Fees and Funding
Department of History graduate program
Departmental Funding
Ph.D and thesis-based MA students are admitted to the program with a funding guarantee. This funding is the minimum guaranteed funding for each student; the department will exceed this minimum amount whenever possible:
- Domestic Ph.D. students: Minimum guaranteed funding: $22,000 CAD per year for four years
- International Ph.D. students: Minimum guaranteed funding: $24,000 CAD per year for four years. If you began your program before May 1, 2020, $22,000 CAD a year before candidacy (up to 24 months from first enrolment), $18,000 CAD afterwards.
- Thesis-based MA students: Minimum guaranteed funding: $10,000 CAD per year for two years.
Students that are fully funded through external sources at or above the department's guaranteed funding amounts, may be admitted to the program without additional funding. Funding from a First Nations, Metis or Inuit organization is not considered external funding for the purposes of Ph.D. funding.
Funding is not available for course-based MA students.
Funding levels are determined by academic merit as evidenced in admissions applications and good academic standing and progress after the first year in the program.
Part-time students are not eligible for funding.
Full-time students in both the PhD and thesis-based MA programs must apply for major external funding for which they are qualified as a condition of maintaining their departmental funding.
External Funding
Doctoral Students who are fully funded by an external agency (such as the scholarship agency of a foreign government) to an amount equal to or greater than the this guaranteed minimum amount may be admitted without additional funding, with approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Funding from a First Nations, Metis or Inuit organization (i.e. band funding or similar) is not considered external funding under this operating standard; Doctoral Students are eligible for university and/or external funding up to at least the Program-Set Minimum Doctoral Funding Level.
Forms of Funding
Promised funding can come in several forms. Most commonly students are awarded Graduate Assistantships, Teaching (GATs), to assist a professor and mark undergraduate work in our larger classes. Students may also be awarded various forms of paid research assistantship, to assist professors with their projects. Many students receive some of their funding in scholarship form, as a Faculty of Graduate Studies Scholarship (FGSS), Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (AGES), or similar.
Funding contingencies
Minimum guaranteed funding is contingent upon continued full-time registration, good academic standing, and normal academic progress. Student progress is reviewed regularly, and the departmental Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) may, for cause, withdraw or adjust funding. The GSC judges academic standing on a number of factors, including timely fulfilling of degree requirements, marks, students’ annual progress reports, and supervisors’ and instructors’ formal assessments. Ordinarily, an A- average and timely progress in taking language examinations and comprehensive examinations are indicators of good academic standing. Conscientious fulfillment of teaching and research obligations is also expected.
Funding promises can also be pulled back if a student earns a substantial outside source of funding, so that we can use departmental funds to support other students. However, we guarantee that students will be topped up by the department and will be better off than if they had not applied for external funding.
Future students
Scholarships and awards
Learn more about scholarships and awards available to both undergraduate and graduate students.
Future students
Student loans
If you're a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, protected person or American citizen, you can apply for a student loan.
Future students
Working during grad school?
Have a competing award or assistantship? The Faculty of Graduate Studies can help explain the rules and regulations concerning awards, grants and assistantships graduate students are eligible to receive.