Funding | Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries

The Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF) has a minimum funding policy that guarantees a minimum level of support to all Ocean and Fisheries (OCF) students. The minimum level of support is intended to assist with various aspects of student life including the cost of living and tuition, and may change yearly to account for changes in these costs, see below for the exact amount.

One of the IOF’s requirements for admission of a graduate student is proof of this minimum level of support, either through an award held by the prospective student or grant funds held by the faculty member that wishes to recruit the student. Support can be in the form of a combination of teaching assistantships (TA), awards/scholarships, or research assistantships (GRA) paid from the supervisor’s research grants.

For domestic MSc students, the Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package is currently $27,358 per year† for the each of the first 2 years of their MSc.

For international MSc students, the Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package is currently $31,367 per year† for the 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.

† OCF minimum funding package is adjusted annually. See below for details.

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

The student’s progress will be assessed every year by the 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.
If a student has not made satisfactory progress, the Committee will check the appropriate box on the annual 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 but 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 If the student has not achieved the milestones during the probation period, then financial support can be withdrawn and the student may have to withdraw from the graduate program.

All students are expected to apply for the scholarships and awards for which they are eligible. If received, these will automatically 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 2 terms per year.

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 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.

Details

The Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package is comprised of (1) a base amount and (2) tuition support.
The base amount for the 2022-23 academic year is $22,056. This increases by 2% per year to adjust for cost of living. In 2022 the increase was 6% to compensate for the drastic inflation increase that year.

The tuition support for the 2022-23 academic year is $5,302 for domestic students and $9,314 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.

Each year, the Graduate Program Officer will provide you with a summary of the commitment for the coming year and the how you can expect to receive the support. These amounts may change during the year. If you get an award, your GRA stipend may go down. If a planned TA doesn’t happen, your GRA stipend will go up.

A note about tuition support: You are responsible for paying your tuition – even if it’s an award or scholarship. You must go into the SSC and accept the award in order for it to pay your tuition. Also note that tuition support covers tuition only, not student fees.

UBC’s minimum funding package for PhD students is $22,000 per year for the each of the first 4 years of their PhD. The Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package is higher than the UBC minimum: for domestic PhD students it is currently $30,667, and for international students it is currently $34,679.

For domestic PhD students, the Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package is currently $30,667 per year† for the each of the first 4 years of their PhD.

For international PhD students, the Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package is currently $34,679 per year† for the each of the first 4 years of their PhD.

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

† OCF minimum funding package is adjusted annually. See below for details.

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

The student’s progress will be assessed every year by the 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 four years. It is the responsibility of the student, supervisor, and Committee to develop a project that can be completed within four years.
If a student has not made satisfactory progress, the Committee will check the appropriate box on the annual 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 but 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.

All students are expected to apply for the scholarships and awards for which they are eligible. If received, these will automatically 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 two terms per year.

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.

Details

The Oceans and Fisheries (OCF) minimum funding package is comprised of (1) a base amount and (2) tuition support.
The base amount for the 2022-23 academic year is $25,365. This increases by 2% per year to adjust for cost of living. In 2022 the increase was 6% to compensate for the drastic inflation increase that year.

The tuition support for the 2022-23 academic year is $5,302 for domestic students and $9,314 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 PhD 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.