UBC Graduate Support Initiative (GSI) Awards

UBC Graduate Support Initiative (GSI) Awards is a program initiated by the University of British Columbia (UBC) to fund graduate students through entrance scholarships, multi-year funding, tuition awards, and scholarship top-ups who wish to study at the university.

Both domestic and international are eligible for UBC Graduate Support Initiative (GSI) Awards
Students who wish to pursue masters and doctoral programs at UBC are eligible for the same.
External application not required, funds are allocated by the respective departments and faculties at the University.
However, respective departments must submit recommendation forms of the eligible candidates to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for consideration.
The number of awards offered to each program depends on the registration of the students in that particular program over the last three years.
Unless specified in the recommendation form, GSI awards will be paid out using the following payment schedules:
- Summer session: Any amount - paid entirely in one term
- Winter session: Under 1,000 CAD - paid entirely in one term
- 1,000 CAD - 5,999 CAD- paid in two equal installments.
- 6,000 CAD or greater - paid over the three terms of the year (33.3% in September, January, and May)

Approximately $ 6.5 million funds are allocated to faculties at the University of British Columbia to distribute the awards to the deserving candidates of the UBC Graduate Support Initiative (GSI) Awards.

Highlights

Scholarship Type	College-Specific, Merit-Based
Offered by	Institution
Organization	University of British Columbia
Application Deadline	N/A
Number of Scholarships	N/A
Amount	Variable Amount
Renewability	One Time Payment
International Student Eligible	Yes
Scholarship Website Link	https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/graduate-support-initiative-gsi-awards

Eligibility Criteria

To secure the UBC Graduate Support Initiative (GSI) Awards, applicants must meet the eligibility criteria mentioned below :

Applicants must be domestic or international students
Applicants must commence studies in Masters or Doctoral programs offered by UBC.
Some of the programs for which the award is not available are:
- Doctor of Pharmacy
- Master of Engineering (in Faculty of Applied Science)
- Master of Management
- Master of Business Administration

Application Process

No external application is required to be submitted by the applicants. However, recommendation forms of the students must be submitted by graduate programs to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for consideration.

To recommend a student for an award, programs, departments, or Faculties must :

provide award information to students and/or to faculty members to request applications or nominations.
Collect data of eligible award students.
Review and select candidates for recommendations.
Also, make sure that the recommended student is registered.
Must complete the University Award Recommendation Form for award recommendation
Submit the University Award Recommendation Form for awards submitted via email to graduate.awards@ubc.ca; to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies by early August.

Note: Recommendation forms must be submitted in 1 Excel spreadsheet (unsigned) and 1 PDF (signed by the grad advisor on all pages) - 2 files in total.

Selection Process

Once the recommendation form is submitted, the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies review and ensure that students meet the terms and conditions of the awards.

Recipients are then awarded on the Student Information system or forward recommendation form to enrolment services for the awards.

They also send an official notification to the students which provides information about the awards and mode of payment.

Note: If recipients complete or withdraw from the grad program before the end of the current session, the Faculty will distribute the award with the recommending unit.

Grant Details

UBC Graduate Support Initiative (GSI) Awards is offered to graduates and doctoral students who wish to study in Canada at UBC. Disciplinary Faculties, graduate programs, and individual supervisors may contribute additional funding for total GSI funds.

The number of awards offered to each program depends on the registration of the student in that particular program over the last three years :

Ph.D. (in years 1 to 4): 4
Master's with thesis (in years 1-2): 2
Course-based Master's (in years 1-2): 1
High cost-recovery Master's: 0

Faculty may also choose the allocate the funds according to their priority.

Students who wish to pursue higher education in Canada at UBC must visit its official website for any information.