Financial Awards
1. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Award Amounts: $27,000/year (CGS M); $40,000/year (PGS D); $40,000/year (CGS D)
- Open to Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
2. Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
- Award Amounts: $27,000/year (CGS M); $40,000/year (CGS D)
- Open to Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada
3. Four Year Doctoral Fellowship (4YF)
- University of British Columbia offers a Four Year Fellowship for entering PhD students. Each year the Department is assigned a number of 4YF to award to top incoming applicants and transferring master students. The fellowship is valued at $18,200/year for 4 years of the students PhD program plus tuition. All incoming PhD students are eligible.
4. Vanier
- The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS) program is designed to attract and retain world-class doctoral students who demonstrate both leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies Canadian and international students are eligible. Valued at $50,000/yr for 3 years.
5. Zymeworks MSL MI Fellowship
Zymeworks, Inc., a leading biotechnology company within British Columbia, has partnered with the Michael Smith Laboratories and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia to support six 1-year Fellowships in Advanced Protein Therapeutics over three years.
Students conducting thesis research focused on relevant aspects of discovery and development of biologic therapeutics, as defined in the attached proposal, are particularly encouraged to apply.
The award is valued at $20,000 and is available to all PhD students that do not already hold a major award.
Funding Supplements
1. PhD Tuition Award
The Faculty of Science is committed to supporting PhD students through a tuition award. All PhD students in Microbiology and Immunology will receive a tuition award for the first 4 years of their program. An additional tuition supplement is paid by individual supervisors to PhD students in their 5th year to cover tuition.
2. International Partial Tuition Scholarship
International students are eligible for an International Partial Tuition Scholarship of $3,200 to assist with their tuition fees if they are registered full-time and assess full tuition fees. Students are eligible as long as they are not a recipient of external scholarships or external funding that pays their tuition. The graduate program coordinator will confirm the eligibility of the department’s international students with the Faculty of Graduate Studies Awards Office.
*The University reserves the right to change the value of this scholarship without notice.
3. Teaching Assistantships (TAs)
As part of their program requirements, all MBIM graduate students must complete one full TAship (i.e., 192 hours) while registered in either the MSc or PhD program. This requirement is usually fulfilled in the student's second year. This mandatory TAship makes up part of the student stipend (i.e., the contribution from the supervisor's research grant is reduced).
With approval from their supervisors, students who have completed their TA mandatory requirements and agree to TA can receive their TAship stipend in addition to their regular stipend. Specific details can vary, especially if the stipend from the supervisor's research grant exceeds the departmental minimum.
4. Mandatory Scholarship Top-ups
Top ups for students with scholarships:
- A student with any “full” (value of $15,000 or more) competitively earned scholarship will receive a mandatory supplement from their supervisor, in addition to their base stipend for each year that they hold the scholarship. However, students receiving other “top-ups” for that particular year will not receive this supplement from their supervisor. This includes:
- Student receiving an award on top of a CIHR or NSERC scholarship
- Students with a $35,000 Canada Doctoral Award or international award.
- MD/PhD students with scholarships:
- For years they are doing lab work full time, including the first year when they are taking courses, they will receive a mandatory supplement from their supervisor.
- For years they are in med school taking courses, they will receive a $0-$3,000 top-up at the discretion of their supervisor, based on how much time they are spending in the lab.
5. Graduate Travel Award
Graduate students are eligible for the Graduate Student Travel Fund only once per degree program. The Travel Fund provides one-time travel support to a graduate student who presents a paper or poster at an official conference or symposium (student workshops are ineligible) while they are enrolled full-time in a graduate degree program.
Travel expenses may be reimbursed directly to students or to faculty supervisors if they advance funds for their student’s' travel. Reimbursements will only be made after travel is completed.
* There is no deadline for submission of Travel Fund applications.
6. Microbiology and Immunology Travel Awards
These awards are open to all graduate students within the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. The funds will provide travel endowments for students who intend on attending and presenting their work at a conference related to their research.
To apply, fill out the attached form: Travel Award
Due by noon on May 15th and Nov 15th of each year.
If the students research area is applicable, successful students will receive an award from the Robert Emmanuel & Mary Day Endowment. Otherwise, equivalent applications will receive a Department of Microbiology and Immunology travel award. Laboratories are only eligible for one award during a 12 month period and the maximum award/ person will be $1500
Undergraduate Awards
Annual awards to support undergraduate research in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology include:
- NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRAs)
- Science Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Awards
- Work-Learn International Undergraduate Research Awards
USRAs and SURE awards provide a stipend of at least $9,755 for 16 consecutive weeks of full-time work in the summer, for independent research in microbiology and immunology under the supervision of a UBC faculty member. WLIURAs provide at least $9,755 for 16 consecutive weeks of full-time work in the summer, for independent research in microbiology and immunology under the supervision of a UBC faculty member.
Students in the past have benefited from these programs by gaining hands-on research experience as well as the opportunity to interact with our students, staff, and faculty members.
Eligibility:
- NSERC USRAs are available to Canadian citizens and permanent residents pursuing undergraduate studies. Details regarding eligibility and frequently asked questions can be found on the NSERC website (www.nserc.ca). Please note that no student may hold more than 3 USRAs in a lifetime.
- SURE Awards are available to all students registered at UBC-V as BSc students.
- Work-Learn International Undergraduate Research Awards are dedicated to international undergraduate students as they are not eligible for NSERC USRAs. Students must be UBC-V BSc students on a study permit.
- Applicants should be in very good academic standing (grade point average over ~ 80%).
Labs holding NSERC USRA summer studentships in 2024:
- Dr. Elitza Tocheva
- Dr. Maria Tokuyama
- Dr. Jim Sun
- Dr. Rachel Fernandez
*Please contact professors directly
Labs holding SURE award summer studentships in 2024:
- Dr. Selena Sagan
- Dr. Lindsay Eltis
- Dr. Francois Jean
- Dr. Kayla King
*Please contact professors directly
Labs holding Work-Learn International Undergraduate Research Awards in 2024:
- Dr. Tom Beatty
- Dr. Selena Sagan
- Dr. Lindsay Eltis
- Dr. Steven Hallam
*Please contact professors directly
Questions? Please contact:
Dr. David Oliver
Associate Professor of Teaching and Undergraduate Studentship Coordinator
Jiaojiao Lu
Graduate Program Assistant
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