The Department tries to provide all students who are accepted in to our masters or doctoral programs with a stipend which will cover the University fees and charges as well as basic living costs for a period of up to two years in the case of masters students and four years in the case of doctoral students. This stipend comes from a variety of sources: research assistantships, teaching assistantships, miscellaneous awards, etc.
University fees and charges
The fees and charges are officially listed HERE. In addition all international students are required to pay for health insurance. Follow this link for details.
Typical living expenses
The following ranges for different items over a 12 month period were determined in consultation with graduate students in 2008-2009:
- Books and supplies: $500 to $1000
- Lodging: $4800 to $9000
- Food: $4000 to $5000
- Other expenses (transportation and some travel costs, clothing, laundry, toiletries, entertainment,etc): $3000 to $5000
The total estimate ranges from $12,300 to $20,000 for living expenses per year.
The minimum living expenses come to about $1000 per month and the upper end of the range to somewhat under $1700 per month. How much one spends depends on the kind of housing one chooses, where one shops, to what extent one prepares ones own meals, etc. To get an idea of what is available in terms of housing the McGill classifieds are useful. Compared with other major Canadian cities the cost of living, and rentals in particular, are very reasonable. Nevertheless with $1000 per month to cover living expenses one has to live very frugally. Getting by with less than that is difficult.
Scholarships
All students are urged to apply for the various scholarships for which they are eligible prior to or at the same time as they apply to McGill:
- NSERC scholarships open to all Canadians and landed immigrants. See also the NSERC website.
- NATEQ scholarships available to Quebec residents.
- The highly competitive McGill Tomlinson fellowships open to Canadian and non-Canadian students.
- Commonwealth scholarships.
- ISM doctoral fellowships (for incoming students).
- Foreign government scholarships available in some countries.
The Department may recognize the excellence of award or fellowship holders by offering them, where possible and depending on the size of the award they hold, an additional stipend.
Once students are registered in our programs we keep them informed of the various funding opportunites available outside and inside the university. See, for example, the McGill site and the ISM site.
March 14, 2008