Funding

For domestic MSc students, the Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package for 2024/25 is $29,587.71 per year† for each of the first 2 years of their MSc.

For international MSc students, the Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package for 2024/25 is $33,762.18 per year† for each of the first 2 years of their MSc.

The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, and graduate research assistantships.

Funding Details

The OCF minimum funding package is comprised of (1) tuition support and (2) a base amount.

The tuition support for the 2024-25 academic year is $5,515.71 for domestic students and $9,690.18 for international students. It may come in the form of external support (e.g., from a sponsoring government) or an internal award and, if eligible, an International Tuition Award. For OCF MSc students, this may come through TA or GRA payments on a semi-monthly basis. This tuition support will increase each year to match tuition increases.

The base amount for the 2024-25 academic year is $24,072. This increases by 2% per year to adjust for cost of living. In 2022 the increase was 6%, and 2023 the increase was 7%, to compensate for the drastic inflation increase for those years.

Each year, the Graduate Program Officer will provide the student with a summary of the commitment for the coming year and how they can expect to receive the support. These amounts may change during the year. If a student gets an award, their GRA stipend may go down. If a planned TA opportunity does not happen, their GRA stipend will go up. If a student gets an award, the GRA stipend may go down.

Funding Guarantee

The guarantee of funding for the second year will require that the student has achieved satisfactory progress in their first year of study.

Student Progress

The student’s progress will be assessed every year by their Supervisory Committee during the annual Committee meeting. One of the main goals of these meetings is to assess whether the student can complete their degree within two years. It is the responsibility of the student, supervisor, and Committee to develop a project that can be completed within two years.

Definition of satisfactory progress

The minimum passing grade in any course taken by a student enrolled in a master's program is 60%. However, only 6 credits of courses with grades in the C to C+ range (60-67%) may be counted towards a master's program. For all other courses, a minimum of 68% must be obtained. Some graduate programs may require a higher passing grade for specific courses.

If a student has not made satisfactory progress, the Committee will indicate this on their Committee meeting form, and will provide the student with a set of milestones to be achieved during the next six months. Students on probation will continue to receive financial support, however, they must schedule their next Supervisory Committee meeting within six months. If the student has not achieved the milestones during the probation period, then financial support can be withdrawn and the student may have to withdraw from the graduate program.

Achieving minimum funding

All students are expected to apply for the scholarships and awards for which they are eligible. If received, these will normally count as part of the student’s minimum funding package.

To achieve the minimum funding package, a student may be required to TA up to 1 term per year on average.

While the IOF has negotiated TAship placements to teach biology and intro-level statistics classes, it cannot guarantee a student a placement in the associated departments, as these depend on qualifications, training session attendance, satisfactory TA evaluation scores, and professional behaviour in previous TAships. Therefore, the supervisor is required to have sufficient funding to cover the student stipend in case no TAship is found for the student. Supervisors are expected to inquire with their student and OCF GPO or other suitable academic units for potential placement options.

Students are responsible for paying both their tuition and their student fees as assessed in the SSC.

A note about tuition support

Students are responsible for paying their tuition – even if it’s from an award or scholarship.

Students need to go into their SSC and accept their award in order for it to pay their tuition. Also note that tuition support covers tuition only, not student fees.

UBC’s minimum funding package for Ph.D. students is $22,000 per year for the each of the first 4 years of their Ph.D. The Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package is higher than the UBC minimum.

For domestic Ph.D. students, the Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package for 2024/25 is $33,198.71 per year† for the each of the first 4 years of their Ph.D.

For international Ph.D. students, the Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package for 2024/25 is $37,373.18 per year† for the each of the first 4 years of their Ph.D.

The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, and graduate research assistantships.

Funding Details

The OCF minimum funding package is comprised of (1) tuition support and (2) a base amount.

The tuition support for the 2024-25 academic year is $5,515.71 for domestic students and $9,690.18 for international students. It may come in the form of external support (e.g. from a sponsoring government) or an internal award (e.g. a 4YF scholarship). For most OCF Ph.D. students this will come in the form of an award from the Faculty of Science and, if eligible, an International Tuition Award. This will increase each year to match tuition increases.

The base amount for the 2024-25 academic year is $27,683. This increases by 2% per year to adjust for cost of living. In 2022 the increase was 6%, and in 2023 the increase was 7%, to compensate for the drastic inflation increase those years.

Each year, the Graduate Program Officer will provide the student with a summary of the commitment for the coming year and how they can expect to receive the support. These amounts may change during the year. If a student gets an award, their GRA stipend may go down. If a planned TA opportunity does not happen, their GRA stipend will go up.

Funding Guarantee

The guarantee of funding for years 2, 3 & 4 will require that the student has achieved satisfactory progress in the previous year of study.

Student Progress

The student’s progress will be assessed every year by their Supervisory Committee during the annual Committee meeting. One of the main goals of these meetings is to assess whether the student can complete their degree within two years. It is the responsibility of the student, supervisor, and Committee to develop a project that can be completed within two years.

Definition of satisfactory progress

A minimum of 68% (B-) must be achieved in all coursework taken for credit. Where a grade of less than 68% (B-) is obtained in a course, and on the recommendation of the graduate program and the approval of the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, the student may repeat the course for higher standing or take an alternate course.

If a student has not made satisfactory progress, the Committee will indicate this on their Committee meeting form, and will provide the student with a set of milestones to be achieved during the next six months. Students on probation will continue to receive financial support, however, they must schedule their next Supervisory Committee meeting within six months. If the student has not achieved the milestones during the probation period, then financial support can be withdrawn and the student may have to withdraw from the graduate program.

Achieving minimum funding

All students are expected to apply for the scholarships and awards for which they are eligible. If received, these will normally count towards reaching the minimum funding level for their stipend.

To achieve the minimum level of support, a student may be required to TA up to 1 term per year on average.

While the IOF has negotiated TAship placements to teach biology and intro-level statistics classes, we cannot guarantee a student a placement in the associated departments, as these depend on qualifications, training session attendance, satisfactory TA evaluation scores, and 25 UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries professional behaviour in previous TAships. Therefore, the supervisor is required to have sufficient funding to cover the student stipend in case no TAship is found for the student. Supervisors are expected to inquire with their student and OCF GPO or other suitable academic units for potential placement options.

Students are responsible for paying both their tuition and their student fees as assessed in the SSC. During the first four years of Ph.D. student’s program, they will receive a GSI Award in the SSC which they need to accept in order for it to be applied against their tuition. Note: students must be enrolled in a course (e.g., FISH 699) to get the award.

A note about tuition support

Students are responsible for paying their tuition – even if it’s from an award or scholarship.

Students need to go into their SSC and accept their award in order for it to pay their tuition. Also note that tuition support covers tuition only, not student fees.

The OCF minimum funding provides students with enough support for tuition fees, but students are personally responsible for paying both their tuition and their assessed student fees.

Tuition fees are to be paid in three instalments annually, and must be paid by the student. If the student’s tuition is ‘covered’ by the OCF program, please keep in mind that this still means the student must pay it either by accepting an award in the SSC system, or by paying the fees up front and being reimbursed over the term through TA-ships, GRA appointments, or other means of support.

Payment of fees

If a student does not pay the fees on time, the student’s records will be placed on “financial hold”, all registration activities will be blocked, and the student will be charged a penalty fee.

Student fees cover AMS and GSS fees, Medical and Dental Extended Health Plans, Sports and Athletics, U-Pass/Compass Card, etc. More information about these fees can be found on the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS) site.

Opt Out

Students may "opt out" of some of these fees. More information is available here

Payment of fees

If a student does not pay the fees on time, the student’s records will be placed on “financial hold”, all registration activities will be blocked, and the student will be charged a penalty fee.

Many students are paid Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) directly from their supervisor’s research grant. This represents a major way in which a student’s pay is brought from the amount given by teaching assistantships and awards to the total support required by the department.

GRAs are given in support of the student’s own research towards their degree, but work unrelated to the student’s research program should not be required. Satisfactory progress towards the student’s research is expected for payment of a GRA. It is the student’s responsibility to inform their supervisor and the OCF Graduate Program Offer of their current sources of funding and TAships. It is the responsibility of the student’s supervisor to confirm to the student the level of funding they will allocate them that year and to inform the OCF Graduate Program Officer of the sources of support funding to the student and amounts from each. It is the responsibility of the OCF Graduate Program Officer to verify that the proposed total amount meets the IOF funding requirements.

Graduate students may be hired as a Graduate Academic Assistant (GAA) for additional pay for work unrelated to their degree, and these wages may be counted towards their minimum level of support depending on circumstances. The graduate advisors will need to be consulted for approval in such instances. Just as for TAship, to insure that this work does not hinder thesis or dissertation progression, the total time commitment for an academic term cannot exceed 192 hours, the maximum hours per week is 24, and one day duties cannot exceed eight hours without the student’s consent.

All students are expected to contribute to the shared chores of a lab and to fulfil weekly requirements of the supervisor. The latter category can include lab meetings, one-on-one meetings, seminar attendance, etc. The total time for tasks required by the supervisor can be up to an average of five hours per week across the four academic terms in the year. Any additional work not directly related to a trainee’s own research must be paid either through an hourly wage at the GTA1 marking rate or through an additional GAA.

The IOF does not have an undergraduate program, and so it is unable to offer TA-ships.

The Graduate Program Officer will send out calls for TAships that are available in other departments when they become available. OCF graduate students who would like to TA should seek a teaching assistantship with other departments with an undergraduate program and courses compatible with the graduate student’s background and training.

Students interested in a TAship should contact the department in which they would like to apply for a TAship in either in early July or early November. Once a TA position is secured, students should contact the instructor directly regarding duties and scheduling issues, and contact the OCF Graduate Program Officer as soon as possible about any scheduling conflicts between assigned positions and courses.

TA-ships often require the supervisor’s approval, and students are expected to discuss potential TA positions with their supervisor prior to applying for a TAship position. There is a preference system for hiring TA’s, based on length in program and experience (see CUPE 2278 Collective Agreement article 13.03 for full details.

The maximum time allowed for TA work is determined through the CUPE 2278 collective agreement. The current rules are that the total time commitment for an academic term cannot exceed 192 hours. The average number of hours per week is 12 and the maximum hours per week is 24. One day duties cannot exceed eight hours without the TA's consent.

UBC's G+PS provides a listing of awards and scholarships that are available to both current, prospective and outgoing students. View scholarship and award opportunities for UBC graduate students: Browse awards

The Office of the Vice-President, Students annually recognizes exceptional contributions and significant improvements to the student experience and learning environment at UBC.

Some examples of awards:

• Margaret Fulton Award - This award is granted to an outstanding individual (student, faculty, or staff) who has made a contribution to student development and the university community in honour of Margaret Fulton’s commitment to university access and student learning.
• Peter Larkin Award - This award is granted to a graduate program or department that has contributed to student development in honour of Peter Larkin’s commitment and passion for teaching and graduate education.

UBC Graduate Student Travel Fund

All UBC graduate students are eligible for the Graduate Student Travel Fund, once per degree program. The Travel Fund provides one-time travel support to a maximum of $500 per graduate student who presents a paper or poster at an official conference or symposium. (Note: Student workshops are ineligible). More information