Stipends are available to help support full-time MSc students. The availability of stipends depends on the research grant support available to faculty members for students. Students who request financial support from a faculty member’s research grant must complete a thesis-based master’s degree. It is expected that these students will work in their supervisor’s research program, their thesis stems from this work and will be supervised by the faculty member who supplies the stipend. An interview may be requested of students who are being considered for stipends by potential supervisors. Please ensure that we know how to reach you in February and March if you wish to be considered for stipend support. Full-time support should not be expected for more than two years.

The minimum level of support for eligible PhD students in the Health Research Methodology Graduate Program during 2023-2024 will be $21,500 per annum and efforts are made to secure support for MSc Stream II students at a minimum level of $19,400 per annum.

Teaching Assistantships

A limited number of teaching assistantships (TA’s) are available to regular full-time students. In 2022/2023, a half-TA consisting of 130 hours of work and three training hours will be valued at $5,879.34. Employment conditions for teaching assistants are outlined in the collective agreement between McMaster University and the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

PhD students are encouraged to obtain external peer-reviewed personnel awards to support themselves during their study. Agencies such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Ontario Ministry of Health (OMH) provide fellowship opportunities for students proposing a career in health care/health service research. Certain specialty funding agencies, such as the National Cancer Institute of Canada and the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation, also have competitions for such awards. Information and addresses of agencies and foundations should be available from your nearest university library or graduate studies office. Applicants should bear in mind that the deadline for applications to some of these agencies is in the fall of each year.