Student funding

As I mentioned earlier, I want students to enjoy their graduate school experience. Not surprisingly, this goal is more achievable if students are not stressed about money. As a result, I work hard to help students secure funding. I believe this is reflected partly in the success that some of my past students have had in securing some pretty big scholarships and research grants. (Of course, the biggest factor in their success is their past record of high academic achievement.)   

Besides graduate assistantships ($9500 per year), the School of Kinesiology awards several small bursaries, scholarships, and awards over the course of the school year. These tend to be relatively small amounts of money (e.g., $200-$2000). Students don’t have to actively apply for the awards; most are based on entering GPA and performance in the grad program.

Graduate students working in my lab tend to be eligible for several external scholarships and research grants. These include the Ontario Graduate scholarship, SSHRC's master’s scholarship, AASP's research grant, and NASPSPA’s research grant. The OGS and SSHRC scholarships provide large amounts of money ($10,000 ‒ $17,000) that can be viewed as a salary for a professional graduate student. AASP’s and NASPSPA’s grants are smaller ($2000-$5000) and are designed to specifically offset the costs of thesis projects.

I strongly encourage my students to apply for these funding opportunities and I work with them to develop their applications. Each opportunity is very competitive: Like any grant/scholarship, you definitely can't bank on getting them. But, if successful, they can greatly enhance a student’s graduate school experience.