Payments + Policies

Payment Process

Award payments are:

• paid in lump sums per term, as per the schedule on the GA3 System (found under the My Awards tab)
• applied to your goSFU account, paying any tuition or outstanding balance. Remaining funds are transferred to your bank account, if you have signed up for direct deposit on goSFU.

Wire Payment for Refunds/Overpayment

SFU has partnered with Flywire to issue refunds for scholarships and overpayments to international students' home country. This refund method is only intended as a temporary measure for international students studying outside of Canada without a Canadian bank account. Once you arrive in Canada and create a Canadian bank account, you must enroll in direct deposit to receive future funds.

After an award has been paid into your account, you may request a wire transfer by completing this form. Once submitted, Student Accounts will email you for your international banking information before processing the wire transfer, which will arrive in approximately 2-4 weeks. 

Your CAD refund will be converted to the currency of your country's bank account, based on real-time currency exchange rates.

Flywire charges between $1.25 and $25 CAD for international wire transfers.

If you have a Canadian bank account, your refund will be issued to that account. However, requests for exceptional circumstances may be directed to Student Accounts (student_accounts@sfu.ca)

As per policy GP45, we are unable to wire funds to Canadian sanctioned countries.

About Direct Deposit

Students can check or update direct deposit information on their goSFU account. This is a different payment system from payroll for Teaching Assistantships or Research Assistantships. For privacy reasons, our office cannot share banking information with payroll.

If you have not signed up for direct deposit, your refund will be delayed - refund cheques are only issued once a month from the Registrar's Office.

Payments & leaves

Holders of SFU and/or donor funded awards are not eligible to receive award payments while on leave from their program. Students must advise Graduate Studies as soon as possible to arrange for the suspension of their award until their return from on leave status. For retroactive leaves, awards are prorated – this may result in funds being owed to the university.

Holders of CIHR, SSHRC or NSERC awards must complete the Request for Deferment of Start Date or Interruption of Award Form, found inside the Tri-agency Award Holder’s Guide. A copy of all documentation sent to the agency must be sent to gradawards@sfu.ca (include your full name and student ID).

Parental leave payments: CIHR, SSHRC and NSERC parental leaves are paid while a student is on leave, through the same process as regular awards, as outlined above. Students who do not have funds to cover a parental leave may be eligible for Graduate Studies parental leave funding ($6,000 paid in the first leave term). These funds are intended for graduate students following the birth or adoption of the child where that student is the primary caregiver of a child during the leave. Students are considered for this funding when they submit a leave request form. 

Tuition Waivers

SFU Tuition Waivers are paid from SFU Funds. This includes benefits for SFU employees, their spouses and dependents and university partnership agreements in which SFU pays the tuition (eg., CSC and UCA partnerships). External organizations that provide tuition support, such as Indigenous Band funding are not considered an SFU tuition waiver.

Some awards and funding restrict payments to students who have tuition waivers; visit the Terms of Reference for the award you are receiving to learn more. Students who have tuition waiver and an award will have their award processed first, paying off tuition. Tuition waivers are generally processed in the fifth week of classes in any given term, after which the tuition reimbursement will display as a credit or refund in goSFU. Students will need to submit a refund request to Student Accounts.

Award Limits

Senate regulations governing university awards states that the annual maximum support you are permitted to receive from university administered awards and scholarships is $60,000 unless otherwise specified in the terms of reference for the award. This includes external agency awards administered by SFU (e.g. CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC).

Working Professionals

Some awards and funding restrict payments to students who are working professionals. A working professional is 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 teacher, counsellor, accountant, consultant, electrician, analyst, plumber, engineer, or physician.