Computing Science > Graduate Students > Financial Support

Financial support

The School of Computing Science provides generous support for its graduate students. In general, our minimum funding level is as follows:

  • Ph.D. students in good standing will be supported for a minimum of four years (at least $20,000 per year).
  • M.Sc. Thesis students in good standing will be supported for a minimum of two years (at least $18,000 per year).

Students in the M.Sc. Project or Course options are typically expected to support themselves. Please note that all financial commitments are made on an individual basis and the terms of funding support will be set out in our offer and/or admission letters.

Financial support to graduate students come from a combination of sources:

  • Research assistantships (RAs): RA support comes out of research grants held by your supervisor(s). The amount and duration are determined between you and your supervisor(s).

  • Teaching assistantships (TAs): TAs are assigned to undergraduate courses and are expected to perform duties such as grading, supervising labs, and giving tutorials. The amount of pay depends on the number of base units (BUs) assigned to you. TA availablity is annouced to graduate students and TA applications are to be filed prior to the start of each semester. Questions on TA application or assignments should be directed to cmptmgr@sfu.ca.

  • SFU Graduate Fellowships (SFU GFs): SFU GFs are available in all semesters. Currently, they are typically in the amount of $6,250 per semester. Annual application deadline is April 15. Your submit your applications to the School of Computing Science and the Graduate Program Committee will rank the applicants and forward its recommendations to the Dean of Graduate Studies. More information can be found at the DGS website on SFU GFs.

  • FAS Graduate Fellowships (FAS GFs): The Faculty of Applied Sciences (FAS) offers GFs at the same amount as SFU GFs ($6,250), with the same annual application deadline (April 15). However, FAS GFs are funded on a matching basis: Half of the Fellowship is funded by the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences; the other half, in the form of an RA, is provided by the senior supervisor. More information can be found at the DGS website on FAS GFs.

  • Industrial internships and co-op: The MITACS Accelerate Internship Program provides the major source of support under this category. A company, an academic supervisor, and a graduate student form a collaborative team. The total funding is $15,000 per internship with 50-50 contributions from MITACS and the participating company. The student receives at least $10,000 for a four-month internship. In May 2013, the School will launch the Graduate Co-op program which provides another source of support from working with the industry.

  • Sessional appointments: Sessionals teach undergraduate courses in place of regular faculty members when there is demand. Availability is posted prior to start of the semester. 

  • Major external scholarships: Please visit the DGS website on major external scholarships including those offered by NSERC. Applicants who hold NSERC postgraduate scholarships can expect competitive top-ups.

For all information on financial support available to SFU graduate students, including various internal scholarships, minor travel and research awards, etc., please visit the Dean of Graduate Studies website on Scholarships and Awards.

Expectation of "good standing"

Graduate students in good standing are expected to maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher, perform well in their duties as teaching assistants, take at least two courses per semester, choose a thesis supervisor after a maximum of two semesters at SFU, submit a yearly progress report by the deadline, and apply for all scholarships for which they are eligible.

Tuition

Unlike at some other major Canadian universities, international graduate students at SFU pay the same tuition fees as domestic students. 

For Ph.D., MSc Thesis, and MSc Project students, the full-time program fee per term (there are three terms per year) is $1,661, as of fall 2012. MSc students who have completed six terms of full-time studies and Ph.D. students who have completed eight terms of full-time studies pay a continuing fee, which is equal to half of the full-time fee.

Course-based MSc students and dual-degree MSc students pay a premium fee at $460.10 per credit hour, as of Fall 2012.

Please refer to the Graduate Fees page for more detailed and up-to-date information on tuition fees.


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