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Responsibilities include:

• promoting award opportunities and the Graduate Studies website as an award resource,
• organizing award competitions that have an academic unit process (within guidelines/options available),
• checking applications for eligibility and completeness,
  
• ensuring privacy/confidentiality of applications and student issues surrounding funding,
• ensuring any admission funding offers are met (see the student handbook for situations that may affect admission funding offers),
• submitting GPC, GPA, designate staff changes and system access requests for goGRAD/Slate to Graduate Studies.  

General responsibilities include:

• ensuring any review/nomination of award applications at the unit level is coordinated in a timely and professional manner,
• ensuring that any unit level committee composition adheres to SFU’s equity, diversity and inclusion policies and procedures,
• circulating and posting materials relating to Privacy/Confidentiality, Unconscious Bias Training and the Evaluation Criteria/Scoring Method as applicable,
• ensuring the application, review and nomination processes abide by the rules, policies and procedures set out by governing committees and awarding agencies,
• ensuring participation of committee members on the unit level committee,
• recommending committee members where specific knowledge or representation may be required for fair review, 
• submitting any scores and/or nomination letters by circulated deadlines,
  
• representing their academic unit and students as a member of the University Scholarship Selection Committee (USSC) to participate in university-wide review of award applications,
• ensuring admission funding offers contain standardized text, meet/exceed the university minimums and abides by their unit specific funding policies,
• ensuring students are on track with meeting funding minimums and works to resolve any issues with funding. 

For awards and funding, the Faculty of Graduate Studies is responsible for:

• promoting award opportunities,
• organizing award competition processes,
• managing, maintaining and providing training for award related systems,
• ensuring fair and timely review of award applications,
• abiding by the eligibility and processes set out in the award terms of reference and funding organizations (government or other),
• offering and processing award payments in a timely manner,
• investigating and resolving award appeals, policy and payment issues,
• reporting annually to funding sources and committees on the use of award/scholarship funds.

Units use the to manage all aspects of graduate awards, from running competitions to tracking award offers and payments.

Users may use this system to: 

• open/close/hide award competitions (Competition Setup),
• create/initiate award applications on behalf of students (Search Awards),
• check quotas and BASS allocations/usage (QA Dash),
• review applications/add reviewers (All Applicants),
• enter and submit award recommendations,
• access award records and payments (Reports > Award Application Records).

Units use to view scholarship and payroll payments and check funding minimums are being met. Units should review student funding during (and for) students in their third term of enrollment to ensure they are on track with meeting minimum funding.

Units use the to view student account transactions including financial holds, paid award records. User may use this system to: 

• access award records and payments using the GS Award Download,
• find/resolve service indicators relating to financial holds.

This competition includes both large, donor-funded entrance scholarships and the Indigenous Graduate Entrance Scholarships (IGES) and is run in tandem with admission. These scholarships are intended to support full-time, research-based graduate students.

1. Academic units identify and invite potential candidates using the Admission Recommendation form. 
2. Candidates are invited to submit additional documentation to complete their Entrance award application.
3. Academic Units (GPCs) review candidates and submit final nominations (1 per award, no limit for Indigenous nominees).
4. Graduate Studies (GS) coordinates the next level of review by the scholarship committee.

Each academic unit receives a BASS (Base Allocation Student Support) budget to use within a designated academic year. These funds come from the University's Scholarship, Bursary, and Award (SBA) budget and are intended to support full-time, research-based graduate students. The BASS funding allocations are normally circulated in January for the following academic year (i.e. circulated in January 2026 to be used for September 2026 – August 2027). There is no carry over of funds into the next academic year.

Units have flexibility to:

• choose which awards to offer or not offer,
• set unit-specific award criteria as needed.

Units are responsible for running their own award competitions and then submitting final funding recommendations to GS for processing.

Unit BASS can be used for the following awards:

Graduate Studies collaborates with SFU's Advancement and Alumni Engagement (AAE) and external donors to develop Terms of Reference (TOR) for these awards. The award value, eligibility criteria, and application processes vary.

Each May, Graduate Studies confirms the availability and value of donor-funded awards and facilitates corresponding competitions. Units can decide how/when to run their competitions. Recommendations are due by the end of July (for Fall payment).

Each October, Graduate Studies launches a competition for any unused or new donor funded awards. Participating units can decide how/when to run their competitions. Recommendations are due by the end of November (for Spring payment).

Competition Types

• Donor Awards - Departmental: the academic unit selects the award recipients.
• Dept-to-SGAAC and Dept-to-Faculty: academic units submit recommended candidates, and Graduate Studies coordinates the next level of review.

Graduate Studies collaborates with academic units to develop the terms of reference for these awards. Award value, eligibility criteria, and application processes may vary.

Each Spring, Graduate Studies confirms the availability and value of these awards and coordinates the setup of the related competitions for units to run.

These awards are funded through provincial or federal sources, and the application processes vary depending on the specific award. In most cases, students apply directly through the respective agency's application system, while Graduate Studies manages adjudication and payment processing.

Graduate Studies maintains and regularly updates the Tri-Agency and Government Awards webpage with current information.

The Tri-Agency refers to Canada’s three federal research funding agencies:

• CIHR: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 
• NSERC: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council,
• SSHRC: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Graduate Studies sends out the call for nominations each Spring/Summer. 

Nomination Process

• Convocation Medals: units submit nomination packages to their Faculty Associate Deans (call in February, nominations due April).
• CAGS Awards: units submit nomination packages directly to Graduate Studies (call in February, nominations due March).
• WAGS Awards: units submit nomination packages directly to Graduate Studies (call in July nominations due August).

Opportunities

• Dean of Graduate Studies Convocation Medals: Each faculty is given a quota for Dean’s medals, based on number of students. Each faculty’s top ranked applicant will compete for the Governor General Gold Medal. Thesis accepted to the library between Apr – Mar.
• Governor General Gold Medal: 2 medals are awarded, one in the areas of natural sciences and engineering and one for health and social sciences. Thesis accepted to the library between Apr – Mar.
• CAGS/Proquest Distinguished Dissertation Awards: 2 awards are allocated (one in engineering, medical and natural sciences; one for arts, humanities and social sciences). Thesis accepted to the library between Jan – Dec.
• WAGS Thesis: 4 awards are allocated (one each in technology, stem, non-stem, visual and performing arts). Thesis accepted to the library between Jul - Jun.

Graduate Studies manages the application, competition, and payment process for various awards that do not involve a departmental nomination or review.

Award payment records can be found in the Graduate Awards System, go51ÉçÇøºÚÁÏand on eTRACS Grad Student Funding.

These awards include:

• External Award (used for one-time),
• Indigenous Travel Awards,
• Indspire Awards,
• Tri-agency Supplements (eg., MSFSS, Black Scholars Initiative),
• Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP),
• Vice-President Research (VPR) Awards,
  
• Dean’s Fellowships,
• PhD Research Scholarship.

Introduced in Fall 2023, the PhD Research Scholarship covers tuition for eligible students enrolled in PhD programs. Review the award Terms of Reference.

At the beginning of each term, Graduate Studies generates a list of enrolled PhD students and excludes:

• students beyond 12 active terms,
• students with a CGPA below 3.00,
• students with unsatisfactory progress reports.

All remaining eligible students are automatically offered the scholarship and should accept if eligible. Students who later receive a tuition waiver or withdraw from their program will have their PhD Research Scholarship payment reversed.

Academic units are encouraged to remind students to either enroll or confirm a leave of absence prior to the start of each term to ensure eligibility.