The Department of Physics at Simon Fraser University guarantees funding to all incoming graduate students. The overall graduate stipend for the current academic year is:

• MSc Students: $24,985 per annum
• PhD Students: $27,820 per annum

These annual stipends are guaranteed for two years to entering MSc students, four years to entering PhD students, and five years (from the point of graduate admission) to students who transfer from the MSc to the PhD program. Student stipends include contributions from scholarships, teaching assistantships (TAs), and research assistantships (RAs). The guarantee is subject to satisfactory degree progress and TA performance.

The Department of Physics differentiates between scholarships that are incorporated into annual graduate stipend amounts and those awarded in addition to annual stipend funding (see Awards page). The department places no limits on the amount of scholarship funding that a student may receive provided that the total does not surpass the SFU limit of $50,000 of scholarship support per academic year. SFU Physics guarantees no additional RA or TA support for students receiving scholarship funding beyond its NSERC CGS-M (MSc) and PGS-D (PhD) stipend levels.*

In the case where scholarship funding falls below NSERC stipend levels set by the department, additional departmental support in the form of RAs or TAs is limited to the amount of the difference.  Additional support (if required) must first come in the form of an RA up to a value of one-third of the annual stipend amount, with the rest being made up in the form of TAs or RAs to be determined in consultation with the student’s supervisor.

*Multi-Year Funding (MYF) and the NSERC CGS-D awards have specific stipend levels associated with them. The funding policy is adjusted in accordance with these higher stipend levels.