Funding

Funding

Graduate Funding Package

All successful doctoral stream program applicants are guaranteed financial support: 5 years of funding for the PhD direct-entry and 4 years of funding for those with a qualifying MSc degree. No application is required for consideration of standard department support.

The intent of the departmental graduate student funding level is to ensure that all students have at least $28,250 after payment of tuition, non-academic fees and UTGSU fees. Inclusive of tuition and fees, the department base funding package for academic year 2023-24 is $36,464 for domestic students  and  $37,220 for international PhD students (to cover UHIP fees). This funding is in place for the guaranteed period as long as the student remains in good standing in the program.  (Note that MSc international students – Doctoral Stream Masters – are charged at a higher tuition rate and the department provides the tuition fees differential.) In addition to the base funding package ($28,250 + tuition and fees), the department will top-up all funded-cohort students’ funding so that their income is at least $32,000.

The support is comprised of several sources: departmental, university and/or major scholarship/fellowships (if applicable), research assitantshipship stipendiary funds (provided by the supervisor after the 1st year), and teaching assistantship income. The latter is based on the standard department TA service of 140 hours per academic year (70 hours each for fall and winter sessions). Please note that a TA assignment of less than the standard 140 hours will reduce the overall funding. Students may have the opportunity, subject to availability, to take additional TA hours to increase the overall funding. Typically, the extra hours are allocated for the summer session. It is recommended that additional TA hours be discussed with the student’s supervisor.

At the end of the guaranteed funding period, students are no longer eligible for departmental and university fellowships. Students entering the first unfunded year are eligible for the Doctoral Completion Award which provides nominal tuition support. As well, teaching assistantships are guaranteed through the 6th year (per the CUPE 3902 Unit 1 Collective Agreement). Research assistantship stipendiary funds may be issued at the discretion of the student’s supervisor.

Major Fellowship/Scholarship Awards

All students are required to apply for any major competitive fellowship/scholarship awards for which they are eligible. Please refer to the Scholarships + Awards page for full details. Note that major awards (greater than $10,000) will be counted toward the graduate funding package. e.g. If you receive an NSERC PGS D, the $21,000 in scholarship funds will replace the equivalent in department/university and supervisor support funds.

NSERC or OGS and QEII-GSST award holders will receive a bonus of $5,000 or $4,000 respectively as an entering first year student (paid by the department). The bonus amount is $3,000 for subsequent years (paid by the supervisor).

For awards of $10,000 and under, the following applies:

Research Assistantship Stipendiary Funds

Starting in the second year of PhD direct-entry (first year for the 4-year PhD track), students receive a research trainee stipend from their supervisor to provide support toward advancement of research goals for the doctoral degree. Such work may include research collaboration with the supervisors or others, developing techniques and methodologies, or gaining knowledge of scientific or scholarly ideas or materials. Please note that first year direct-entry PhD students do not finalize their research supervisor arrangement until the beginning of the second year and do not require research supervisor funds during this period. This gives students the opportunity to explore potential thesis research topics and supervisor arrangements.

Travel for Research and Training and Publication Support Funds

Departmental funds are available for thesis research-related travel made available through Graduate Program Award and a bequest made to the department by Carl Reinhardt. The Thesis Research Travel Award is in support of presentations at academic conferences or workshops (paper or poster), scientific meetings with collaborators, observing runs, and data analysis. These award funds in combination with support from the student’s supervisor greatly increases the opportunity for our students to attend international conferences and conduct observing runs globally.

Note that funds are separately available through the Dunlap Institute Student Training Grant for professional development, training or educational activities. Typically, however, there is not overlap between the awards with attendance at CASCA excepted.

The David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics (DADDAA) & Dunlap Institute Student Publication Fund provides publication grant support to encourage astronomy graduate students at the University of Toronto (U of T) to publish papers in academic journals.

There are two levels of publication awards dependent on the student’s authorship. The fund will pay up to the full publication charges in cases where a U of T astronomy graduate student is the first author on a refereed publication. Where a graduate student is a co-author on a refereed publication, the fund will pay the student’s prorated share (half if two authors, a third if three, etc.).

Payment Schedule

Payments are normally made in three lump sum installments in September, January and May, TA salary excepted which is disbursed monthly September through April. Starting in January, ACORN award payments are automatically applied to the student account balance, and the remainder is issued as stipend.