MASc and PhD

Awards, Fellowships and Scholarships

SFU Graduate awards are processed using the Graduate Awards Applicaton System (GA3), unless stated. All graduate students should set up their GA3 profile, including transcripts, CV, list of publications, and other documents, early in their program, and revisit it regularily to update it with current records. You should do this independantly of applying for awards. With a current GA3 profile in place, applying for open awards is quicker.

It is wise to review the terms of reference for the awards so that you know which one's you can apply for. The terms of reference for each award are listed on the Graduate Studies (GS) website. Students are encouraged to update their list of publication through GA3.

Visist here to learn how to use GA3.

TIMELINES AND DEADLINES

Different awards open at different times, and awards are administered at different levels. The School receives a budget which covers Graduate Fellowships (GF), Travel and Research Awards (TARA), the Graduate Dean's Entrance Scholarship, the Special Graduate Entrance Scholarship and President's PhD Awards. The process and timing for each of these awards is different and the notification for when the applications are open comes from your Graduate Program Assistant (GPA) by email to your SFU account.

Other awards, such as the Donor Awards, will open to applications for a limited period of time. Watch those opening and closing dates and ensure that your application is complete. GA3 can be fussy, so its worth going back to check your application after you have submitted to ensure all the necessary documents have saved correctly.

Common Types of Awards and Scholarships 

Graduate Fellowship (GF)

Eligibility:

  • have a min 3.50 CGPA
  • hold award within the first 9 terms of MASc program and 15 terms of PhD program
  • be registered F/T to hold the award
  • other requirements stated in ENSC GF policy

Documents to be submitted:

  • a PDF copy of your most recent progress report (under supporting documents)
  • additional information form (under supporting documents)
  • Transcript
  • CV

The School Graduate Fellowship (GF) policy can be found here(Revision in progress)

The additional information form for the GF competition can be found here.

FAS Graduate Fellowship (FAS-GF)

Eligibility:

  • have a min 3.50 CGPA
  • hold award within the first 9 terms of MASc program and 15 terms of PhD program
  • be registered F/T to hold the award
  • ineligible if carrying a deferred grade
  • other requirements stated in ENSC GF policy

Documents to be submitted:

  • Supervisor statement confirming that he/she will provide matching funds through research assistantship
  • Transcript
  • CV

Half of the fellowship is funded by the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences and the other half (in the form of an RA) is funded by the student's supervisor(s).

The School Graduate Fellowship (GF) policy can be found here(Revision in progress)

GRADUATE TRAVEL AND RESEARCH AWARD (TARA)

Eligibility:

  • have a min 3.50 CGPA
  • be enrolled in a research-based
  • travel for research purposes or direct costs of research
  • other requirements stated in ENSC TARA policy

Documents to be submitted:

  • travel rationale
  • conference invitation letter or confirmation email
  • expenses receipts
  • transcript

The School Graduate Travel and Research Award (TARA) policy can be found here. (Not published yet)

Entrance Scholarships

SFU’s Entrance Scholarships are only available to applicants during the first semester of their program. Applicants do not apply for these awards but are nominated by the department.

Nomination does not garantee you receiving the scholarship. The scholarships are given out based on funding availability and nominees' porfolio. 

Donor Funded Awards

Most Donor Funded awards are open in GA3 in May (for fall payment). Each award has its own requirements. To check if you are eligible, visit the Graduate Studies page. Below are the common Donor Funded awards for engineering science graduate students:

The generic requirements are:

  • Be registered full time in a research based graduate program at SFU while holding the award (note that you can apply for awards at any time, even if not registered)
  • Have a minimum 3.50 CGPA in your current graduate program OR 3.50 CGPA in last two years, if you are not yet in your intended graduate program
  • Meet any additional eligibility or criteria specific to the award

Tri-Agency (NSERC/SSHRC/CHRC) and Trudeau and Vanier Scholarships

TriAgency awards are administered directly through the Government of Canada. 

Students who are Canadian citizens can apply for NSERC or SSHRC grants, depending on their area of research. Students can not apply for both NSERC and SSHRC. International students can apply for the Trudeau and the Vanier.

Visit here to learn how to apply for this award.

NSERC Top-Up


The FAS Research Assistantship/Award, referred to as NSERC Top-Up, is available to graduate students who have received a National Tri-Agency Award or Scholarship (NSERC/CIHR/SSHRC) and who are registered for the semester in which they will receive the award. It is a one-time award of $6000.00. This amount will be funded in part (1/2) from the student’s Supervisor and a second half from the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Dean’s Office.

Please reach out to your Graduate Program Assistant at enscgsec@sfu.ca at the beginning of the next semester once you received the award to apply for the top up. 

Other Sources of Funding

Many different agencies and groups run scholarships independant of SFU. Where they are able to, GS hosts links to those competitions, however it is very difficult for them to stay current with these competitions and you may need to spend more time investigating these opportunties. You may also find local service clubs in your home community (the Legion, the Lions, the Soroptomists, Rotary, etc) may be willing to help with small contributions of funding if you simply write a letter and ask. SFU also has some bursaries and other funds you should look at and see if you are eligible.

Award Payment

You will only be contacted if you are awarded. If you can check your application status on GA3 if the result has been released by GS, "ALST" means you are recommended for the award. Blank or "NREC" mean you are not recommended. The School of Engineering Science does not announce the competition results and we do not know the timeline of GS announcing the result. Please ensure you check your GA3 account regularly. 

Awards will be offered to you by GS via email to your SFU account.  The awards are paid based on when you accept the award according to a schedule. Typically, the awards are deposited to your student account before tuition is due. Your tuition is deducted from your award payment, and then the remaining funds are transfered to your linked account if you have signed up for Direct Deposit in goSFU (do this, keep it all simple). Please note, if you applied to an award and you choose the "pay term" to be a future term (eg. You applied in Summer 2023 and chose the pay term to be Spring 2024), you will not receive an email from GS until the pay term commence. 

For more information on awards and scholarships, please see the Graduate Studies website.

 

Declaring Supervisor and Supervising Committee 

According to General Graduate Regulations 1.6, when a graduate student has been admitted, the graduate program committee will exercise general supervision and provide academic advice for the student through the chair of the graduate program committee or a faculty member designated by the chair, until a supervisor has been appointed, normally no later than the student's second term if appropriate.

Composition of Supervisory Committee

In MASc program and PhD program, a supervisory committee must be established. The minimum composition for the supervisory committee consists of

  • A supervisor, or two (2) co-supervisors*
  • At least one committee member** 

* A co-supervision arrangement may be created when two individuals exercise the degree of supervision and support of a supervisor. When a co-supervision arrangement is created, all documentation must be approved by both co-supervisors. Appointment as co-supervisor recognizes a significant contribution of time, expertise or financial resources. The supervision of the student remains a joint responsibility of the co-supervisors. See more on GGR 1.6.5.

**The committee member must be a faculty member, adjunct professor or research associate at Simon Fraser University. A suitably qualified individual may be eligible to serve as an additional committee member (i.e. you must have an internal committee member to include an external committee member)

Submit the following forms as needed to enscgsec@sfu.ca:

To appoint a supervisor, the whole supervisory committee, or the rest of the supervisory committee if only the supervisor is appointed previously, complete the APPROVAL OF SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE form.

To add or remove members on your supervisory committee, or add a co-supervisor, complete the REQUEST TO CHANGE SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE form. If you are adding a co-supervisor, please have both co-supervisors sign the form.

If you are including an external to the committee, submit a short CV of the external along with the form.

We encourage students to visit Forms for current students on the Graduate Studies website for the latest versions of the forms. 

 

Graduate Progress Report 

The Graduate Progress Report (GPR) is an annual review completed by all graduate students in a research-based program. The GPR is a collaborative record of a student’s progress in the program allowing for input from the student, supervisory committee, and Graduate Program Chair.

The report is generated every Fall term and is completed through goSFU. You will receive an email when your portion of the Graduate Progress Report is available. More information about the goSFU GPR workflow can be found here

You will need to complete at least 2 terms in SFU before you can fill out your first goSFU-generated GPR. Therefore, students admitted in Summer and Fall term will receive their first report next year Fall. Therefore, students are strongly suggested to complete the paper-based GPR in PDF format out of cycle.  Supervisors  can also complete this form if they would like to have a more frequent evaluation with students. This GPR is kept internal to the School of Engineering Science and will not have a record on goSFU. 

For Master’s and Doctoral students in research-based programs, the supervisory committee shall report on the student’s progress at least once each year. This report will be sent, in writing, to the graduate program committee with a copy to the student. The evaluation of student progress in course work will rely in part on their maintenance of a CGPA of 3.0, as required by General Graduate Regulations 1.5.4.

In accordance to General Graduate Regulations 1.8.2, if an unsatisfactory performance is identified through GPR, your supervisor shall make a written report to the graduate program committee (GPC). A meeting to review the case will be set up by the GPC, and you have the right to attend the meeting along with a support person and submit any materials relevant to the case.

For requests related to the Graduate Progress Report (GPR), please to email gpr@sfu.ca or connect through the GS ticket system.

 

Directed Studies

MASc students can only take either one of Directed Studies or Industrial Internship. 

 

PhD students can take Directed Studies course twice and count towards program requirements; or at most one Directed Studies if completing Industrial Internship.

ENSC 891/892 are elective courses. Students interested in learning a specific engineering area that the School does not offered as a course should approach ENSC faculty members with matching interests.  Availability of the courses may depend on faculty member's interests and schedule, as well as student's prior academic performance. Students who find a faculty member willing to be their Directed Studies supervisor should register for the course ENSC 891.892-3 Directed Studies I/II. 

Please fill out the

  1. ENSC Directed Studies 891/892 form, and 
  2. Course Proposal

Send them to enscgsec@sfu.ca to apply for directed studies.  Your application will be reviewed by the Graduate Program Chair for approval.  Guidelines of  the course can be found here: Directed Studies Guidelines.

 

PhD Qualifying Examination

To schedule PhD Qualifying Examination, students must complete the following steps. Note that eligibility for the President PhD Scholarship depends on the successful outcome of the PhD Qualifying Examination.  

  1. Contact the Graduate Program Assistant to be enrolled in ENSC 880.
  2. Discuss with the supervisory committee and establish a date and time for the PhD Qualifying Examination.
  3. Email the Graduate Program Assistant to notify your date and time of the exam.
  4. If the exam is hosted in-person, request a room booking from the Graduate Program Assistant.
  5. The Graduate Program Assistant will provide a PhD Qualifying Examination Results form to the Supervisor.
  6. The proposal should be submitted to the committee two weeks before the presentation.  An outline for the proposal can be viewed here
  7. After the examination, the supervisory committee will fill out the PhD Qualifying Examination Results Form, and the Supervisor will submit the form to the Graduate Program Assistant.