University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowships (UMGF) in the Faculty of Science
updated: 6 May 2012

Introduction

A key source of funding for many graduate students is the University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship which is valued at $16,000 per annum for PhD students (for up to four years) and $12,000 for Masters students (for up to 2 years).  Note, however, that students may only receive a maximum of four years of UMGF support. Thus, for example, if you do both a 2 year Masters and a PhD degree at the UofM, you will receive only two years support for the MSc (total of $24,000) and two years support for the MSc (total of $32,000). A minimum GPA of 3.75 on your last 60 credit hours (or equivalent) is required.

UMGFs are open to all students.  Students who are eligible to apply for national awards (e.g. NSERC PGS) are required to do so. This would normally include Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

Scholarship Adjudication

The Manitoba Graduate Scholarships (MGSs) are adjudicated as a part of the UMGF competition with the best UMGF winners from across the University receiving MGS top-ups. MGS top-ups are valued at $7,500 for PhD students and $3,000 for MSc students.

In the Faculty of Science, the UMGF applications are adjudicated by an interdisciplinary panel of researchers from each department and successful applicants are selected based primarily on their academic ability and proven or potential research aptitude. There are fewer UMGF awards than there are applicants and these are fewer than the number of graduate students enrolled in graduate programs offered by the Faculty of Science.  Accordingly, the competition is stiff and only the best applicants from across the faculty normally receive awards.  (It is, unfortunately, not possible to fund all strong and worthy applicants.) The number of awards available varies from year to year but it would be rare for the Faculty of Science to be allocated more that 25 new awards in any given year.

Useful Informaton and Documents

UMGF Guidelines and Tips for Improving Applications:

The "Guidelines" web page  provides guidance beyond the instructions provided with the application form. This information is intended to be read by all those involved in UMGF applications: the applicants themselves, those writing letters of reference, and  representatives of departments involved in processing the UMGF applications from students in their departments.

The UMGF Adjudication Process in the Faculty of Science:

The "Process" web page describes the adjudication process in some detail and is primarily intended for staff in administrative roles related to the handling of UMGFs. This information might also be of some interest to applicants.

Application Form:

The current application form is in PDF format.  This document is form-fillable and is designed to be filled in by the applicant and then submitted to the applicant's department by their intended deadline. The form can be filled in conveniently using Adobe Acrobat (Acrobat Reader does not allow saving of form fields and is therefore inconvenient). Alternatives to Acrobat are Preview on the Mac or FoxIT on the PC.  Both are free. The FoxIT software can be safely and easily downloaded directly from the FoxIT website at: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/

Faculty of Science UMGF Application 2012 <pdf>

Additional Information:

Students are also encouraged to refer to the Faculty of Graduate Studies UMGF web page for additional, general information.