Financial Information

Fees

Students pay either full time fees or part time fees. If a student wishes to hold an assistantship, they must be full time. Most scholarships also require the student to be registered for full time studies.

The number of courses you enroll in does not determine if you are full time or part time at the graduate level.  The fees are set as either full time rate or part time, not by the number of courses you enroll in, add or drop. In addition you enroll for all three terms - fall, winter and summer each year until you have completed your degree.

If you need to change to part time status, you will need to complete a change of status form with your director (form available on the Graduate Studies web site).

If you need to be away from your studies, you may petition for a leave of absence or withdraw.  Students are strongly recommended to meet with the director to discuss what option would work best for them.

For the rate of fees, please consult the Registrar's information, as they list all fees, including full time, part time, international and the schedule of refunds for graduate students.

Scholarships and Awards

• Incoming students are eligible for consideration for a variety of scholarships including the Elia Scholarship, the Graduate Fellowship for Academic Distinction, and the York Scholarship. See http://www.yorku.ca/grads/financial/entrancescholarships.htm
  
  
• The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada offers PhD Fellowships to first-class students (minimum A average). The deadline is in the fall of each year.

• Ontario Graduate Scholarships are offered to outstanding students (minimum A- average). The deadline is in the fall of each year.
  
  
• The Faculty of Graduate Studies receives scholarship information on an ongoing basis from a wide number of sources including corporation and foundation based scholarship opportunities.
  
  
• There are also a number of scholarships available from the government or other sources that students can apply for. http://www.yorku.ca/grads/financial/externalscholarships.htm

The SPTH Program office also posts announcements on the bulletin board and through the student listserv. Information about the deadlines for applications for scholarships and awards are advertised on the student listserv.

Assistantships

Assistantships are also available to assist students financially. All full time students are eligible to receive either a teaching assistantship (TA), a graduate assistantship (GA) or a research assistantship (RA). Students must apply for a TA each year. PhD students have first priority for TA positions, followed by MA students in their second year. Students in their first MA year normally receive either a GA (where they are expected to assist the Program or individual faculty members with research or Program related work) or a RA (where they work on research related to their own research interests). Except in unusual circumstances, all students can expect to receive one of a TA, GA, or RA.

Additional Funding For International Students

Visa students can be considered for an International Tuition Fee Scholarship worth approximately $1600 per term (for three terms per year). The SPTH Admissions committee and/or Director will select those students and forward the request to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for approval.
http://www.yorku.ca/grads/financial/entrancescholarships.htm

Additional Opportunities

Additional information on a wide variety of types of scholarships, awards and prizes is sent - on an ongoing basis - to students through e-mail and is also available at the FGS website

• FGS/CUPE Bursary
  This bursary is based on financial need, and students will need to complete an on-line form which includes budgetary expense information. Students are encouraged to supplement the budgetary information with a rational if any of the expenses are unusual or if further information would be beneficial to the committee that ranks the bursary requests. The joint FGS/CUPE committee will assess the requests and the awards will be applied to the students' York Account. If tuition fees have been paid, a cheque will be issued to the student. Students are asked to note that funds for this bursary are limited, and this supplements student expenses, but does not normally award the full amount requested. There are two competitions annually - one for the Fall/Winter sessions, and one for the summer session. Applications are on-line (through the Graduate Studies web site), and student would need to fill out the on-line Student Financial Profile.
  
  Please note: As cheques may be issues and sent to the student's home address, students are encouraged to ensure that their local address has been updated on-line including telephone number and postal code to prevent mail from going missing or to ensure offices can follow-up promptly if there are any problems.
  
  
• The Graduate Development Fund
  The Graduate Development Fund helps subsidize students' travel costs to a recognized academic event where they are presenting their scholarly or creative work. The fund will not support travel to a commercial or remunerated event. (It does not cover taxis, conference fees, hotels, associated research costs, etc.). Students just attending, but not presenting original work will not be funded through this fund.
  
  There is competition each year. Applications are reviewed and allocations determined by members of the Awards Committee of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

  Eligible applicants

  • All registered York graduate students, except for students registered in any graduate program affiliated with the Schulich School of Business

  Generally, students must be registered as York graduate students on the date of application and the date of presentation.

  Eligible expenses

  • Transportation costs necessary for York graduate students to present their scholarly or creative work at recognized events, e.g., conferences, colloquia, poster presentations and exhibitions
  • Transportation expenses incurred for travel to/from an event taking place within seven (7) months prior to the application deadline or six (6) months after the application deadline

  Amount of allocations 

  Allocation amounts may vary based on the amount of applications and the number of high-expense applications in any given application cycle. 

  Successful applications are generally allocated a portion rather than the total amount of transportation costs. Students are expected to use the most economical option available and are encouraged to seek other sources of funding. 
  
  Allocations may vary based on distance of travel and mode of transportation. For illustrative purposes only, assuming departure from Toronto:
  • a student presenting a paper in Ottawa might be allocated $50 towards a student rate bus fare;
  • a student travelling to Quebec City might be allocated a $60 subsidy for train fare;
  • a student flying within North America might be allocated a subsidy to a maximum of $250;
  • a student travelling overseas might be allocated a subsidy to a maximum of $500.

  Regardless of event dates, the maximum number of allocations provided in a given year (May 1 to April 30) is generally two (2).

  
  Please note: The Faculty of Graduate Studies requires a committee to assess the application submissions, therefore the program office or the Faculty of Graduate Studies may not be able to accept late submissions.
  
  
• The Research Costs Fund
  

  The Research Cost Fund (RCF) defrays costs directly connected to research undertaken by full-time, registered York graduate students who are or have been members of CUPE 3903 Unit 1.

  Applications for the RCF are accepted twice per year—once in Spring and once in Fall.

  Applications are reviewed and allocations are determined by a four-person committee, consisting of:

  • 1 full-time faculty member selected by the University;
  • The Dean of Graduate Studies or his/her designate; and,
  • 2 representatives of CUPE 3903 Unit 1.

  Eligible applicants

  • Full-time registered York graduate students who are or were members of CUPE 3903 Unit 1

  Conditions include:

  Applications from doctoral students are normally given priority, followed by applications from master’s students;

  • Successful applicants are normally awarded a maximum of one allocation in a year (May 1 to April 30); and,
  • Only complete applications will be considered.

  Eligible expenses 

  Eligible expenses may include:

  * Travel and/or accommodation necessary for research;

  * Incentive payments to research participants; and,

  * Materials, supplies, photocopying and other services essential to the research.

  Allocated funds are provided to successful applicants by reimbursement after eligible expenses are incurred and original, detailed receipts are provided. 

  Reimbursement claims must match the budget line items approved by the Committee.

  Amount of allocations

  Successful applicants may be allocated up to $1,500.

  Due to an increasing number of applications, funds are generally allocated in amounts of $500 or less. 

  Application deadlines 

  There are two competitions each year—one in Fall and one in Spring.

• Please note: The Faculty of Graduate Studies requires a committee to assess the application submissions, therefore deadlines for submissions are strict. The Program office or the Faculty of Graduate Studies may not be able to accept late submissions.
  
  
• The Fieldwork Cost Fund
  
• The Fieldwork Cost Fund (FCF) defrays costs directly connected with research carried out “in the field” by full-time, registered York graduate students.

Applications for the FCF are accepted in the Spring of each year.

Applications are reviewed and allocations are determined by a committee consisting of:

• 1 full-time faculty member selected by the University; and,
• The Dean of Graduate Studies or his/her designate.

Allocated funds are provided to successful applicants by reimbursement after eligible expenses are incurred and original, detailed receipts are provided. Reimbursement claims must match the budget line items approved by the Fieldwork Cost Fund Committee.

Eligible applicants

• Full-time registered York graduate students

Conditions include:

• Applicants must have no outstanding grades of “I” for courses at the end of the term prior of receiving the award; and,
• Applicants may apply more than once; however, ongoing annual trips which do not produce significantly different progress will not be supported. In cases of re-applications, a sound rationale for additional field research and a recommendation from the program director is required.
• Applicants must be registered in full-time status both at the time of application and at the time the research is undertaken.

Eligible expenses

Eligible expenses may include:

• Travel and/or accommodation necessary for research;
• Incentive payments to research participants;
• Materials, supplies, photocopying and other services essential to the research; and,
• Disability accommodation costs (e.g., attendant care, medical equipment costs, accessible transportation, interpreters, note takers)

Conditions include:

• Fieldwork must be conducted after the applicant’s thesis/dissertation proposal has been approved by the Office of the Dean, Graduate Studies.
• Applications to cover expenses for fieldwork prior to the competition may be considered when an applicant provides sufficient rationale for why the application was not made in the previous competition.
• Allocated funds are provided to successful applicants by reimbursement after eligible expenses are incurred and original, detailed receipts are provided.
• Reimbursement claims must match the budget line items approved by the Fieldwork Cost Fund Committee.

Ineligible expenses

The FCF generally does not cover:

• Books;
• Conference costs;
• Subsistence costs;
• Local travel costs;
• Tuition and related fees;
• Equipment considered a normal student expense; and/or,
• Similar items considered normal student expenses.

The Committee may, if it deems appropriate, award funds for such budget items if the expenses are demonstrated to be essential for the completion of the research, and a less expensive alternative is unavailable.

If research plans include travel to a conference site for the specific purpose of interviewing experts presenting there, the applicant must provide evidence that interview appointments were arranged in advance of travel.

Amount of allocations

Successful applications may be allocated up to $5,000.

Application deadlines

There is one competition per year, in Spring.

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• Tax Receipts
  York has recently switched to an on-line format for some of the tax paperwork.  Click on the link http://sfs.yorku.ca/fees/taxforms/index.htm to go directly to the Obtaining Tax Forms page.
  
  The following instructions were provided by one of the students who has used this site:
  
  You will need your student number and must know your Maya Pin Number. When you click on the "tax forms" site, you select the appropriate form. Then you just get an Adobe Acrobat file which looks exactly like the forms they used to mail us. In order to download it on a computer with Adobe Acrobat you will need to use a computer that has Adobe Acrobat on it already. (The computers in the SPTH computer room have this program). Print and include with your taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency.