Preamble
The stipend is intended to help graduate students in thesis programs pay for their basic living expenses when registered full-time in a graduate program at the Faculty of Medicine. The stipend is not a salary and is derived from a combination of funds from the thesis supervisor grants and external scholarships.
This stipend policy applies to MSc with thesis programs and PhD programs in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, and Neuroscience at the Faculty of Medicine. MSc with research paper program, the Masters in Public Health, and the MSc in Anatomical Sciences Education are not eligible for stipend support. Programs in Epidemiology are covered by a separate stipend policy.
General Information
Full-time status
All graduate students are covered by the University of Ottawa’s Academic Regulation C-1.2. The programs covered by this policy define full-time graduate studies as being geographically proximate to and regularly present on campus and devoting a minimum of 40 hours per week to thesis-related research work primarily during regular working hours. Students are eligible for the holidays and vacation time outlined in policy 110. The Fall and Winter reading weeks are not observed for graduate programs at the Faculty of Medicine.
Minimum stipend
Thesis supervisors supervising students in the aforementioned programs are responsible for providing full-time graduate students under their supervision with a minimum stipend.
The minimum base funding is a combination of:
- External scholarships from governmental or charitable organizations valued at more than $3000
- Endowment funds scholarships valued at more than $3000
- Stipend funding provided by a thesis supervisor’s grants or contracts.
The minimum base funding does not include:
- Admission scholarships and Merit scholarships awarded upon admission to the program.
- Scholarships of a value less than $3000
- Teaching assistantships
- Travel awards
- Prizes
The minimum stipend must be available for students to be allowed to join the thesis supervisor’s lab. Stipend payments begin concurrently with the first enrolment in the program and continue for the duration of your studies. If the student’s progress has been judged satisfactory in all previous progress reports, then support should be provided for the duration of the research and appropriate time for writing the thesis; if not, any further support can be negotiated between the student and the supervisor and reported to the Program Director for final approval. In the event of unsatisfactory progress in the research program, the student may be asked to withdraw from the program. In this case, the supervisor has the right to terminate financial support.
Stipends are provided through the thesis supervisor’s research grants. A contract or B-Form and Soft-funded bursary form (pdf, 229 KB) must be completed and signed by both the student and thesis supervisor prior to the first day in the lab and renewed yearly. Stipend payment is mandatory. Should a supervisor run out of funding and become unable to provide the minimum stipend, the Program Director must be informed without delay.
Minimum Stipend
| Program | MSc (research project) | MSc (thesis) | PhD |
|---|
| Biochemistry | N/A | $23,000/year | $25,000/year |
| Cellular and Molecular Medicine | N/A | $23,000/year | $25,000/year |
| Clinical and Translational Medicine | N/A | $23,000/year | $25,000/year |
| Microbiology and Immunology | N/A | $23,000/year | $25,000/year |
| Neuroscience | N/A | $23,000/year | $25,000/year |
If a student earns an external scholarship(s) with a value of less than the minimum stipend, the supervisor must provide a stipend to ensure funding to the minimum stipend value funding
Illness and leaves of absence
In the case where a student requires long-term medical leave, the stipend payments must continue for a maximum of four weeks. During approved leaves of absence (parental leave, illness, compassionate grounds), stipend support is not guaranteed. Failure to meet the definition of full-time studies described herein can lead to unsatisfactory progress and termination of the minimum stipend.
Expectations and obligations
- Each student will receive the minimum stipend
- Each thesis supervisor must confirm that funding is available to support new graduate students.
- In the event that a supervisor cannot ensure minimum stipends for currently enrolled graduate students, they must inform the Program Directors immediately.
- In the event that the minimum stipend is revised (see section on Review of Minimum Stipends), the supervisor is required to update existing stipend contracts to reflect any increases.
- Failure of a thesis supervisor to provide the minimum stipend will result in notification of the Dean resulting in possible restriction of supervisory privileges.
- While research institutes may have their own policies regarding student funding, they must meet these minimum requirements.
Review of minimum stipends
Procedures
- Each program, led by the Program Director will review the minimum stipend on an annual basis. This process will include consultation with learners (via survey and/or meetings) as well as consideration of the cost of living, economic pressures, scholarship availability and the research funding landscape.
- In the event that an increase is deemed necessary, program directors will consult with their respective professorships to discuss and vote. Changes affecting the Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology and Neuroscience programs must be done by consensus for all four programs.
- Following a vote at the program-level, the policy will be presented for final approval at the FMGSC.
