Financial Aid
Tuition Fees | Financial Assistance | Departmental Prizes | Travel Grants
Tuition Fees
Once you are registered in the School of Graduate Studies you MUST maintain your registration and pay fees continuously until graduation (i.e. 3 terms/year). Additional information may be obtained from the Graduate Administrator (gradfees@unb.ca) at Financial Services: (506) 458-7175.
Canada Student Loans
Canada Student Loan “Certificates of Eligibility” will be available at Financial Services by mid August. The registration process MUST be completed before loans can be released.
Financial Assistance
Graduate assistantships, through competitions based primarily on academic standing, are awarded by the Faculty of Arts to full-time resident graduate students. Funds are limited. Students admitted to a Qualifying Period are not eligible for these assistantships.
Graduate assistantships for a twelve-month year in the Master’s program are $12,000; in the PhD program they are $13,200*. Assistantship award holders may also hold additional external or internal scholarship or fellowship awards, e.g., Magee-Third Century Postgraduate Merit Awards. Normally, for the MA, awards will cover a 20-month period (September to the second April). PhD awards are normally held for three years, providing academic progress is satisfactory. Holders of assistantships must pay university fees.
Certain light duties such as assisting professors with teaching or research are required of holders of assistantships. Teaching duties include leading tutorials and marking essays. Research duties may include helping to edit The Fiddlehead or Studies in Canadian Literature, or assisting individual professors with their research projects. Duties will be assigned by the Graduate Committee and will involve the student in eight hours of work per week for the duration of the academic year (September-April). Holders of graduate assistantships are expected to work full-time on their research during the summer months.
Graduate students, especially doctoral candidates with their comprehensive examinations completed, may be hired to undertake teaching duties such as lecturing to first-year students. The Teaching and Learning Centre, located in Marshall d’Avray Hall, is available to guide graduate students in planning and leading excellent tutorials and classes. Graduate students may also be hired as part-time research assistants by individual faculty members, using funds made available by such agencies as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Applicants who wish to be considered for awards are advised to ensure that their completed application forms, together with all supporting documents, are received at the School of Graduate Studies by the END OF JANUARY. Late applications may be considered, but there is NO GUARANTEE that money will be available.
For more information on internal and external awards for which English Graduate Studies Students are eligible, please consult the Graduate Studies Handbook, available in the Graduate Studies office, or visit the awards website.
*The figures given are for the 2005-2006 academic year
Departmental Prizes for Graduate Students
As well as academic scholarships, the Department offers the following prizes for outstanding achievement.
The Desmond Pacey Memorial Prize is a bursary valued at $1000, awarded for proficiency in either Creative Writing or Canadian Studies. The prize may be split between two students.
The Tom Riesterer Prize, valued at $100, is awarded to the undergraduate or graduate student writing the best essay in any given year.
The David H. Walker Prize, valued at $1000, is awarded to the best piece of fiction.
The deadline for submissions for these prizes is mid-April. In addition, many writing competitions from across Canada and the United States are posted on the Graduate bulletin board.
Travel Grants
Some financial assistance for graduate students participating at conferences is available. Students should apply in writing to the Director of Graduate Studies, and/or the Dean of Graduate Studies at least two weeks before the conference date.
The English Graduate Student Society also provides $100 travel grants for UNB English students presenting at conferences. These awards are limited to one per student, per year, and are limited by funding availability.
