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Western Funding
The structure, sources, amount, and duration of graduate funding are determined by a students Faculty and/or graduate program. Funding at Western may include scholarships, assistantships, fellowships, and other forms of financial support.
The graduate program is the primary source of information regarding available funding packages, including funding amounts, sources of support, and any conditions associated with that funding.
Funding Support Packages
Western recognizes that students who choose to undertake full-time graduate studies are choosing to delay their entry into the full-time workforce. To help offset the cost of graduate education, Western provides funding support packages for eligible research-based master's and doctoral students.
Funding support packages can include a combination of scholarships, graduate fellowships, teaching assistantships, graduate student assistantships, and other internal or external funding sources. The amount and composition of a package can differ from student to student and from program to program.
Funding support packages do not replace full-time employment income.
Minimum Funding Support for Eligible Doctoral Students
Eligible domestic and international doctoral students beginning their program in September 2026 are guaranteed a minimum annual funding support package.
All applicable fees are deducted from the funding support package. International students are also assessed the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) fee.
Funding Available Through Western
Learn more about the scholarships, assistantships, and fellowships that may form part of graduate funding at Western.
Western Graduate Research Scholarship (WGRS)
Learn about graduate scholarship funding administered through participating Western graduate programs.
Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA)
Explore paid teaching opportunities available to eligible graduate students through Western's academic units.
Graduate Student Assistantship (GSA)
Learn about graduate student employment opportunities supporting academic, research, and administrative activities.
Graduate Fellowship (GF)
Learn about graduate funding provided through faculty research grants and other research activities.
Have questions about your funding package? Funding varies by graduate program. Contact your graduate program directly for information about the funding available to you and the conditions associated with your support.
Graduate programs are expected to communicate funding expectations to graduate students annually via Mercury within the Graduate Student Web Services Portal.