Financial Assistance: Completion Grants and Emergency Funding
Master's Tuition Fee BursaryDoctoral Completion Award
SGS Emergency Grant
SGS Emergency Loan
Master's Tuition Fee Bursary (MTFB) - Now Closed
The Masters Tuition fee bursaries are intended for master's students in both course-work and research programs who have exceeded the time-limit for their program and still have a small amount of work outstanding, due to reasons and factors that are unanticipated and beyond the student’s control.
Students must submit their application once they have completed all outstanding degree requirements. The bursary, if awarded, is applied to the student’s fees account reducing the cost of their final session tuition to that of part-time fees. Students cannot use this bursary in order to register.
Deadlines
If your remaining component is a Research thesis, paper or project:November 30th, 2011 if you are completing degree requirements in Fall 2011 session
March 30th, 2012 if you are completing degree requirements in Winter 2012 session
If your remaining component is a Course, up to 1 full credit equivalent:
January 27th, 2012 if you are completing degree requirements in Fall 2011 session
April 20th, 2012 if you are completing degree requirements in Winter 2012 session
This deadline exists as a guideline to measure what constitutes a ‘small amount of work’ for the remaining thesis/ research paper/ research project component.
Value
The value of the bursary will vary depending on the student’s full-time tuition charged for the session.
Eligibility
The student will have registered full-time from the beginning of their program and their minimum period of registration (i.e. program length) will have ended on or before August (fall applicants)or December (winter applicants) Please consult the following chart to determine your program's minimum period of registration.The remaining work that needs to be completed to meet the degree requirements must be relatively small and completed before the required deadline.
Eligible students should read the information sheet for more detailed information.
OISE STUDENTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE. Please contact OISE Student Services Office.
Application Procedure
The student applies in the final session during which they will have completed their degree requirements; either the Fall Session or Winter Session.
Upon completion of all degree requirements, eligible students should fill out the application form to submit to their Graduate Unit for confirmation and signature.
Students who complete their degree requirements after the application deadline are not eligible for the bursary.
Duration and timing
The bursary is awarded twice a year, once in the Fall session and once in the Winter session. This bursary is not available for the Summer session.
Activation
The bursary is posted on the students financial account within the month following the bursary deadline.
Questions
Please refer to the information sheet, or email graduate.awards@sgs.utoronto.ca
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Doctoral Completion Award (DCA)
The aim of the Doctoral Completion Award (DCA) is to support full-time PhD and SJD students who are beyond the funded cohort and within time-limit for degree.
Students who have experienced a delay in their program due to unfortunate personal circumstances should refer to the Emergency Grant program (details below).
Visit the SGS Doctoral & PostDoctoral Awards page for additional information on the 2012-2013 DCA.
2011-2012 DCA RECEPIENTS: the DCA information sheet is available for your reference.
Changes have been made to the DCA for the 2012-2013 academic year. The award will now be administered by individual graduate units. Please be sure to check with your home unit about applying.
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SGS Emergency Grant
The intent of the Emergency Grant Program is to assist currently registered, full-time, graduate students beyond their first year of study who generally are not part of the funded cohort and who encounter an unanticipated serious financial emergency. It is not considered to be a source of routine or long-term funding.
Eligibility
All graduate students who encounter an unanticipated serious financial emergency are invited to make an appointment with the SGS Financial Counsellor (416-946-0808) whether or not they believe they are eligible for emergency grant assistance. Please also view the information below on SGS Emergency Loans which may be appropriate depending on your situation.
To be eligible for emergency grant assistance:
You must currently be registered full-time as a graduate student. Normally, you must have already applied to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) or other provincial government assistance and received your Notice of Assessment. In accordance with the University of Toronto's Policy on Student Financial Support, OSAP is the common mechanism used to assess student need. Note that any assessed need, which remains unmet above the OSAP maximum, is automatically covered by UTAPS. Students with federal/provincial student aid other than OSAP must apply separately to UTAPS.
Students Normally Ineligible for the Emergency Grant
Students in the categories below are normally not eligible for this emergency grant. However, if you have a financial emergency, please contact the Financial Counsellor even if you believe you are not eligible for emergency grant assistance.
First year students: If you are entering the first year of your program, it is expected that you will have already created a financial plan for yourself in order to cover all of your upcoming expenses.
Students in graduate programs with guaranteed funding: If you are a beneficiary of the funding guarantee, you are unlikely to be eligible for emergency grant assistance unless you qualify for OSAP.
OISE/UT students: If you are a student within the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT), you should apply to the OISE/UT bursary program.
Students deemed by OSAP as having sufficient resources: If your OSAP application is rejected because your resources are deemed sufficient to cover your needs, you are unlikely to be eligible for emergency grant assistance.
International students: If you are an international student, you are expected to have already created a financial plan for yourself - before arriving in Canada - as to how you will support your studies and other upcoming expenses and are therefore not normally eligible for emergency grant assistance. If, however, you do encounter an unexpected short-term financial emergency, you may still apply.
Non-degree students & part-time students: If you are a special student or a part-time student, you are expected to have other sources of financial support and are not eligible for emergency grant assistance.
Programs ineligible for OSAP and UTAPS: Certain programs are ineligible for OSAP and UTAPS; please review the information available on Admissions & Awards' website.
Grant Application
Please submit the completed application along with all necessary documentation to SGS at 63 St.George Street, Room 202. Alternatively, you can fax the application to the attention of the SGS Graduate Awards Office at 416-971-2864. We are open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
You can apply for an emergency grant at any time throughout the year. Before you apply, we encourage you to speak to someone from your home department, such as your supervisor or your graduate coordinator. These individuals may be able to help you with other sources of financial assistance and/or provide useful advice.
You may normally only apply for an emergency grant once per academic year. New and compelling information would be required for a second application. If you do believe that your situation warrants a second application, please contact the Financial Counsellor.
Activation
Normally, emergency grants that are awarded will first be applied to fees or institutional loans that are outstanding. Upon request (see Section 2 on the application form), you may be able to receive payment personally. Please ensure you have your current mailing address updated on ROSI to avoid delays in the event that you are awarded funding.
Notification of Results
We will notify you of the results as soon as possible after your application has been submitted to the Graduate Awards Office with all necessary documentation. Notification may occur within two weeks. Complex cases will be sent to the Emergency Grant Committee, which normally meets several times per term. You will be notified of the results via your official University of Toronto email address unless reasonable alternate arrangements of notification are requested.
Questions
Please email graduate.awards@utoronto.ca
SGS Emergency Loan
This loan alleviates temporary cash flow problems for students who are expecting to receive a payment in the near future. The maximum loan amount is $1000 and is interest-free until the mutually agreed-upon repayment date, which is typically within a month of the date of issue.
Deadline
Applications need to be submitted to the Graduate Awards Office by 2pm in order to be evaluated and processed within 2 business days.
Value
Amounts vary, however $1000 is the maximum granted for an Emergency Loan.
Eligibility
Students much be registered in order to apply.
Application Procedure
The application form can be obtained and filled in, in person at the Graduate Awards office (GAO) at the School of Graduate Studies. You will have to provide documentation of the funds you are expecting that will be used to repay the loan.
Loan Application
Duration
Emergency loan applications are processed on an on-going, continual basis throughout each academic session.
Activation
The application form is your loan agreement and activation form.
Notification of Results
You will be notified of your application status within 1 business day. If the application is approved, a cheque or funds will be directly deposited into your bank account within 48 hours.
Questions
Please email graduate.awards@utoronto.ca
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