Faculty of Medicine - Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland

All full-time MSc and PhD students will normally be required to have a minimum of $12,000 pa for the first two or four years of their programs, respectively. After this time faculty supervisors are encouraged to maintain funding to the end of each student’s program; however in the event that continuous funding is no longer available the status of full-time or part-time will be at the discretion of the graduate student (in consultation with their supervisor) following the regulations established by the School of Graduate Studies for these designations.

All graduate students are encouraged to apply for external studentships or fellowships while they are students in the Faculty of Medicine.

Supervisors will normally be expected to ensure that each full-time graduate student, under their supervision, will receive a minimum of $12,000 pa.

As described below there are funding opportunities available for Graduate Students in the Faculty of Medicine. These funds are made available through a baseline allocation from the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) and support to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies (RGS) from the Faculty of Medicine. Use of the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) funds is based on the document "Guidelines for the Awarding of SGS Fellowships to Graduate Students". Use of Office of Research and Graduate Studies funds is established by the Dean’s Advisory Committee on Graduate Studies.

Funding Opportunities

The criteria for obtaining Financial Support from the Faculty of Medicine are given in Appendix C.

Deans’ Fellowship

There are 4 - 6 Deans’ Fellowships awarded annually in the Faculty of Medicine. The awards are competitive and based on academic excellence. A competition is held in the spring for students entering in September. If there are fewer than four fellowships awarded or if more funding becomes available an additional competition will be held in the fall. A student maybe entered in only one fellowship competition during their program of study.

The Deans’ Fellowship award at the MSc level is valued at $18,000 and at the PhD level is valued at $20,000.

Leveraged Funding

Leveraged funding is available to supervisors who have supporting funding to supply from the Faculty of Medicine and School of Graduate Studies. The objective is to provide financial assistance for as many graduate students as possible. Normally, the distribution of funds is determined by the Assistant Dean of Research and Graduate Studies; however, in the case where there are limited funds available, input is sought from the program coordinators.

The funds are available for graduate students but the amount available to any given supervisor for students under their supervision is limited ("Three Student Rule", see Appendix C).

Financial Support for Travel

Full and part-time students may apply for graduate student awards for travel to meetings to present their research. The number and level of support will be based on the number of requests made and the availability of funds.

Program Awards

The Faculty of Medicine has a few Graduate Awards that are available for MSc and PhD students specifically within the Faculty of Medicine.

Colman Graduate Student Award, valued at $1,000, is made annually to the PhD student in the Faculty of Medicine deemed to have excelled in all aspects of his/her program of study. The competition is held in the fall of the year. Applications are accepted by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies (Medicine) and should be accompanied by a letter of support from the student's supervisor. Burness Graduate Student Award, valued at up to $1,000, is awarded annually to the MSc student in the Faculty of Medicine deemed to have excelled in all aspects of his/her program of study. The competition is held in the fall of the year. Applications are accepted by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies (Medicine) and should be accompanied by a letter of support from the student's supervisor.

Program Prizes recognizing noteworthy achievement are awarded annually to a student or students by each of the eight Areas of Concentration. The value of the prize will vary annually depending on the conditions established by each of the programs. Information of these awards can be found at the Research and Graduate Studies website Programs of Study (http://www.med.mun.ca/graduate/pages/programs.htm).

Barrowman Community Health Graduate Travel Awards are available to full-time graduate students in the Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine so they may attend scientific conferences. The awards are made by the Dean of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies (Medicine)

Appendix C

Criteria for Awarding Fellowships and Studentships

Deans’ Fellowship

The Dean’s Fellowship is an award based on academic excellence. Four to six awards will be offered each academic year.

Description

Annually 4-6 Deans’ Fellowships will be available in the amount of $18,000. (pa) for two years for MSc candidates and $20,000. (pa) for four years for PhD candidates.
Deans’ Fellowships will be based on academic excellence.
The awards will be available to students in all programs of study in the Faculty of Medicine.
It is understood that students awarded a Deans' Fellowship may apply to medical school only after the 1st year of their MSc or 3rd year of their PhD graduate program.
In the case of a transfer from MSc to PhD program the funding amount will be adjusted accordingly but the total time of holding a Deans’ Fellowship cannot be longer than four years.
Students awarded a Deans’ fellowship are expected to apply for an external award at least once in their program of study.

Eligibility:

Students must be registered as full time students in the MSc or PhD program in the Faculty of Medicine at the time of accepting the award.
At the time of application students must be entering or within the first 12 months of their program of study.
To be considered for the award entering students must have first class standing (an A average; 80% or better) in the last two years of their undergraduate program and students already in a graduate program must have first class standing (an A average; 80% or better) in the first year of their graduate program.
In addition to academic standing, other accomplishments will be considered. Students already in a graduate program will also be evaluated on their graduate accomplishments to date.
Priority will be given to Canadian citizens and landed immigrants.
In order to retain a Deans’ Fellowship students must be in good standing in the program maintaining 80% average and a satisfactory supervisory committee report throughout their program.

Application Process:

Entering Students: The application used for admission to the School of Graduate Studies will be used to evaluate in-coming students for a Deans’ Fellowship.

Graduate Students who have completed one year of their graduate program are required to submit to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies:

A request to be considered for a Deans’ Fellowship
A letter of reference from their current supervisor
Documentation of accomplishments in the first 12 months of their program of study.

Leveraged Fund Studentships

Faculty are able to take advantage of SGS and RGS funds to leverage their grant funds to support stipends for their graduate students. The purpose of this opportunity is to allocate money from the RGS office (SGS and/or RGS funds) in such a way that up to three students can be supported for an individual faculty member. The intention is to spread the financial support across the Faculty to as many students as possible. This opportunity is referred to as the "Three Student Rule"

Description

Supervisors will normally be eligible to receive leveraged dollars, from the RGS office (SGS and/or RGS funds) for up to $18,000 for three students, up to $12,000 for two students and up to $6,000 for one student. The required minimum for full-time graduate students will remain $12,000 although faculty may provide more financial support to provide higher stipends.

"Leveraged funds" is understood to mean a match between SGS/RGS funds and the supervisor. The guidelines for SGS allocation are those described in the document: "Guidelines for Awarding of SGS Fellowships to Graduate Students".

Funds from the SGS baseline are only available for two years for MSc and four years for PhD and students must have a minimum average of 75%.

Application Process

Supervisors are required to submit, to the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, the names of students they wish to have funded through the matching fund opportunity by emailing rgs.funding@med.mun.ca. Ideally, this request would be made one month prior to the student entering the program, but if the student is an international student, please allow more time for immigration paperwork.
Students must meet the eligibility criteria for acceptance into the Graduate Program as outlined in the University Calendar.
Students must have full-time status at the time of accepting the studentship.
The objective is to provide support for as many students as possible. Normally the distribution of funds will be determined by the Assistant Dean of Research and Graduate Studies; however, in the case where there are limited funds available input will be sought from the program coordinators.

Supervisors with students holding Competitive Awards

Supervisors with students that have external awards will still be eligible for SGS/RGS leveraged funding under the Three- Student Rule for other students under their supervision. For example, if a faculty member has two students who are on external funding, that faculty member would be eligible for funding three additional students under the Three-Student Rule.
The award must be (i) for high academic achievement and (ii) based on a competitive process. These would include the Deans’ Fellowship, Hatcher Award, Aldrich Award and awards provided by agencies external to the University such as (but not limited to) SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Kidney Foundation, Liver Foundation, etc.
The Hatcher and Aldrich awards are University awards, external to the Faculty of Medicine, but are limited to one year with a maximum of one year renewal. Funding will be guaranteed (from SGS/RGS) for these students for the first two years of the MSc and the first four years of the PhD as outlined above under fellowship. This guide will apply to any such funding award.

Duration

Normally leveraged funds will be available for up to two years for an MSc student and up to four years for a PhD student.
Students may be eligible for up to one semester extension (MSc students) or two semester extension (PhD students) from RGS, pending availability of funds. Supervisors must request these funds, in writing, prior to the end of the last semester of eligible funding. To be eligible for extension students need to be in good standing in the program, with a clear indication of program completion.

External Sources of Funding:

Alzheimer's Society of Canada

Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Cystic Fibrosis

Canadian Diabetes Association

Canadian Institutes for Health Research(CIHR)

Canadian Liver Foundation

Cancer Research Society

Chrohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada

Hannah Institute for the History of Medicine

Heart & Stroke Foundation

International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Kidney Foundation of Canada

Leukemia Research Society

National Cancer Institute of Canada

NSERC

Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation of Canada

SSHRC

Check out the 'free' Canadian website on Student Awards