in Arts Education at Simon Fraser University and a teacher mentor in a public school district in Western Canada. With teacher burnout on the rise, Misty’s arts-based research responds to stress contagion by promoting well-becoming through creative co-inquiry with teachers. Holding an MA in Curriculum and Instruction, Misty’s work bridges arts education, wellbeing, and instructional leadership—integrating scholarly research with relational, practice-based work in diverse educational settings. As an independent pedagogical consultant, Misty supports inquiry-based learning and teacher development locally and internationally. Past roles include Adjunct Teaching Professor, Teacher Education cohort coordinator, and Vice Principal at Western Canada’s first public school to offer the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. Visit Misty at www.popupstudioed.com 

🗓️ Misty will be offering Breaking Burnout from the Inside Out for a limited time from January to May 2026, as she nurtures ongoing project work in schools and anticipate beginning a postdoctoral fellowship at McGill University in September 2026 (if all goes well). 

📨 If Breaking Burnout feels aligned with your goals, Misty would love to discuss how you might bring this experience to your community. You can make a request here to start the conversation. Logistics, like honorariums, are arranged to reflect our needs.

Upcoming Episode

Episode 70 will be released by the end of December. Stay tuned! 

Past Episodes

Episode 68 - Navigating Complexities in Higher Education: Rethinking Student Success, Support, and Struggles - Makhfirat Olimshoeva - Click to Listen 

Episode 67 - Writing the Self: Metaphor, Space, and Voice in the Thesis Journey with Dr. Jason Forde - Dr. Jason Forde - Click to listen

IDEAS Introduction:  2025 Fall Onward - Ruo-Han Wang - Click to Listen

Episode 66 - Education, Activism, and Meditation: A Conversation with Dr. Derek Rasmussen on Social Justice and Holistic Learning - Dr. Derek Rasmussen - Click to Listen

Episode 65 - Digital Ethnography and AI in Education: A Conversation with Tsoghik Grigoryan - Dr. Tsoghik Grigoryan - Click to Listen

Episode 64 - “Rethinking and Unthinking Academic Publications” - Chunhong Liu Shares His Expertise and Insights about Knowledge Production System in Western Academia and Where to Go From Here - Chunhong Liu - Click to Listen

Episode 63: Decolonizing Vocational Education: A Journey from Practice to Policy - Sabrina Ngo - Click to Listen

Episode 62: Rethinking Kinship through Picturebooks in Children’s Literature: Dr. Kathleen Forrester Shares her Research about Changing the Story - Dr. Kathleen Forrester - Click to Listen

Episode 61: Standard English in Canadian Postsecondary: Education student Ngoc Le shares her research about Vietnamese students' language experiences - Ngoc Le - Click to Listen

Episode 60: A Journey of “gatherings with members of an Inuit community- Kuujjuaq” in Nunavik: Natacha Roudeix Reflects on her Journey from Being a Visitor to a Become-Guest and Shares the Stories of Plurilingual Practices, Language, Culture and Identity from the Community - Dr. Natacha Roudeix - Click to Listen

Episode 59: “Linguistically Responsive Classrooms”- An Instructor Series Designed to Facilitate Accessible and Inclusive Teaching Practices at SFU - Amanda Wallace and Eilidh Singh - Click to Listen

Episode 58: Tri-agency scholarship series discussion with Shaghayegh Bahrami- a Vanier scholar and doctoral student in the faculty of education - Shaghayegh Bahrami - Click to Listen

Episode 57: Tri-agency scholarship series discussion with Katie Lysakowski - a counselling psychology MA student and SSHRC winner - Katie Lysakowski - Click to Listen

Episode 56: Tri-agency scholarship series discussion with Olessya Akimenko - an education PhD candidate and SSHRC winner - Olessya Akimenko - Click to Listen

Episode 55: Tri-agency scholarship series discussion with Sabrina Ngo - an education PhD candidate and SSHRC winner - Sabrina Ngo - Click to Listen

Episode 54: Acknowledging students’ plurilingual repertoire in learning and meaning making: Dr. Brent Amburgey shares his experiences and insights - Dr. Brent Amburgey - Click to Listen

Episode 53: Navigating the graduate journey and building a career in academia: Dr. Amir Michalovich shares his experiences and insights - Dr. Amir Michalovich - Click to Listen

Episode 52: Racialized International Students Who Speak English as an Additional Language: What Influences Their Academic and Social Trajectories in Canadian Postsecondary Institutions? - Pedro dos Santos - Click to Listen

Episode 51: Muslims and Their Acculturation in the West: A Conversation on the Similarities, Differences, and Adopting an Imaginal Approach to Reconcile - Dr. Kazem Zabihollahi - Click to Listen

Episode 50: Re-imagining Second Language Writing in Canadian Post-Secondary Education: Understanding History for Future Directions - Dr. Joel Heng Hartse, Dr. Bong-gi Sohn, and Pedro dos Santos - Click to Listen

Episode 49: Trust and friendship in Ethnography: A Researcher’s Reflections - Fatima Jalali - Click to Listen

Episode 48: Practicing Relational Feminism and Posthumanism: What It Means and How It Shapes Us - Drs. Jacky Barreiro, Magali Forte, and Tanya Behrisch - Click to Listen

Episode 47: Making Sense of Data - Drs. Connie Lam James, Kari Gustafson, and Magali Forte - Click to Listen

Episode 46: Re-imagining an Alternative to Knowledge-based Inquiry - Monica Bhattacharjee - Click to Listen

Episode 45: A Researcher's Dilemma in Navigating Western and Eastern Epistemologies and their Manifestation in Coconstructing Data in Rural China - Yujuan Wu - Click to Listen

Episode 44: Shifting Research Focus, Adopting the Lens of Phenomenology, and Embracing COVID-19 Challenges - Michael Maser - Click to Listen

Episode 43: The Journey of the Reading, Thinking and Doing (RTD) Club - Jacky Barreiro, Magali Forte, and Tanya Behrisch - Click to Listen

Episode 42: Postdoc Series Discussion with Dr. Canan Güneş - Canan Güneş - Click to Listen

Episode 41: Postdoc Series Discussion with Dr. Gloria (Yu-ting) Lin - Gloria (Yu-ting) Lin - Click to Listen

Episode 40: Postdoc Series Discussion with Dr. Amber Moore - Amber Moore - Click to Listen

Episode 39: Postdoc Series Discussion with Dr. Qinghua Chen - Qinghua Chen - Click to Listen

Episode 38: A Researcher’s Journey of Negotiation with Self - Connie Lam James - Click to Listen

Episode 37: Community Engaged Research and Environmental Education: Part 2 - Jacquie Kowk, Maria Cristina Albuquerque, and Poh Tan - Click to Listen

Episode 36: Community Engaged Research and Environmental Education: Part 1 - Chantal Martin, Poh Tan, and David Zandvliet - Click to Listen

Episode 35: Community Engaged Research: The Importance of Relationship Building - Akiko Ohta - Click to Listen

Re-introduction of IDEAS in 2023 - Shaila Shams - Click to Listen

Episode 34: A PDP graduate's reflections on learning and teaching - Daniel Cooper - Click to Listen

Episode 33: Mathematics Education and learning through technology - Canan Güneş - Click here to Listen

Episode 32: Writing is Research. Research is Writing. Why Research and Writing is like building with LEGO bricks - Albert Fung - Click to Listen

Episode 31: Equity and Inclusiveness in K-12 education - Amrit Cojocaru - Click to Listen

Episode 30: A Researcher's journey into exploring and accepting "unconventional" methodology - Denise Findlay - Click to Listen

Re-Introduction to the Podcast - Dr. Poh Tan & Ms. Shaila Shams - Click to Listen

Episode 29: Faculty Writing Talk Part 4: Imagination as soil: Engaging and connecting through your writing practice - Dr. Gillian Judson - Click to Listen

Episode 28: Faculty Writing Talk Part 3: Finding your voice in academic spaces - Dr. Robyn Ilten-Gee - Click to Listen

Episode 27: Faculty Writing Talk Part 2: Writing as public thinking - Dr. Yumiko Murai - Click to Listen

Episode 26: Mentorship conversations - The mentors we've never met - Hollman Lozano - Click to Listen

Episode 25: Breathing in and breathing out with your writing practice - Dr. Cher Hill & Kari Gustafson - Click to Listen

Episode 24: Conversations in the spaces in between Part IV: Supervisor / Supervisee Relationships - Tania Bakas & Dr. Masahiro Minami - Click to Listen

Episode 23: Shattering Ceilings and Breaking Moulds Toward Graduate Research Success - Dr. Susan O'Neill - Click to Listen

Episode 22: Conversations in the spaces in between Part III: Mentorship of the More-than-human World - Tanya Behrisch - Click to Listen

Episode 21: Conversations in the spaces in between Part II: Supervisor/Supervisee Relationships - Dr. Ann Chinnery & Kristy Dellebuur O'Connor - Click to Listen

Episode 20: Conversations in the spaces in between Part I: Supervisor/Supervisee Relationships - Dr. Celeste Snowber & Carolina Bergonzoni - Click to Listen

IDEAS Introduction to A New Host - Kari Gustafson - Click to Listen

Episode 19: Successful Writing Practices from an EAL Perspective - Aisha Ravindran - Click to Listen

Episode 18: Arts, Intergenerational Education, and Interdisciplinary Research - Caroline Pacheco - Click to Listen

Episode 17: Music and Mathematics: The Role of Creativity in Pedagogy - Srividhya Balaji - Click to Listen

Episode 16: Reflections from IDEAS Co-hosts - Sharing What We've Learned with Other Podcasters – Poh Tan & Shaila Shams - Click to Listen

Episode 15: Confessions of a PhD Candidate: Navigating Challenges and Dealing with Anxiety during Research - Michael Maser - Click to Listen

Episode 14: Negotiating Learning Differences within Culturally Diverse Context - An International Student's Perspective - Chukwudi Nwobodo - Click to Listen

Episode 13: Navigating Controversy within Educational Research - Steven Zhao  - Click to Listen

Episode 12: Being Comfortable with Discomfort in Educational Research: A Phenomenological Approach - Lori Driussi  - Click to Listen

Episode 11: Publishing in Grad School - How to Overcome Challenges and Issues - Magali Forte - Click to Listen

Episode 10: Educational Research From a Social Justice Perspective - Jade Ho - Click to Listen

Episode 9: Indigenous Methodologies - Working together through respect, reciprocity, and relationality.- Kau'i Keliipio - Click to Listen

Episode 8: International Research Collaborations - A partnership between two graduate students - Mr. Eduardo Gluck & Dr. Poh Tan  Click to Listen

Episode 7: Research During COVID-19 Times - Ms. Livia Poljak  Click to Listen

Episode 6: Formulating a Research Question - Mr. Liang Cao  Click to Listen

Episode 5: Managing Your Time for Research and Writing - Ms. Kari Gustafson  Click to Listen

Episode 4: Importance of Critical Reading for Research - Jacky Barreiro   Click to Listen

Episode 3: Writing Comprehensive Examinations under Time Constraints - Ms. Livia Poljak   Click to Listen

Episode 2: Building towards a Conceptual Framework for Research - Ms. Shaila Shams   Click to Listen

Episode 1: Research and the Graduate Process - Dr. Poh Tan   Click to Listen

An introduction: Dr. Poh Tan and Ms. Shaila Shams  Click to Listen