No guarantee of GA or RAship: should I be worried much?

[steve3020]

Hi everyone, 

I've been accepted to a Canadian MA programme after an unbearably long wait, so I was elated for a day or so but let down a little because the funding they provide is not enough to live on. The fellowship covers tuition, and on top of that I received some scholarship. Which is nice but still the amount is not a lot. It seems that more money goes to Phd students there. 

However, the graduate administrator told me that there will be GA and RAships available to students at a later time which will boost the funding. But as the number is limited, there is no guarantee that I will be able to get one. TAships are normally given to phd students in this institution so I think it's still likely that GA and RAships will become available, though. What do you think about this situation? 

[.letmeinplz//]

I think that it is a common situation for masters programs. Where I am getting my MS, TAship goes to PhD students who need it first. You can get a RA position but that decision comes from the professor with the funds to do so.

It would be scary if you were in a PhD program, but a fellowship covering your tuition + some extra money is a pretty good deal.

[TakeruK]

In Canada, funding for MA programs are generally more generous than US programs because everyone needs to do a MA before a PhD. At some bigger schools, MA programs are funded almost as well as PhDs (i.e. TA/RAship that will cover tuition plus some living expenses, although generally PhD students will earn more than a MA student). However, at smaller schools, there are no University-wide minimum on MA funding (often there is a PhD minimum though) so MA funding can still be not-livable or barely-livable. Grad school works a little different in Canada, you can think of going from MA to PhD as a promotion and that promotion generally comes with higher pay (at some places the hourly wage for PhDs are higher than MA, so it's not just access to TA/RA/GAships but a higher wage too!)

However, unlike foreign students in the US, foreign students in Canada can get work permits and work other jobs to earn money if RA/TA doesn't work out. I think if you are concerned about funding, you should definitely ask if you can talk to current MA students to see what they do. Definitely mention it to whomever made the offer to you as well, and ask specifically if you can find outside work if you don't have a RA/TA ship.

[steve3020]

Thanks for replies fellas. I'll go ahead and ask what else I could do if I can't get get a RA/GAship. I agree that it's a pretty good deal. Just wanna make sure I don't run out of money when I should be writing a thesis!