SFU Graduate Student Handbook

Regulations Governing Awards + Scholarships

Senate regulations govern university awards and various award holder guides govern funding from external sources/agencies. Award holders are responsible for reviewing and abiding by the appropriate regulations and guides. Senate regulations governing awards administered through SFU, state the following:

• The annual maximum support you are permitted to receive from university administered awards and scholarships is $60,000 unless otherwise specified in the terms of reference for the award. This includes external agency awards administered by SFU (e.g. CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC).
• You must meet the terms of reference/eligibility for any award offered. This includes full time registration in your intended graduate program, maintaining good academic standing and continued satisfactory performance/progress in courses and research. This also includes the minimum CGPA of 3.50 (B+ to A- average), required for all merit-based awards.
• For awards that are paid over more than one term or year, subsequent payments are contingent on you maintaining full time registration in your intended graduate program, maintaining good academic standing and continued satisfactory performance/progress in courses and research.
• All awards are competitive and merit-based, and meeting the eligibility requirements does not guarantee that you will receive that award.

Withdrawals and Leaves are permitted for certain circumstances (refer to GGR 1.4.5). For students holding awards:

• During leaves: awards are not paid during leaves; students must advise Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies to arrange for the interruption and restart of their award payments. Payment of single term awards after a leave of absence is not guaranteed because of timing, availability and source of funds. All awards for which the terms and conditions are not established by SFU will be paid/interrupted according to the terms and conditions established by the donor or granding agency.
• Withdrawls: awards are prorated to the effective date of withdrawl from a degree program. By withdrawing from a degree program, award holders also forfeit any future paymens for awards held. When a student withdraws and applies for re-admission, their original offer of funding is no longer valid.
• Award reversals: to avoid an account reversal (money owed), students need to advise Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies of any leaves, withdrawals or changes to their degree program as soon as possible.

Early completion of a graduate program is common and the following rules are applied to funding:

• Funding offers are prorated to the end of the month in which students complete their degree program, which is normally the date the final copy of the student’s thesis is accepted by the SFU Library.
• To avoid an account reversal (money owed), students need to advise Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies of early completion of degree programs where funding has been paid.