Funding

Most of the financial support for both MA and PhD students in the department is in the form of external awards, teaching assistantships, Four Year Fellowships (university-wide awards) and Graduate Support Initiative Awards. The department works to combine these resources in order to offer students competitive funding packages.

PhD students who are admitted to the program can normally expect offers of four years of support, while Masters students can expect up to two years. The department strongly suggests that potential students apply for external funding concurrently with their applications for admission, and will require that they do so once they are enrolled in the program.

Master’s Students

MA Students are admitted with 2 year funding packages represented by a combination of Teaching Assistantships and additional fellowship funding.  Each year represents approximately $17,000 in value:

  • Full Teaching Assistantship (~$12,000 per year)
  • Faculty of Arts Graduate Award (~$6,000 per year)

PhD Students

PhD Students are admitted with 4 year funding packages consisting of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships.   Each year represents approximately $26,000 in value:

  • Fellowship Stipend (~$18,000 per year)
  • Half Teaching Assistantship (~$6,000 per year)
  • Faculty of Arts Graduate Award (~$2,000 per year)

 

PhD Co-op (Optional)

Co-operative education is an optional program that allows you to gain work experience as you work on your doctoral degree. You will have access to various resources to help support your job search and build career skills.

Research on co-op programs has shown that students typically return to their studies after co-op terms highly motivated and increasingly successful in their studies (marks, completion rates, etc.).

The application window for PhD Co-op is open once per year, and usually closes in the first week of October.

 

Teaching Assistantships

Teaching Assistants are represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 2278, and work under a collective agreement.

Roles and Responsibilities

TA positions are paid jobs and demand a level of professionalism, responsibility and accountability. Typical duties include:

  • Prepare course materials and/or participate in class instruction
  • Lead discussion sections, tutorials and review sections
  • Keep class records
  • Set, mark, and provide feedback on examinations, tests and assignments
  • Hold office hours
  • Invigilate exams and assist instructors to conduct oral exams
  • Manage and maintain a website as well as the learning management system
  • Duplicate materials
  • Order and obtain AV equipment
  • Demonstrate procedures or set up demonstrations
  • Prepare and present a lecture during the term

 

Compensation

Please refer to the UBC Human Resources website for the current Teaching Assistantship (CUPE 2278) salary scale: https://hr.ubc.ca/working-ubc/salaries/staff-salaries-job-evaluation/staff-salary-scales

 

Internal Awards

The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Studies has many funding opportunities for graduate students in various departments.

External Awards

Canadian applicants are eligible for SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships and Master’s Scholarships.

Travel Funding

(From History Department)

Graduate students are now eligible to receive travel funding to attend a conference at which they are presenting a paper.  Over the course of a graduate career, each MA student will have access to $1,500 to attend conferences, and each PhD student will have access to $3,000. Eligibility continues for up to four months after completion of the degree. As per University guidelines, payments will be made via reimbursement.

Per UBC travel policy, reimbursements happen after travel/event has occurred.  In order to provide some flexibility, students can go to more than one conference and can decide how much to submit for reimbursement.

Steps for Reimbursement:

Important – Prior to reimbursement:

Make sure you have set up direct deposit in Workday Student.

  • You can do this through your Finances App on the Workday home page, or by searching for Payment Elections.
  • You will set up your banking details for Expenses and Student Refund.
  • If you are also a UBC employee and have already set up direct deposit, please ensure that your pay types include Expenses and Student Refund.
  • When  you fill out the ASC claim form, enter your student no., not your UBC employee no.

1. Request Permission from Department Head and Department administrator

Please submit a request for approval (via email) for reimbursement of conference travel to both the Department Head and History Manager of Administration (link). Be sure to mention whether you are an MA or PhD student; the name, location and dates of the conference; and your role in the conference (e.g. presenting a paper, chairing a session...).

After receiving approval for reimbursement from the Department Head, please follow steps #2-3.

 

2. Prepare your documents

Please make sure to have the following information ready before applying for reimbursement:

  • Copy of Emailed Approval from Head of Department (See Step #1)
  • Proof of Conference Presentation: Provide proof of presenting a paper at a conference (usually a copy of the page from the conference program showing that you are presenting works, or email confirmation from the conference organizers, etc.)
  • All Receipts/Tickets: All receipts related to reimbursement.  If flying, the ticket stubs are also required as well as the receipts.
  • Student ID Number
  • On Student Service Centre (SSC), please make sure your most current mailing address is updated on the system.

 

3. Submit Online Reimbursement Claim:

Submit your request through the ASC (Arts Service Centre) by using the TRAVEL EXPENSE SUBMISSION FORM.  The ASC has a "student expense report initiator" who will process the reimbursement claim.

Key Details to input into the form:

  • Under Travel Request: Select "Travel Expense Claim" from the drop-down menu.
  • Under Employee or Student Number: Input the letter "S" and enter your student ID Number afterwards (Example: S1234567).
  • Under Conference Name or Purpose of Trip: Input History Department Graduate Student Conference Travel Reimbursement: "Enter Name of Conference".
  • For Speedchart/Worktag: Input PM005469
  • Use the form to list all your conference travel expenses such as Travel, Registration, Accommodation, etc.
  • Add more lines as required by clicking the plus sign at the right end of each row.

 

 

  • Under the "Attachment Receipts and other Documents" Sections:
    • Attach copy of "Emailed Approval from Head of Department (See Step #1).
    • Attach all receipts listed for your travel expenses.
    • Attach copy of proof of participation in conference.
    • If Flying, attach copy of both ticket stub + receipts.
  • In the Additional Comments Section: Input History Graduate Student Conference Travel Reimbursement AND Indicate whether you are a MA or PhD student. (E.g. "MA Student" or "PhD Student").

Example:

History Graduate Student Conference Travel Reimbursement - MA Student
or
History Graduate Student Conference Travel Reimbursement - PhD Student

(For the student's reference:  It's crucial that the ASC reimbursement claim form is identified as a graduate student claim.  This is the reason for instructing the student to input the information in the additional comments section.)

 

4. Click Submit

(From G+PS)

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (G+PS) offers travel grants, limited to $500 per degree.  Graduate students who present a paper or poster at an official conference or symposium are eligible for travel support to a maximum of $500. Expenses include travel (at economy airfare prices), accommodation, conference registration, meals.

Please see the link below for eligibility and application details:
https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/graduate-student-travel-research-dissemination-fund

(From History Department)

Graduate students may apply for a combined total of $45,000 for summer research travel. Priority goes to students who have not already received summer travel funding. These travel grants will continue through the summer of 2020; continuation beyond that will be dependent on the department’s future financial situation.

Eligibility:
Only UBC History Graduate students are eligible to apply for these writing fellowships.

Timeline:
In February of each year, a Call for Applications for Summer Research Travel (“Summer Research and Writing Fellowships”) will be sent out to graduate students via email announcements.

Applications will be due March.

Recipients will be notified and paid via direct deposit in April.

(From Faculty of Arts)

TERMS OF REFERENCE & INSTRUCTIONS

Background and Priorities:

The Faculty of Arts is pleased to announce the 2022-2023 Arts Graduate Student Research Awards for PhD and MA students. These awards are designed to help Graduate students with the research program associated with their degree. Awards are $1000 and are for covering the costs of travel and other research-related expenses (but not conference or workshop attendance and travel).

Value:

Awards are $1000.

Eligibility:

The Faculty of Arts Research Awards are to assist graduate students (PhD and MA) based in the Faculty in research directly associated with their degree program. Funds can be used for travel and direct research expenses.

Terms of Award:

  • These awards are for research-related expenses only, and applicants need to make clear how the funds will be used and how they directly relate to the program of research.
  • Students may only hold this award once during their degree program.
  • Awards must be used within one year of the date the grant was awarded.
  • Travel expenses are permitted. However, funds cannot be used for conference or workshop attendance.
  • Salaries (for the applicant or for others) cannot be funded with these awards.
  • Funds are released to a research grant held by the applicant’s primary supervisor.

Application Deadline:

Completed applications must be received by 10:00 am on Monday, January 30, 2023.

Application Procedures:

Please complete the Research Project Information Form (RPIF) (link). The RPIF must be signed by the applicant’s thesis supervisor and the Head/Director or Chair of the unit (Dean’s signature is not required at the time of application). The supervisor should be listed as the Principal Investigator. In Section B, the applicant should be listed as the recipient.

The RPIF can be downloaded at:
https://research.ubc.ca/support-resources/forms-tools-resources/research-project-information-form

Submit your application here:
https://air.arts.ubc.ca/graduate-student-research-awards/

Please scan the RPIF to PDF format and title as indicated when submitting the final application package.

Last Name_RPIF.pdf

Adjudication of awards will be undertaken by a committee chaired by the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Christiane Hoppmann. Notification of awards will be made by March, 2023 and must be used between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024.

For queries related to this award please contact Kath Imhiran at artsadmin.rc@ubc.ca  or (604) 822-0419.

This $5450 award supports honours and graduate students travelling to Germany as part of their program.

For more information, click here

Essays and Competitions

$3,000 for the best essay on Canadian citizenship. Please send in submissions prior to May 2022. (only for students without a graduate degree)

Teaching Assistantships

Graduate students have the opportunity to gain teaching experience in their related interest area and earn money for their work.

Supplementary Fellowships

The Department of History and Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies also offer a small number of specialized fellowships each year.

The following awards are made on the recommendation of the Department of History, and for graduate student awards in consultation with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies:

This $1500 award is given annually to a graduate student whose work will make an important contribution to an understanding of multiculturalism in Canada.

This $2000 award is presented every second year to a full-time graduate student in history studying international relations.

Awards totaling $3,150 for outstanding graduate students in the Department of History specializing in the history of British Columbia.

This $2500 award is presented every second year to a graduate student pursuing a topic in international relations.

This $1500 award is presented annually to a graduate or undergraduate student in history who is studying B.C. history and conducting research in the provincial archives.

This award supports graduate students from any discipline specializing in Japanese Studies.

If you have any questions, please contact the History Department using the contact form.

 

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