Types of Student Funding at UBC

Financial assistance for Education graduate students is available through a number of offices and programs at UBC, both in the Faculty and at the University level. Generally, financial assistance at UBC can be broken down into three categories: merit-based, need-based and employment.

Merit-based Funding:

Merit-based awards, such as scholarships and prizes, are offered mainly based on your academic performance. Most will not require that you indicate financial need. Scholarships and prizes are provided by the University and by many other donors, including the government, community organizations and corporations. For more information on merit-based funding at UBC, please see the Office of Graduate Programs & Research's Merit Based Funding web page.

Need-Based Funding:

Need-based funding, which includes grants, government loans and bursaries, is awarded based on the assessed financial need of the student. The assessment is calculated using a standardized method, and helps predict how much money you will need once your resources have been subtracted from your educational costs and living expenses. For more information on need-based funding at UBC, please visit the Office of Graduate Programs & Research's Need Based Funding web page.


Employment:

In addition to merit- and need-based funding, individual academic units and Faculty members may provide opportunities for graduate students to work as Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs), Graduate Academic Assistants (GAAs) and Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs). Please check with your academic unit's Administrator for these opportunities. For more information on employment at UBC, please visit the Office of Graduate Programs & Research's Employment web page.