Awards and Funding

https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/four-year-doctoral-fellowship-4yf

Who can apply?: International and Domestic PhD applicants

4YF Competition Timeline: The competition will be announced to the ECE faculty in January each year, who are directed to nominate their chosen students. Students hoping to be nominated for this award are recommended to speak with their supervisors upon admission to the program. All PhD applicants who complete their September applications for the doctoral program by December 31st will be eligible to be nominated by an ECE faculty member for a Four Year Fellowship that year.

The ECE department is pleased to offer a number of Four Year Fellowships to outstanding selected Ph.D. applicants. This fellowship consists of an annual stipend of $18,200 plus full tuition for 4 years. In addition, the nominating supervisor will offer a minimum top-up award of $4,000 to FYF award holders for a total award package of $22,200 plus full tuition. Applicants will be nominated by accepting supervisors.

NSERC Doctoral Award Competition

Who can apply?:  Canadians and Permanent Residents (Some restrictions may apply based on months in program. See the graduate studies website above for details. Those who are not eligible for NSERC may still be able to apply for the Affiliated Fellowships Doctoral Competition).

Competition Timeline: All applications (including references) must be submitted by the main deadline posted on https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/canada-graduate-scholarships-doctoral-cgs-d-program.

Process: The Department's Scholarship Committee will receive all applications from the NSERC portal, and will rank applicants/submit the highest ranked applications (until the Department's quota is filled) to the University. The G+PS Graduate Scholarship Committee(s) will then rank applications and submit the highest ranked applications (until the University's quota is filled) to NSERC. Finally, NSERC's Scholarship Committee(s) will rank applications and inform the University as to which applications have been chosen for funding. Applicants should follow the below process to apply:

(1) Email help@ece.ubc.ca to declare your intention to apply. Please include your full name, student number, and the award name in your email, and use a subject line of the following format: "2024W DOCTORAL NSERC APPLICATION - <YOUR NAME>"

(2) Prepare your NSERC application and submit through the online NSERC portal by following the award instructions at: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/canada-graduate-scholarships-doctoral-cgs-d-program

When listing publications on your application, please identify the type of publication (paper, poster, something else), include the number of pages, and state if a listed item has been submitted but has not been accepted for publication or published yet. Please also make sure that all of the details on your application are correct before you submit your application through the NSERC portal.

Please note that all students who submit an application to the NSERC Scholarship Competition are automatically considered in the Affiliated Scholarship Competition and the departmental GSI competition. To be considered for CRITERIA BASED AFFILIATED AWARDS, please complete the Criteria-Based Affiliated Fellowship Checklist and submit it to help@ece.ubc.ca with your NSERC application, as mentioned in the procedures below.

Please also note that when applying for the competition, we are unable to respond to questions about whether your documents have been received. When submitting your award applications, if you receive a confirmation email that your email was submitted, then we received your application.

For all details on the doctoral Affiliated competition, and please visit Affiliated Fellowships Doctoral Program.

NSERC Master's Award Competition

Who can apply?:  Canadians and Permanent Residents (Some restrictions may apply based on months in program. See the graduate students website above for details. Those who are not eligible for NSERC may still be able to apply for the Affiliated Fellowships Masters Competition).

Competition Timeline: All applications (including references) must be submitted by December 1st. Please note that all applicants for the Affiliated-Master's competition must apply for MASc admission by December 1st. Further information on the award can be found at: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/canada-graduate-scholarships-masters-cgs-m-program

Process: The Department's Scholarship Committee will obtain all applications from the NSERC portal. The committee will rank applicants/submit the highest ranked applications (until the Department's quota is filled) to the University. The G+PS Graduate Scholarship Committee(s) will then rank applications and submit the highest ranked applications (until the University's quota is filled) to NSERC. Finally, NSERC's Scholarship Committee(s) will rank applications and inform the University as to which applications have been chosen for funding. Applicants should follow the below process to apply:

(1) Email help@ece.ubc.ca to declare your intention to apply. Please include your full name, student number, and the award name in your email, and use a subject line of the following format: "2024W MASTERS NSERC APPLICATION - YOUR NAME"

(2) Prepare your NSERC application and submit through the online NSERC portal by following the award instructions at: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/canada-graduate-scholarships-masters-cgs-m-program

IMPORTANT NOTE: When listing publications on your application, please identify the type of publication (paper, poster, something else), include the number of pages, and state if a listed item has been submitted but has not been accepted for publication or published yet. Please also make sure that all of the details on your application are correct before you submit your application through the NSERC portal.

Please note that all students who submit an application to the NSERC Scholarship Competition are automatically considered in the Affiliated Scholarship Competition and the departmental GSI competition. To be considered for CRITERIA BASED AFFILIATED AWARDS, please complete the Criteria-Based Affiliated Fellowship Checklist and submit it to help@ece.ubc.ca with your NSERC application, as mentioned in the procedures below.

Please also note that when applying for the competition, we are unable to respond to questions about whether your documents have been received. When submitting your award applications, if you receive a confirmation email that your email was submitted, then we received your application.

For details on the masters-level Affiliated competition, please visit Affiliated Fellowships Master's Program.

https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-doctoral-program

Who can apply?:  Canadians, Permanent Residents and International Students

2022 Competition Timeline:  All award applications must be sent to the department by the deadline listed on https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-doctoral-program. Please note that all applicants for the Affiliated-Doctoral competition must also apply for ECE PhD admission by December 1st.

Process: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-doctoral-program

There are two adjudication stages in the Affiliated Scholarship process: Departmental and University. You will submit your application to the ECE Department. The Department's Award Committee will rank applications and submit the highest ranked applications (until the Department's quota is filled) to the University for a second round of ranking. Please note that some awards are "criteria-based" meaning that there are certain criteria that the applicant or the research must meet to be eligible.

EECE applicants applying for the affiliated award will also be automatically considered for the GSI award competition. A separate GSI application is not required.

The below information details the submission procedure you should follow:

(1) Create your application by following the instructions on https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-doctoral-program and save the Affiliated application as a PDF document. Please use a file name of the following format: "LastName_FirstName_AffiliatedApplication.pdf".

We suggest that you review your application with your supervisor and colleagues. When listing publications, please identify the type of publication (paper, poster, something else), include the number of pages, and state if a listed item has been submitted but not been accepted for publication or published yet.

(2) Arrange for your 2 referees to complete and sign the Affiliated Fellowship Reference Form. Please instruct your referees to submit references by email to references@ece.ubc.ca by the deadline. Reference letters must remain confidential from the applicant and be submitted directly by the referees themselves.

(3) Email your application PDF file (all documents saved as one file) to help@ece.ubc.ca. Please use a subject line of the following format: "2024W DOCTORAL AFFILIATED APPLICATION - <NAME>".

Please also note that when applying for the competition, we are unable to respond to questions about whether your documents have been received. When submitting your award applications, if you receive a confirmation email that your email was submitted, then we received your application.

For all forms and requirements, please visit Affiliated Fellowships.

https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-masters-program

Who can apply?: Canadians, Permanent Residents and International Students

Competition Timeline: All award applications must be sent to the department by December 1st. Please note that all applicants for the Affiliated-Master's competition must apply for MASc admission by December 1st.

Process: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-masters-program

There are two adjudication stages in the Affiliated Scholarship process: Departmental and University. You will submit your application to the ECE Department. The Department's Award Committee will rank applications and submit the highest ranked applications (until the Department's quota is filled) to the University for a second round of ranking. Please note that some awards are "criteria-based" meaning that there are certain criteria that the applicant or research must meet.

EECE applicants applying for the affiliated award will also be automatically considered for the masters-level GSI award competition. A separate GSI application is not required.

The below information details the submission procedure you should follow:

(1) Create your application by following the instructions on https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/affiliated-fellowships-masters-program and save the Affiliated application as a PDF document. Please use a file name of the following format: "LastName_FirstName_AffiliatedApplication.pdf".

We suggest that you review your application with your supervisor and colleagues. When listing publications, please identify the type of publication (paper, poster, something else), include the number of pages, and state if a listed item has been submitted but not been accepted for publication or published yet.

(2) Arrange for your 2 referees to complete and sign the Affiliated Fellowship Reference Form. Please instruct your referees to submit references by email to references@ece.ubc.ca by the deadline. Reference letters must remain confidential from the applicant and be submitted directly by the referees themselves.

(3) Email your application PDF file (all documents saved as one file) to help@ece.ubc.ca. Please use a subject line of the following format: "2024W MASTERS AFFILIATED APPLICATION - <NAME>".

Please also note that when applying for the competition, we are unable to respond to questions about whether your documents have been received. When submitting your award applications, if you receive a confirmation email that your email was submitted, then we received your application.

For all forms and requirements, please visit Affiliated Fellowships Program.

The Faculty of Applied Science offers several awards for graduate and undergraduate students related to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity. For more information on how to apply and eligibility of these awards, please see: https://apsc.ubc.ca/EDI.I/awards

The GSI scholarships will be allocated during the annual UBC Affiliated/NSERC Scholarship competition. Students do not have to submit a separate application for GSI scholarships as they will be automatically considered when applying for Affiliated/NSERC  scholarships. The scholarships will be allocated based on the departmental ranking of the applicants in the Affiliated/NSERC scholarship competition. Please note that this year the Master's and Doctoral competitions are being held at different times, so please refer to the corresponding award announcement for deadlines.

Eligibility for the GSI:
MASc students are not eligible for the GSI if they have completed over 24 months in the MASc program on April 30, 2025. PhD students are not eligible for the GSI if they have completed over 48 months in the PhD program on April 30, 2025. In the event that a recipient of this award takes a leave of absence, the amount of the award will be reduced accordingly. Students are expected to meet the minimum GPA requirements set for the NSERC/Affiliated competitions.

In the event that a GSI recipient closes his or her program mid-way through the award year, the award will be adjusted to the end of the term in which the program is closed. For students who are not eligible for the NSERC/Affiliated competition but are eligible for the GSI competition, please submit a complete Affiliated application following the Affiliated instructions above and your application will be considered for GSI funding.

http://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/vanier-scholarship

The Vanier Scholarship application form is available at Vanier Scholarship. Vanier Scholarship program information is available at: https://vanier.gc.ca/en/home-accueil.html.

The competition is open to Canadian and international students. For all eligibility requirements and deadlines, please visit: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/vanier-scholarship

Applications have to be submitted via ResearchNet by the posted deadline. These applications will be forwarded to the department and the scholarship committee will rank and select applications that will be forwarded to Grad Studies. If you plan to apply for a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, students are advised to start collecting the required supporting material as early as possible, as the deadlines are strict. In your application, please make sure that you carefully address the selection criteria for these scholarships (http://www.vanier.gc.ca/en/nomination_process-processus_de_mise_en_candidature.html).

Application Process:

(1) Prepare your application and send though ResearchNet by no later than the application deadline listed on: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/vanier-scholarship

(2) Email help@ece.ubc.ca before the application deadline to declare your intention to apply. Applicants should also submit official electronic transcripts for all post-secondary studies with this email by the deadline. UBC transcripts do not need to be submitted.

Please also note that when applying for the competition, we are unable to respond to questions about whether your documents have been received. When submitting your award applications, if you receive a confirmation email that your email was submitted, then we received your application.

Indigenous Graduate Fellowships

The University of British Columbia offers multi-year fellowships to Master's and doctoral Indigenous students. Award winners are selected on the basis of academic merit through an annual competition administered by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. The ECE department will email all ECE graduate students with information on how to apply as the competition is opened (normally in January and February). For more information on this award and how to apply, please visit the link provided above.

Minimum Funding Policy for PhD Students

Effective September 2024 onward, all full-time students who have been offered admission to begin a UBC-Vancouver PhD program in September 2018 or later must be provided with a minimum funding package equal to $24,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships.

Many supervisors are pleased to provide funding to graduate students in the form of research assistantships while they work on their thesis. The decision on whether to grant a research assistantship to an MASc or PhD student is made by the individual faculty supervisor. Students who have been accepted into the graduate program should contact their supervisor directly regarding the possibility of a Research Assistantship.

Scroll down this page to browse some of the current supervisors offering RA positions. Not all supervisors and available RA positions are listed.

ECE offers Teaching Assistant positions for our undergraduate courses. Most teaching assistant jobs cover a variety of work including marking, delivering tutorials, supervising undergraduate labs, conducting office hours, etc.

Teaching assistant positions are highly competitive as there are typically many more applicants than available positions in the ECE department. Most positions vary between 40 to 65 hours per term.

For more information on TA positions and how to apply, visit Teaching Assistantships Application.

Funding is awarded according to assessed financial need in the form of bursaries, awards, loans and grants. Find out more about awards and scholarships offered at UBC Funding Opportunities. For information on Types of Financial Support. Both links provide information for domestic and international students.

Graduate students are eligible for reimbursement from the Graduate Student Travel and Research Dissemination Fund once per degree program. The Travel and Research Dissemination Fund provides funding support to a combined maximum of $500 per graduate student. For more information on this funding and how to apply, visit Travel Research Dissemination Fund.