Graduate fees and funding

PhD students and thesis-based MA students are typically admitted with a funding guarantee.  Financial support comes in the form of teaching assistantships and research scholarships; advanced PhD students may also be hired to teach their own courses. In order to be considered for departmental support, students must meet the admission application deadline and apply for all major awards for which they are eligible. Funding is contingent on satisfactory progress in the program.

• Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GATs): Teaching and instruc­tional service to an instructor in an under­graduate course. Stipends in 2020-21 amount to $8,894.41 per term (four months), funded and awarded by the Department of Philosophy. No more than an average of 12 hours per week of service (including preparation) may be required of teaching assistants.
• Faculty of Graduate Studies Research Scholarships (FGSs): Awarded for research tasks directly related to the student's own research. Stipends range from $100 to $10,000 per term (four months), funded by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and awarded by the Department of Philosophy. No teaching or service duties are required of research assistants. 

GATs and FGSs are normally tenable at the University of Calgary. The terms are September-December, January-April, and May­-August.  New applicants interested in GATs and FGSs should ensure that all application materials (references, samples of philosophical writings) reach the Department by January 15. There is no separate application form for GATs or FGSs.

MA students who are fully funded will receive financial aid for four semesters and one summer. PhD students who are fully funded will receive financial aid for eight semesters and four summers. The department can make offers of admission to MA students without a funding guarantee. This applies in particular to students who want to pursue part-time MA degrees or those that have their own funding. Course-based MA students are not funded.

Each student who is admitted into our PhD program will receive not less than $22,000 for each of four years, subject to availability of funding and satisfactory progress. Special consideration will be given to those who enter the PhD program without an MA. The average amount of financial support to a PhD student has been significantly more than the minimum that is guaranteed.

The Department has no funding commitments to any student readmitted into any one of its graduate programs or with deferred admission.

For more details and the most accurate information about graduate tuition and fees, go to the Academic Calendar.