There are a number of services on campus that can help graduate students fund everything from dental work to emergency situations.
Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs (FGPA)
Scholarships and Awards:
Please visit the current grad student website for details about various awards that you might be eligible for. Most external awards for the 2016-17 academic year have application deadlines this fall. You can also review our external awards brochure.
Travel / Research Bursary
FGPA provides funds to students in financial need who require assistance to conduct or present their research. The fund may cover a portion of the cost related to field travel and supplies, long-distance telephone charges, questionnaire publication, translation, mailing, and the cost of copying journal articles. It may also cover related costs to attend a scholarly conference at which the graduate student is presenting a paper. This fund is intended to cover modest costs where other sources of support are not available. Costs not covered under this bursary include: costs associated with interview subjects, honoraria, the cost of copying the graduate thesis, and attendance at scholarly conferences where no paper is being presented. The bursary account contains a limited amount of funds. Approval of each application is dependent on the availability of funds. Applications are considered on a case-by-case and first-come-first served basis. Students are restricted to one application and one conference per academic year (September to August). However, if funds are available, a second application may be considered within the same academic year. Details can be found by scrolling down on this website.
GRIT Award
This award is for PhD students at the ABD stage (all comprehensive exams have been completed and the dissertation proposal has been successfully defended). This award acknowledges and supports outstanding doctoral students conducting highly original and innovative research, with the expectation that they will make a significant impact in their respective field of study. The award provides funding to support excellence and involvement in academic research activities such as highly innovative on-location research collaboration with experts in the field, the development of cutting-edge methodologies, the implementation of groundbreaking results or to present scholarly research at a top national or international conference related to the student’s area of study. ABD doctoral students from all faculties are eligible and encouraged to apply. Students are restricted to one application per award cycle. Please note that students are eligible to receive the award once; previous holders of the award may not apply again. Details can be found on this website.
Graduate Students’ Association (GSA)
The GSA offers students a number of grants, including travel grants for travel to conferences and academic events, dental and emergency grants for students in need, and accessibility grants for students and groups looking to improve access at events and on campus. Check out the GSA website for more information. You can also review this story that was featured in a recent issue of TheGraduate@Carleton that outlines a number of grants and scholarships sponsored by the GSA.
Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA)
CUSA’s Food Centre offers an emergency food bank for anyone who self-identifies as being in need of food assistance plus a Good Food Box program whereby, each month, you can purchase a box of fresh fruits and vegetables for a great price. For more information, you can call them at 613-520-2600 ext. 2265 or email them at foodcentre@cusaonline.ca. The Centre is now located in 302 University Centre.
CUPE 4600
CUPE 4600 offers various kinds of financial assistance to Teaching Assistants. Details and application forms for TAs are available on this website. Benefits for Contract instructors are listed on this website.
John Parker Loans
All graduate students are eligible to apply for the John Parker Loan Fund that provides loans of up to $1,000 to students in their first year of studies at Carleton, and up to $1,500 in future years to students who require financial assistance to meet their educational costs. Applications are available from the Undergraduate Awards Office, 202 Robertson Hall.
If you have any tips you would like to share with other grad students, please comment below.
