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Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies
This page contains Internal and Donor funded awards available in your academic unit.
Most award funding is contingent upon satisfactory progress in the annual Graduate Progress Report.
Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies (INS) students receive the majority of their funding from the unit they selected as their home unit.
Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies provides all eligible students with a Graduate Fellowship (GF) each year, valued between $2,000 - $2,500, as part of their admission funding offer. These GFs count towards annual minimum funding outlined at time of admission.
Remaining funds and other available awards, such as the CTEF GF, may be open for competition each year. For these additional awards, the INS program uses the following criteria for ranking applications:
- Length of time in degree program
- The total amount of scholarship funding received and the end dates of that funding
- Evidence of successful progress in degree program, as indicated by timely completion of course work, comprehensive exams, scholarly activity, and the Supervisor's/Committee's/Department's assessment of the student's progress
INS will not normally recommend students for funding who:
- have an unsatisfactory progress report in the preceding year
- are currently funded by a major scholarship valued at $50,000 or more
- were offered the same award (CTEF) from their home unit within the same year
Select an Academic Unit
Featured Graduate Student
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Ethan Schmidt is a Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies (History/Humanities) doctoral student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and a recipient of the Graduate Dean's Entrance Scholarship and the Katevatis Graduate Scholarship in Hellenic Studies.
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Makhfirat is a Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies doctoral student in the Faculty of Education and a recipient of the University of Central Asia (UCA) and 間眅埶AV (間眅埶AV) Scholarship. Three keywords of research: Success Strategies, Academic Achievement, Motivation
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Robert is a poet, artist, and curator who works with Jewish histories as a medium for a context and site-dependent practice.
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Niloufar involves mathematics, computer science, and biology in her interdisciplinary studies as a PhD student.
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Katherine is studying forensic search and recovery methods in residential schools in Canada.
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Matthew is a PhD student studying the history of small music venues in BC.
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Asura is studying the infrastructure of scholarly communication in the 21st century.
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Lucy is an Independent Interdisciplinary Studies Doctoral student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences whose research is on Indigenous museology and Haida museum practice in particular.
Eligibility & Values for Donor Funded Awards
Award values are approximate and may vary depending on the donor and/or availability of funds. An updated list of donor award eligibility and values is posted here each May.
Tip: download the list and sort/filter by academic unit, eligibility and values.
Apply for Awards
Main award competitions are open in the spring, with deadlines between May June. Some units run additional competitions in the Fall and Spring terms (generally October and February).
Most awards are applied for in the Graduate Awards Application System (GA3)
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More Information
For 'Nomination Only' awards, contact your academic unit.
For more information on how and when awards are paid, visit Payments + Policies page
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Open for Canadian Citizens and Permanent ResidentsOpen for International Students
Internal Funded Awards
Entrance awards
ongoing support
Terms of Reference
The Community Trust Endowment Funds Graduate Fellowship is a one-semester award valued at $7,000 (effective Fall 2020), available only to Doctoral students in the Humanities (Archaeology, English, History, Linguistics, Political Science, Sociology/Anthropology, Individualized Interdisciplinary Studies). Interested applicants should read the Terms of Reference below to ensure they are eligible.
- The CTEF Graduate Fellowship (GF) is a merit based award valued at $7,000 (effective Fall 2020). CTEF GFs cannot be divided or split like regular GFs.
- To be eligible to hold a CTEF GF, a student must be registered as a full-time, regular (not "on-leave") in a Doctoral program in the Humanities (Archaeology, English, History, Linguistics, Political Science, Sociology/Anthropology) and must normally have a first-class ( 3.50) grade point average. In exceptional cases, other evidence of outstanding ability may outweigh this criterion. In programs where fees are assessed on a per-credit basis, students must be taking at least six credits to be eligible to hold a CTEF Graduate Fellowship.
- Academic merit is the primary criterion for ranking eligible applicants; departments will advise all applicants in advance if additional criteria will be used. Academic merit is based on grades, research ability, and progress in the graduate program.
- CTEF Graduate Fellowship recipients may accept other scholarship support from other sources. Effective Fall 2021, new or current graduate students holding awards valued at $60,000 or more are not eligible to apply for a CTEF GF or for other scholarship income from 間眅埶AV sources.
- Recipients should be aware that some external awards may restrict students from holding a CTEF GF at the same time as the external award.
- There is no restriction on CTEF GF recipients receiving income for work performed during tenure of the CTEF GF.
- Students will be eligible to receive CTEF GF support only during the first 15 semesters of a PhD program.
- Awards are made by the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee on the recommendations of the Departmental Graduate Program Committee.
- The award application or nomination is made using the Graduate Awards Application System.
Revised: May 2024
Terms of Reference:
- Intent: this award is intended to recruit outstanding applicants to masters and PhD programs by offering a multi-year award.
- Value and duration: students must be registered full time, regular (not on leave) to receive payment:
- valued between $1,000 - $8,000 (annual max per year is 24K)
- held for a maximum of 2 (masters) or 4 (PhD) years.
- Eligibility criteria: the candidate must:
- be entering as a full-time graduate student in a masters or PhD program.
- have a minimum CGPA of 3.00
- In programs where fees are assessed on a per-credit basis, the successful candidate must be taking at least six credits to be eligible to hold the award.
- Evaluation criteria: academic units may add additional eligibility and evaluation criteria for their program, provided all additional criteria are approved by Graduate Studies and communicated/published to students. Generally, awards are granted based on:
- the extent to which the student has made excellent progress
- demonstrated academic excellence
- research and/or scholarly output and leadership
- Restrictions specific to this award: Restrictions are detailed in the GDES Guidelines
- Students offered a major entrance award (eg., Simons Foundation Scholarship, Indigenous Entrance Award etc...) and a GDES must decline the lower value award.
- GDES funding will be adjusted when a student receives a Tri-agency award (CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC).
- Some admission funding sources cannot be deferred; students must discuss options with their academic unit.
- Some funding sources cannot be transferred to a new or different program; students must discuss options with their academic unit
- Funding limits and policies: award recipients may hold funding from other sources but should be aware that those other sources may have restrictions on funding.
- This scholarship is included in 間眅埶AVs annual maximum support permitted from university administered awards and scholarships.
- All awards are subject to 間眅埶AVs general graduate funding policies, outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
- Application and adjudication: students do not apply; they are nominated for this award. Awards are made by the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SGAAC) on the recommendation of the Academic Units Graduate Program Chair or Awards Committee.
Revised May 2024/ For awards paid Fall 2024 onward
Terms of Reference
- Intent: this award is intended to recruit and support students in masters and PhD programs.
- Value and duration: students must be registered full time, regular (not on leave) to receive payment:
- valued at $3,500 or $7,000 per term (annual max $21,000).
- Academic units may use award values between $1,000 - $7,000, provided their principles and criteria are approved by Graduate Studies and appropriately communicated/published to students.
- held in 1 term
- Eligibility criteria: the candidate must:
- hold this award within the first 9 terms (masters) or 15 terms (PhD). Students who transfer from a masters to a PhD program without completing the masters program are eligible to hold this award within the first 15 terms from the PhD start date
- In programs where fees are assessed on a per-credit basis, the student must be taking at least six credits to be eligible
- have a minimum CGPA of 3.00
- have any other status than unsatisfactory in most recent progress report. If satisfactory with concerns, a clear plan must be outlined.
- Evaluation criteria: academic units may add additional eligibility and evaluation criteria for their program, provided all additional criteria are approved by Graduate Studies and communicated/published to students. Generally, awards are granted based on:
- the extent to which the student has made excellent progress
- demonstrated academic excellence
- research and/or scholarly output and leadership
- Restrictions specific to this award: Award values and maximums may depend on academic unit approval and budgetary restrictions. Some admission funding sources cannot be deferred; students must discuss options with their academic unit.
- Funding limits and policies: award recipients may hold funding from other sources but should be aware that those other sources may have restrictions on funding.
- This scholarship is included in 間眅埶AVs annual maximum support permitted from university administered awards and scholarships.
- All awards are subject to 間眅埶AVs general graduate funding policies, outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
- Generally, awards are not paid retroactively once a new term starts.
- Application and adjudication: students can apply or be nominated for this award, depending on unit processes. Awards are made by the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SGAAC) on the recommendation of the Academic Units Graduate Program Chair or Awards Committee.
Revised May 2024/ For awards paid Fall 2024 onward
Terms of Reference
- Intent: this award supports the travel and/or research component of the students graduate degree.
- Value and duration: students must be registered full time, regular (not on leave) to receive payment:
- valued between $200 - $7,000 depending on the expenses being submitted, academic unit approval and budgetary restrictions
- held in 1 term
- Eligibility criteria: the candidate must:
- hold this award within the first 9 terms (masters) or 15 terms (PhD). Students who transfer from a masters to a PhD program without completing the masters program are eligible to hold this award within the first 15 terms from the PhD start date.
- have a minimum CGPA of 3.00
- be a full-time graduate student in a masters or PhD program; students cannot hold this award while on a co-op or practicum term
- Evaluation criteria: academic units may add additional eligibility and evaluation criteria for their program, provided all additional criteria are approved by Graduate Studies and communicated/published to students. Generally, awards are granted based on:
- the extent to which the student has made excellent progress
- demonstrated academic excellence
- research and/or scholarly output and leadership
- Restrictions specific to this award: students cannot hold the Indigenous Travel award and this award to cover the same expense.
- Funding limits and policies: award recipients may hold funding from other sources but should be aware that those other sources may have restrictions on funding.
- This scholarship is included in 間眅埶AVs annual maximum support permitted from university administered awards and scholarships.
- All awards are subject to 間眅埶AVs general graduate funding policies, outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
- Application and adjudication: students can apply or be nominated for this award, depending on unit processes. The application must include a reference by the students supervisor and an outline of expenses. Awards are made by the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SGAAC) on the recommendation of the Academic Units Graduate Program Chair or Awards Committee.
Eligible Expenses
- Examples of ELIGIBLE travel expenses include travel for research purposes, travel to present at or attend a conference, workshop or seminar related to research.
- Examples of ELIGIBLE research related expenses include direct costs of doing research such as interpretation services, paid data sets, computers/laptops, reasonable computer peripherals (keyboard, mouse, microphones), art supplies. This award may also be used to reward research excellence.
- Examples of expenses NOT eligible include travel to practicums, co-ops, internships, job fairs or interviews, business or first class travel, course related travel or supplies (such as textbooks or journals).
Revised May 2024/ For awards paid Fall 2024 onward
Terms of Reference
- Intent: this award is intended to recruit and support incoming Canadian Indigenous students.
- Value and duration: students must be registered full time, regular (not on leave) to receive payment:
- Award values may vary, depending on other funding held
- Masters awards are 2 years, Doctoral awards are 4 years
- Eligibility: candidates must
- be entering a research-based masters or PhD program
- have Canadian citizenship and Indigenous identity
- Evaluation criteria: generally, awards are based on academic excellence, fit for the research being proposed and/or scholarly output and leadership. For these awards, additional considerations may include the following which indicate Indigenous excellence:
- Giving back to Indigenous communities or other community/collectives.
- Creative output, visual expression, cultural expression such as art, music, theatre, language, photography.
- Inclusivity and communication with community members, peers; seeking or giving mentorship and guidance
- Prior learning experiences, including those outside of academic settings.
- Restrictions specific to this award:
- Award recipients may hold funding from other sources but should be aware that those other sources may have restrictions on funding.
- There is no restriction on scholarship recipients receiving income for work performed during tenure of the scholarship.
- Funding limits and policies:
- This scholarship is included in 間眅埶AV's annual maximum support permitted from university administered awards and scholarships.
- All awards are subject to 間眅埶AV's general graduate funding policies, outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
- Application and adjudication: awards are made by the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee after a University-wide competition in which departmental nominations are considered.
Updated: September 2024, pending approval by SPCSAB / GUSE006
Terms of Reference
- The purpose of the Indigenous Graduate Travel Award is to provide financial support for Indigenous graduate students for the travel and/or research component of their research. Students can only apply for the Indigenous travel award once per academic year. Indigenous graduate students may apply for this fund before their travel to pay for costs in advance.
- To be eligible for this award, the following criteria must be met:
- This award is for Indigenous graduate students attending 間眅埶AV.
- Indigenous or Aboriginal is defined by Canadas 1982 Constitution as people identified as First Nations, M矇tis, and Inuit peoples of Canada.
- Disbursements of up to $1000 each may be applied for in each academic year (starting September 1 of each year).
- The funds will be given out on a first come / first applied for basis. The fund will be considered used for the year when the $5,000 limit for the year has been reached. Once the total fund has been distributed for the year, a message will be sent out through the Indigenous graduate student listserv.
- Repeat applications will be allowed from year-to-year. Preference, however, will be given to students who have not yet received money from this fund (this is at the discretion of Graduate Studies).
- Application includes:
- A completed budget which accounts for the requested amount;
- A letter of support from the applicants academic supervisor or a faculty member familiar with your work (to verify the students academic status, intent, and need).
Travel Report
Upon completion of travel, successful applicants will need to submit the following within two weeks to the Graduate Awards Assistant: gpsaward@sfu.ca
A concise Travel and Activity Report, written in language suitable for the general public. Contents and/or quotes from the report may be published in Graduate Studies promotional material. If you do not wish for your travel report to be published, please indicate so.
The following could be included in your report:
- The activities that were carried out, in respect to how the travel contributed to your research and/or scholarly activities
- Any unanticipated benefits derived from the travel, including those in relation to your current research objectives an/or to your general experience as a graduate student
- Any special issues or problems you encountered
Terms of Reference
This scholarship supports new and current PhD students if they meet all the eligibility requirements and conditions outlined in these Terms of Reference. Students should be aware that there are restrictions specific to this award.
- Intent: this award is intended to support full-time students in PhD programs.
- Value: students must be registered full time, regular (not on leave) to receive payment:
- valued at $1,836 per term (As of fall 2024)
- paid each term student is eligible
- valued at $1,836 per term (As of fall 2024)
- Eligibility criteria: the student must:
- be enrolled full-time in a PhD program and within the first 12 active terms. Students who transfer from a master's to a PhD program within the first three terms of their master's may receive this award up to the 12th term of their PhD. Students who transfer from a master's to a PhD program after completing more than three terms of a master's may receive funding up to the 9th term of a PhD, regardless of time spent in a Master's
- have a minimum CGPA of 3.00
- have a satisfactory (S) or IP in all courses with an S/U assessment in the past term
- have any other status than unsatisfactory in most recent progress report. If satisfactory with concerns, a clear plan must be outlined.
- Evaluation criteria: students should contact Graduate Studies with concerns regarding eligibility.
- Restrictions specific to this award:
- Tuition waivers: students who have an 間眅埶AV tuition waiver must decline this award but can list it on CVs and award lists (as declined).
- Working professionals: students who are full time working professionals must decline this award but can list it on CVs and award lists (as declined).
- Funding limits and policies: award recipients may hold funding from other sources but should be aware that those other sources may have restrictions on funding.
- Generally, this scholarship counts towards the admission funding offer.
- This scholarship is included in 間眅埶AVs annual maximum support permitted from university administered awards and scholarships.
- All awards are subject to 間眅埶AVs general graduate funding policies, outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
- Generally, awards are not paid retroactively once a new term starts.
- Application/Nomination: Students do not apply for this award. Award notice/offer is sent each term to students, provided they are enrolled and meet the eligibility criteria outlined above.
Revised September 2024/ For awards paid Fall 2024 onward
Terms of Reference
Students and staff can find instructions for the Academic Progress Report (APR) Access: Student instructions | Staff instructions
- Intent: this award supports PhD students who make excellent progress in their degree, completing all university and program requirements prior to their 12th term.
- Value and duration: students must be registered full time, regular (not on leave) to receive payment:
- valued at $7,000
- held in 1 term
- Eligibility criteria: the candidate must:
- have completed fewer than 12 terms in a PhD program; students who did not complete a master's program before transferring into a PhD are eligible to hold the award within the first 12 terms of their PhD, from the PhD start date;
- eligible students must have completed all program and university requirements for the degree (eg. courses, comprehensive or qualifying examinations), except the thesis and, in the case of students in the Clinical Psychology Program, the internship;
- be in satisfactory/good standing.
- Evaluation criteria: academic units may add additional eligibility and evaluation criteria for their program, provided all additional criteria are approved by Graduate Studies and communicated/published to student s. Generally, awards are granted based on:
- the extent to which the student has made excellent progress
- demonstrated academic excellence
- scholarly output and leadership
- Restrictions specific to this award:
- Students holding a national award from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC or their equivalent (ie. 間眅埶AV Entrance Scholarship or a major international award) are ineligible to hold the Presidents PhD Scholarship at the same time.
- Given the intent of the award, recipients are expected, but not required, to limit the number of hours worked weekly
- Funding limits and policies: award recipients may hold funding from other sources but should be aware that those other sources may have restrictions on funding.
- This scholarship is included in 間眅埶AVs annual maximum support permitted from university administered awards and scholarships.
- All awards are subject to 間眅埶AVs general graduate funding policies, outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
- Application and adjudication: students do not apply; they are nominated for this award. The nomination must include a reference by the students supervisor addressing the students progress, academic excellence, scholarly output and leadership. Awards are made by the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SGAAC) on the recommendation of the Academic Units Graduate Program Chair or Awards Committee.
Revised May 2024/ For awards paid Fall 2024 onward
Terms of Reference
- Intent: this award is intended to recruit outstanding international students who are starting a graduate program at 間眅埶AV with a major scholarship from their home country.
- Value and duration: students must be registered full time, regular (not on leave) to receive payment:
- valued at $1,500 per term
- paid up to a maximum of 2 (masters) or 4 (doctoral) years, provided the student continues to hold their country of origins scholarship to study abroad.
- Eligibility criteria: the candidate must:
- receive an award from their home country (or equivalent) that provides a stipend for living expenses to study abroad for at least 3 terms including costs of Health and Medical Insurance and student fees, other than tuition
- meet the English language requirements for 間眅埶AV program admission
- meet the CGPA requirements for 間眅埶AV program admission
- In programs where fees are assessed on a per-credit basis, students must be taking at least six credits. This award is not normally available in premium fee programs.
In addition: academic units are encouraged to match the value of the PIF through Teaching Assistantships or Research Assistantships on an annual basis provided the student is suitably qualified to act as a teaching assistant or tutor marker - Restrictions specific to this award:
- awardees must remain in good academic standing
- for students on an approved leave, the award payment will be interrupted until the student is again registered full-time; payments will be reinstated at that time.
- Funding limits and policies: award recipients may hold funding from other sources but should be aware that those other sources may have restrictions on funding.
- This scholarship is included in 間眅埶AVs annual maximum support permitted from university administered awards and scholarships.
- All awards are subject to 間眅埶AVs general graduate funding policies, outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
- Application and Adjudication: interested students should contact Graduate Studies directly. Awards are made by the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SGAAC) on the recommendation of the Dean and Associate Provost, Graduate Studies.
Revised May 2024/ For awards paid Fall 2024 onward
Terms of Reference
- Intent: this award is intended for outstanding students who are initiating their PhD program at 間眅埶AV with Tri-agency (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) or equivalent funding.
- Value and duration: students must be registered full time, regular (not on leave) to receive payment:
- valued at $1,500 per term
- paid congruently with the major award
- Eligibility criteria: the candidate must:
- be a full-time student in PhD program
- maintain good academic standing
- have applied for the Tri-agency (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) or other equivalent funding prior to applying for admission at 間眅埶AV.
- Evaluation criteria: students should contact graduate studies with concerns regarding eligibility or evaluation.
- Restrictions specific to this award:
- not normally available to students in specialty programs.
- for students on approved leave the award payment will be interrupted until the student is again registered full-time; payments will be reinstated at that time.
- Funding limits and policies: award recipients may hold funding from other sources but should be aware that those other sources may have restrictions on funding.
- This scholarship is included in 間眅埶AVs annual maximum support permitted from university administered awards and scholarships.
- All awards are subject to 間眅埶AVs general graduate funding policies, outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
- Application and adjudication: students do not apply for this award; inquiries should be directed to Graduate Studies directly. Awards are made by the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SGAAC) on the recommendation of the Dean and Associate Provost, Graduate Studies.
Revised May 2024/ For awards paid Fall 2024 onward
Terms of Reference
- Intent: this award is intended to recruit outstanding applicants to masters and PhD programs, who are considering admission to other institutions.
- Value and duration: students must be registered full time, regular (not on leave) to receive payment:
- valued between $1,000 - $10,000 (annual max per year is 10K)
- held in 1 term
- Eligibility criteria: the candidate must:
- be a full-time student in a masters or PhD program
- have a minimum CGPA of 3.00
- In programs where fees are assessed on a per-credit basis, the successful candidate must be taking at least six credits to be eligible to hold the award.
- Evaluation criteria: academic units may add additional eligibility and evaluation criteria for their program, provided all additional criteria are approved by Graduate Studies and communicated/published to students. Generally, awards are granted based on:
- the extent to which the student has made excellent progress
- demonstrated academic excellence
- research and/or scholarly output and leadership
- Restrictions specific to this award: some admission funding sources cannot be deferred; students deferring admission must discuss options with their academic unit.
- Funding limits and policies: award recipients may hold funding from other sources but should be aware that those other sources may have restrictions on funding.
- This scholarship is included in 間眅埶AVs annual maximum support permitted from university administered awards and scholarships.
- All awards are subject to 間眅埶AVs general graduate funding policies, outlined in the Graduate Student Handbook.
- Application and adjudication: students do not apply; they are nominated for this award. Awards are made by the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SGAAC) on the recommendation of the Academic Units Graduate Program Chair or Awards Committee.
Revised May 2024/ For awards paid Fall 2024 onward