Canadian Federal Budget 2024 Includes Increase for Graduate-Level Scholarships

Master's, doctoral, and postdoc students, rejoice! The Canadian government has promised an increase in funding for graduate studies.

The Canadian federal government unveiled its latest budget this week, and includes welcome news for students pursuing a master's degree or beyond: federal scholarship values will INCREASE!

Budget 2024 promises $825 million, over five years, for grad student scholarship supports, to ensure graduate students can continue their valuable research.

Per Support Our Science, "this is the largest investment in graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in more than 20 years."

Number of awards increasing — along with their values

The number of scholarships available to students will increase, and so will the actual value of each award.

Master's scholarships: $27,000

Prior to this announcement, master's level scholarships were worth $17,500. Now, at $27,000, funding has seen an increase of over 50% — a huge jump for master's students.

Learn more about the Canada Master's Scholarships here!

Doctoral scholarships: $40,000

Doctoral scholarships currently stand at $35,000 per year, for up to three years. The updated figure of $40,000 per year is a bump of nearly 15% over previous funding.

Learn more about the Canada Doctoral Scholarships here!

Postdoctoral fellowships: $70,000

If you've already got a doctorate, and you're looking to take your research further, you may be eligible for a postdoctoral fellowship. These were worth $45,000 per year, over two years, but the proposed 55% increase would bring this funding to $70,000 per year!

Learn more about the Postdoctoral Fellowship program here!

Tri-Agency funding increasing, too

Haven't heard of the Tri-Agency? Basically it's the body that supervises research supervisors. The increased budget for this organization means that grad supervisors will have more funds available to support their research teams — that is to say, their students.

The Tri-Agency will see a $1.8 billion bump over the next five years!

Financial support for international students

Though the recent budget announcement didn't include additional support for international students, you should be aware that EduCanada does offer scholarships to students from abroad! These are largely master's-level and above, and are usually restricted to students from particular countries.

Still, if you've got an undergrad degree, and you're considering studies in Canada, check out what's available for international students, too.