Teaching Assistantships  

Teaching Assistants direct undergraduate tutorials, evaluate papers, and mark examinations. The current value of a TAship in the History Department is $7,208.00 per semester for MA students and $8,358.00 per semester for PhD students for a full load of five base units (approximately 210 hours per semester). When tutorials are cancelled due to poor enrollment, TAships that are conditional on enrollment numbers may be decreased to fewer than five base units or cancelled altogether.  

Graduate students may, at the time of admission into the program, be offered a number of semesters of support from TAships. Every effort is made to assign students to undergraduate courses which fall within their own field of specialization. The Department sends notification of available TAships to all current and incoming students approximately 9 to 10 weeks prior to the semester in which they will be taken up. Students must submit an application to be considered for these positions, even in the circumstance of having been offered TAship funding in their admission letters. The criteria for the awarding of TAships in the Department of History can be found in Appendix II.

Teaching Assistants (TAs) are represented by the Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU). View the 2019–2022 TSSU Collective Agreement.

More information on TSSU Wages can be found at this link: http://www.tssu.ca/wages/

Research Assistantships

Research Assistantships may also be available to graduate students through faculty research grants.

Graduate Fellowships

Graduate fellowships (GFs), worth $7,000 (or $3,500 for a partial GF) are the most commonly offered scholarships by the department. We accept applications at the time of application to the program and, for current students, in the fall semester, for awards tenable in the upcoming spring. See the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for more information on GFs.

Academic merit is the primary criterion for ranking eligible applicants for a Graduate Fellowship (GF). When awarding GFs, the History GPC may also consider equity among and between graduate student cohorts, as well as recruitment of incoming students.

Other Scholarships and External Fellowships

See the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for information on entrance scholarships and details on other awards and scholarships administered by the federal government, the University and other institutions and associations. In addition to the University scholarships, students may apply for private awards via the GA3 system.

SSHRC

We encourage all eligible MA students to apply for a Canadian Graduate Scholarship, Master's Program (CGS M), $17,500 for 12 months, non-renewable. SFU’s internal deadline for the CGS M is usually December 1.

Eligible PhD students should apply for Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarships ($35,000 a year) and SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships ($20,000 a year). SFU’s internal deadline for SSHRC doctoral scholarships is usually November 1.

Travel and Research Awards (TARA)

Travel and Research Awards support the travel component of the scholarly activity of graduate students related to their research. Applications for travel and research awards are due every March and are disbursed at the start of the following summer semester. Departmental funds are available for minor research and conference travel taking place at other times in the year.

The History Department also supports graduate student travel to the annual Shifting Tides Conference in Parksville on Vancouver Island. This student-faculty history conference is well attended by UVic, UBC and SFU history graduate students. Please inquire with the graduate program assistant about the travel reimbursement limit for Shifting Tides.