Awards and Fellowships
Scholars beginning their careers at VSE often find success funding their studies through multiple sources, with all PhD students receiving a minimum financial commitment of $24,000 once admitted to the program. Many students secure additional awards through VSE, UBC, national and international opportunities.
Students applying for the PhD program are automatically considered for the awards in this section.
Stone PhD Fellowship
- This fellowship supports PhD students in their third year or above, whose research advances the understanding of wealth and income inequality in Canada and beyond. For more information, consult the Stone Centre’s PhD Fellowships page.
Barton Fellowship
- Fellowships totalling $39,150 have been made available through an endowment. The fellowship is available to outstanding international students entering the Ph.D. in Economics program with demonstrated financial need.
AD Scott Fellowship
- Two large fellowships are available (1) to an incoming graduate student and (2) to support thesis research by a senior graduate student in one of Professor Scott's fields of interest: economics of natural resources, environmental issues and federalism
Albert Whiteley Fellowship
- This VSE award of $3,100 is given each year, with preference to a student undertaking an analysis of government economic policy.
David Dodge Fellowship
- This VSE award of $3,650 is given to a PhD student each year.
Harnam A.N. Singh Fellowship
- This VSE award is given to outstanding PhD students, with preference to those in the field of labour economics.
John Helliwell Fellowship
- This VSE award is given to outstanding PhD students, with preference to those studying the topic of happiness and wellbeing.
In addition to internal support, we strongly encourage all applicants of the Vancouver School of Economics graduate programs to seek external (non-UBC) sources.
Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada
- Domestic students are eligible for SSHRC fellowships, and the VSE requires that PhD students apply for this award. This $120,000 award, distributed over 3 years, is designed to enable students to focus all their attention on doctoral research. VSE provides significant application support to help eligible students secure these awards, including faculty and peer review of applications. In recent years, nearly all VSE applicants successfully secured this funding.
Vanier Scholarship
- The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS) program is designed to attract and retain world-class doctoral students by supporting students who demonstrate both leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health-related fields. The Vanier CGS is valued at $50,000 per year for up to three years.
The following is a partial listing of major funding agencies. Please review their award opportunities and see if you are eligible to apply.
- The Canada-U.S. Fulbright Programme (Canadian Applicants)
- Institute for International Education (Fulbright Program)
Teaching Assistantships
Teaching assistantships (TAships) are included as a component of your graduate funding. TAships are governed by the university’s collective agreement and the Teaching Assistants’ Union. TAships are carried out under the direction of a faculty member and include:
- Leading discussion sections
- Marking assignments and exams
- Being available for student consultations
- Preparation of learning materials and other duties, as required
An average of twelve hours per week are typically spent on these duties.