Student experience

The Rady Faculty of Health Sciences (RFHS) Emergency Assistance Student Bursary Program provides short-term assistance to students who encounter unanticipated financial need within the five (5) colleges of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences or a program of the Rady Faculty (e.g. Interdisciplinary Health Program).

If you are facing unexpected financial distress, or have had a significant change in your financial situation, consider accessing the RFHS emergency assistance student bursary program or the UMSU Hardship Fund.

RFHS Emergency Bursary funds related to the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are no longer available. RFHS is still accepting applications related to other emergent matters faced by Rady Faculty students.

In order to be considered for an Emergency Assistance Student Bursary, you must:

• Be enrolled full-time within one of the five (5) colleges of the RFHS or a program of the RFHS
• Demonstrate need as outlined on the RFHS Emergency Assistance Student Bursary application form. As a discretionary bursary, the interpretation of need and therefore the approval in all aspects will rest with the selection committee.
• Demonstrate that the need is acute in nature. The bursary will not continue to provide ongoing support to individuals over extended periods. Students are expected to locate alternate support mechanisms following approval of any bursary.
• Provide any supporting documentation outlines on the application form or as otherwise requested by the selection committee.

Bursaries are subject to available funding in any given fiscal year.

Total funding and the date(s) of release of payment(s) is at the discretion of the selection committee.

Bursaries do not need to be re-paid. However, should a student suspend, leave their studies or otherwise be withdrawn from his/her program within the RFHS, any approved but not-yet released bursary amounts will cease immediately.

The RFHS reserves the right to withdraw any awarded bursary amount and/or seek repayment of any bursary amounts provided to the student, should a student be found to have misled the selection committee regarding any aspect of their eligibility or their application.

A student may apply for additional Emergency Assistance Student Bursaries, however, previous approvals and their circumstances, will be taken into consideration by the selection committee in determining approval or refusal.

The selection committee shall be comprised of:

• Dean, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
• Dean, college of attendance of the applicant
• Director of finance, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

If a student has met the terms and conditions for eligibility, the selection committee approves the application, and there are available funds, the bursary will be provided.

Following confirmation of a bursary award by the selection committee, the student will receive payment in a manner that is determined to meet the circumstances for the assistance request.

Please submit a completed application form for consideration.

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The purpose of this studentship program is to recognize excellent academic achievement and to support graduate students enrolled in RFHS's thesis-based graduate programs at the Faculty’s five colleges: College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry and Max Rady College of Medicine.

To be eligible, you must have been or will be admitted to, and enrolled full- time in, a thesis-based master's or doctoral program in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences for the 2021-2022 and/or 2022-2023 graduate academic year.

Your program start date must therefore be one of the following:

• May 2021
• September 2022
• January 2022
• May 2022
• September 2022
• January 2023

GPA

You must have achieved a minimum 3.5 Grade Point Average (GPA) or equivalent in at least the last two (2) previous years of full-time university study (no less than 60 credit hours or equivalent).

The admission GPA is calculated by the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS). It enables  FGS to more equitably compare     the academic performance of students from diverse backgrounds.

Supervision

You must be supervised by a primary advisor whose primary appointment is within the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. (This requirement also applies to PhD students enrolled in the Applied Health Sciences program.)

Though multiple students supervised by the same advisor may apply, only one student per primary advisor will normally be funded. Funding for a second student will be considered only if funding is available.

Simultaneous awards

Recipients can hold other awards simultaneously if those awards are not intended and disbursed as salary support totaling 50 per cent or more of RFHS Graduate Studentship funding during each year of RFHS support.

Exceptions:

• The University of Manitoba International Graduate Student Entrance Scholarship (IGSES)
• International Graduate Student Scholarship (IGSS)

These two awards should not be included when calculating the value of simultaneously held awards.

New awards

If you receive a new award after accepting or holding the RFHS Graduate Studentship and it is greater than 50 per cent of the RFHS Graduate studentship award during any year of funding, please  email us with the details. In this case,  the RFHS award will be terminated.

Applicants holding a university faculty appointment or equivalent are not eligible.

Amount

Successful applicants can receive up to the following amounts: 

There is no set limit for the number of awards available to departments or colleges. The total number of awards is dependent on available funds.

Please note that no awards will be offered in years when no funding is available. In years when funds are available, the application deadline will be set by the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

Graduate Enhancement Of Tri-Agency Stipends (GETS) funding can be used as the 40% required Match for this award. This is provided that the Faculty of Graduate Studies continues to allow the use of GETS funding as the match portion, then RFHS would accept GETS funding toward the advisor’s partnering 40% of the studentship values.

Duration of funding

You are eligible for two years  of funding in your program (master’s or PhD). If you transfer to a PhD from a MSc, you are eligible for two years in total and will be funded at the PhD level once the transition process is complete.

Deferrals

Deferrals are permitted. This is in part to enable previous sources of funding to be maximized and also to allow for planning of future award commitments. The current competition, September 1, 2023, would be the maximum delayed start time.

Acknowledgment

Award-holders are requested to acknowledge your studentship support from the RFHS Graduate Studentship Program in all publications, presentations and media coverage resulting from this support.

Your application will be reviewed by three different individuals. It is unlikely that reviewers will be experts in your particular field, so it is vital that your application is clearly written and that you refrain from using jargon or acronyms in your application.

To apply, you must complete and submit:

1. A studentship application form (PDF)
2. An advisor/co-advisor form (PDF)

The submission deadline for both items is September 15, 2022. Competition results are normally announced by December 1.

We recommend using Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Pro to sign the forms.

Please review your forms prior to submitting. If data is not visible in the signed form, email us and submit an unsigned form with the data visible. The awards committee will review that copy.

Important: All sections of the application should be completed, including the training sections.  If the form is not fully completed it will not be reviewed.

The Drs. Carla and Newman Stephens Scholarship for Indigenous Health Professionals is for an Indigenous student in the health-care profession who has demonstrated leadership in their community.

Value: The successful applicant will receive $825. 
Deadline: Dec. 31, 2022

Rady Faculty of Health Sciences students with a minimum DGPA of 3.0 for an undergraduate student, or in good standing in the UGME program, or a minimum GPA of 3.0 based on the last 60 credit hours (or equivalent) of study for graduate students. 

Students must demonstrate strong leadership skills in their community by submitting: 

• A written statement
• Abstract of their research project
• And one reference letter

To apply, please submit application package to: Brenda.Peterson@umanitoba.ca