MASc & PhD Guaranteed Funding

ECE's Funding Commitment

In ECE, all MASc & PhD students who are in good standing, and who are making satisfactory progress toward the completion of their degree, are guaranteed a funding package for a set period of registration. The guaranteed period of funding is 2 years for MASc students, 4 years for PhD students, & 5 years for direct-entry PhD students.

Each year the minimum funding package amounts for students within their period of guaranteed funding are updated according to this formula: total minimum funding = ECE stipend + the student's tuition & fees for the academic year as set by the University of Toronto.

ECE stipend for the period of Sep. 2024 to Aug. 2025: $20,500 for MASc, $21,000 for PhD

The total minimum funding amount (other than external scholarship, if applicable) is made up of contributions from the supervisor ('research fellowship') and the department ('student fellowship'). At their discretion, supervisors are permitted to pay more than the minimum required research fellowship amount.

Students are encouraged to apply for external scholarships & awards and are required to report awards valued at more than $5,000 to the ECE Graduate Office. Students who hold external awards valued at more than $5,000 will receive enhanced financial packages.

Funding Package Details

The minimum funding package a student receives is based on (1) their degree program and the associated tuition fees, (2) whether the student is paying domestic or international fees, and (3) whether or not the student holds an external scholarship or award.

For PhD students, domestic and international tuition fees are the same; however, as international PhD students are required to pay for the University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP), they receive a slightly larger funding package to cover this cost.

International tuition fees are significantly higher than domestic fees for the MASc program. In most cases, only Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada pay domestic fees; however, some international students may be eligible to pay domestic fees - more information can be found at the bottom of our registration & fees page.

The funding packages outlined in the links below are based on registration for the entire academic year (i.e. the Fall, Winter & Summer sessions). If a student is registered for only one or two of the three sessions, or if their period of guaranteed funding ends partway through the academic year, their funding package will be prorated accordingly.

Funding Package Amounts by Academic Year

Payment Information

Student fellowship installments are paid through your ACORN financial account and can be viewed on your ACORN invoice.

We recommend that you set up direct deposit on ACORN so that any refunds can be paid out electronically.
Students enter/update their information on ACORN themselves. Banking information as well as complete contact details, including both a mailing address and a permanent address, must be up-to-date for payments to run.

Research fellowship is the component of the funding package payable by the supervisor directly to the student. It is typically paid over the funding period in equal monthly installments on the 28th day of each month.

Payments run through HRIS (the Human Resource Information System is the University’s payroll system); a record of research fellowship and teaching assistantship payments can be viewed on the Employee Self-Service at http://ess.hrandequity.utoronto.ca/.
Research fellowship payments are facilitated by your supervisor’s administrative coordinator (not by the Graduate Office) and, accordingly, payment inquiries should be directed to the administrative coordinator or your supervisor directly.
Please note that ACORN and HRIS are not integrated systems. To ensure that HRIS is up-to-date and payments can run, students should ensure that they keep their supervisor’s administrative coordinator informed of any changes to their contact or banking information.

If you hold an external scholarship or award, please consult the funding agency for details on how and when installments will be paid.

Many external scholarships are paid through ACORN and can be viewed on your ACORN invoice.