Graduate students are vital to the creation of research and innovation in Canada. The National Graduate Student Finance Survey was launched in 2021 by the Ottawa Science Policy Network to investigate the financial realities of Canadian graduate students. Closing in April 2022, the survey received 1305 responses from graduate students representing various geographical locations, years of study, fields of education, and demographic backgrounds. The results capture a snapshot into graduate student finances, including an in-depth analysis of stipends, scholarships, debt, tuition, and living expenses. In its entirety, we found that the majority of graduate students are facing serious financial concerns. This is largely due to stagnant funding for students both from federal and provincial granting agencies and from within their institutions. This reality is even worse for international students, members of historically underrepresented communities, and those with dependents, all of whom experience additional challenges that impact their financial security. Based on our findings, we propose several recommendations to the Tri-Council agencies (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Science and Humanities Research Council, and Canadian Institute for Health Research) and academic institutions to strengthen graduate student finances and help sustain the future of research in Canada.
This paper had significant impact: becoming the most read article of the journal (with over 21,000 downloads), the runner-up for the publisher’s top article of the year and cited by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research in their report on graduate scholarships and post-doctoral fellowships. This helped contribute to the $2.6 billion of additional investment in federal research grants and scholarships (and the significant increase in the value of federal graduate scholarships and post-doctoral fellowships) allocated in Budget 2024.
