University of British Columbia vs University of Albeta

[bcoheran]

Hi all,

I would like some assistance in deciding on whether to attend the University of British Columbia or the University of Alberta's political science PhD program.  UBC has offered me 5 years of funding and a tuition waiver for all five years.  On paper it looks smaller than what UofA has offered, but I got an entrance scholarship, RA position and there's the possibility of extra funding through more TA positions.  UofA has offered a larger initial funding package, but I have to pay tuition out of it, they offered funding for only four years, and I cannot pick up extra TA positions to supplement my income because they are already included in the initial funding package.  I know that Edmonton is cheaper to live in than Vancouver, so a bit of a smaller funding package may not be the worst thing.  They also say that UofA gets a lot of outside funding for the PhD students.  So based on this, program prestige, and the cities themselves anybody got any suggestions?

[ultraultra]

Didn't you post this thread before? 

[ecphilli]

I'm a current student at the U of A, and the U of A does tend to get quite a lot of outside funding for both Masters (depending on the field), and PhD programs, having said that, the money that you are paid as a postgraduate student isn't easy to live off of alone. Although Edmonton is much cheaper than Vancouver, rent prices are increasing. I currently live on campus in a company owned building, and I pay 1195$ for a one bedroom (not the worst), but if you live in residence such as ECV it isn't so terrible. I'm not from Edmonton (or Canada), however Vancouver is a much nicer city than Edmonton in every respect. The winters are brutal, and the city is rather dirty. I spend most of my time in the university area which isn't so bad, however you're wanting to explore and live in a vibrant city, I would say Vancouver is the better option.