Are there master programs with stipends?

[ellen_ai]

Hi, everyone!

I'm an international student applying to grad schools in the US or Canada for Fall 2015. My interest is interdisciplinary environmental studies with more focus on scientific and technological aspects. I'm considering both PhD and Master programs. I know this type of PhD programs often come with full funding, and what about master programs? Are there master programs of this field that come with at least half-funding?

 

Thanks!

[surefire]

Hi, everyone!

I'm an international student applying to grad schools in the US or Canada for Fall 2015. My interest is interdisciplinary environmental studies with more focus on scientific and technological aspects. I'm considering both PhD and Master programs. I know this type of PhD programs often come with full funding, and what about master programs? Are there master programs of this field that come with at least half-funding?

 

Thanks!

 

Hi ellen_ai,

 

Welcome to the GC! Funding arrangements vary widely. I'm not in your discipline, but I'm in a grad program at the University of Toronto, so I thought I'd chime in with some details that might help you cohere your search!

 

- First, you generally need an MA to pursue a PhD in Canada, while this isn't the case in the States. I just wanted to point this out as you mentioned that you're looking at both MA and PhD apps, but you can't just segue into a PhD program in Canada without an MA.

- International student spots are competitive and pricey. I typically hear that only 10-25% of a grad program cohort is comprised of international students (this varies across departments and programs though).

- At U of T, the funding arrangement is, generally, as follows: (1) professional MA programs (like an MA in Public Policy) aren't usually funded and they also charge quite a bit more in tuition; (2) the School of Grad Studies allows other programs to fund students for 5 years and then individual programs get to decide if that arrangement will be, say, for a student's 1-year MA plus 4 years of their PhD (this is the case in my program, Sociology) or if they'll just fund 5 years of the PhD straight-up (this is the case in English, where completion times are longer).

- Might you be after, say, an MA in Enviro Science? If so, it appears (on the program's webpage) that U of T/the dept. considers that a "professional" MA program. Here's a link to the funding page: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/physsci/financial-support-menvsc

^ So, there's no base funding package, but there are opportunities to make money (via TA-ships and the like) AND there's a (funded!: http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/physsci/funding-phd) PhD program to prospectively move into afterwards (this isn't the case for all professional MA programs, like there's no PhD in Public Policy).

 

You'd have to look into the MA here a bit more to see if living on the TA-ship alone is feasible. Generally, you'll have to look into each program on its own merits to suss out details. I applaud your pragmatism here though; while "fit" in a grad program is paramount, I believe it generally behooves grad students to "follow the money".

 

Good luck!

[Vene]

Here's one I found with a quick Google search. It does require teaching, but it's better than paying it out of pocket.

[spunky]

UBC (Vancouver) and UoT (Toronto) offer them as well, but i would definitely echo surefire's concern: they are pretty tough to get for international students because of the expense of the tuition and the limited positions available. 

[HermoineG]

Check out San Diego State. They do pay their masters students.