[Ssphrstaff] SSPHR - Update on international grad admissions

[Sheila McConnell]

Sent of behalf of Christopher Lowry
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Dear SSPHR Colleagues,

I have heard from many of you that you are receiving inquiries from international students interested in applying for Fall 2027 admission to a grad program. In general, I encourage you to reply to potential international applicants with a brief, warm message and cc your Grad Advisor/Coordinator, who can determine whether they are eligible to apply and answer questions about funding. The grad advisor/coordinator emails are:


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anth.grad at uwaterloo.ca (Miljana)
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clas.grad at uwaterloo.ca (Enis)
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hist.grad at uwaterloo.ca (Enis)
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phil.grad at uwaterloo.ca (Enis)
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psci.grad at uwaterloo.ca (Ramona)
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rcs.grad at uwaterloo.ca (Enis)
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soc.ls.grad at uwaterloo.ca (Ramona)

The Faculty of Arts is currently reviewing its funding practices for international students, which is likely to be relevant for Fall 2027 grad admissions.

For now, regarding international PhD applicants, you can say: We are not currently accepting applications from international students to our PhD program, but this practice is under review, and you are welcome to write again in a month or so to see if there is an update.

For now, regarding international MA applicants, you can say: The Faculty of Arts is currently reviewing its funding practices for international students. Although we are hopeful that we will be able to admit some international MA students, we are not certain at this time. You are welcome write again in a month or so to see if there is an update.

I will now provide some information about international grad student funding. A committee on graduate funding worked in August to October. The committee's report is to be reviewed by the Dean. I can't predict how many of the committee's recommendation will be approved by the Dean. If the Dean approves the recommendations related to international grad admissions and funding, then the new practice in SSPHR for Fall 2027 admissions would be:


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An international MA student could be admitted into a three-term program only if their supervisor can use grant money to give them a GRS (graduate research studentship) worth about $3,000. It could not be a GRA. Two or more faculty members could pool money for this.

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In a four-term MA program, the needed GRS would be about $3,400.

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Two (or more) international MA students could be admitted into the same program in the same year if each of them can be given the needed GRS.

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An international PhD student could be admitted if their supervisor can use grant money to give them at least a GRS worth about $14,150 in Year 1 and the same again in Year 2. It could not be a GRA. Two or more faculty members could pool money for this.

Again, those are recommendations that are to be reviewed the Dean and may or may not be approved.

Any faculty member who is interested is encouraged to talk with both their Area Head and me (christopher.lowry at uwaterloo.ca).

That is the gist of this update. The rest of this message gives more information for those interested in more detail.

The practice in recent years has been:

No international PhD admissions unless a student has full external funding for four years (4 x $29,145).

One international MA student per department/area. Their funding was (normally) two TAships plus internal scholarship to reach a total of $18,000 for a 3-term program or $24,00 for a 4-term program. The Faculty of Arts paid for the internal scholarship. Some of those students also got an IMAE, which adds $2,500 per term, making their total funding about the same as their tuition and fees.

Update on IMAEs:

We don’t know yet how many IMAEs will be allocated to SSPHR. My guess is two or three, but I can’t be sure. Following past practice, we will take turns by area.

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ANTH and PHIL did not have one in 26/27 or 25/26.
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HIST and SOC did not have one in 26/27 but had one in 25/26.
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CLAS and PSCI had one in both 26/27 and 25/26.

What the new funding/admissions practice might be for international MA students:

In a three-term program, the $18,000 funding might be:

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About $15,000 in Employment Income in the form of two full TAships (140 hours each), and
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About $3,000 in Academic Financial Support, paid by the School, which in SSPHR means that it would need to be a GRS paid by one or more faculty members using grant money. It could not be a GRA (Graduate Research Assistantship), because that is considered Employment Income.

In a four-term program, the $24,000 funding would be:

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About $20,600 in Employment Income in the form of two full TAships (140 hours each) and one three-quarters TAship (105 hours), and
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About $3,400 in Academic Financial Support, paid by the School, which in SSPHR means that it would need to be a GRS paid by one or more faculty members using grant money. It could not be a GRA (Graduate Research Assistantship), because that is considered Employment Income.

If an area has no faculty members who will have 2027/28 grant money that they want to use for this purpose, then the area would not be able to admit any international MA students in Fall 2027.

In contrast, if an area has two (or more) faculty members who will have 2027/28 grant money that they want to use for this purpose, then the area could potentially admit two (or more) international MA students in Fall 2027. Any faculty member who is interested is encouraged to talk with both their Area Head and me (christopher.lowry at uwaterloo.ca).

Note: One exception is the coursework option, which is available in some three-term MA programs. If an area is interested in admitting one or more international MA students into the coursework option, it would probably be okay to use TAships to provide all their funding. This could be done by giving them two and a half TAships, which would make their total funding a bit more than the typical $18,000. If interested, please talk with me (christopher.lowry at uwaterloo.ca).

What the new practice might be for international PhD students:

The Associate Dean is trying to find a way to allow us to admit international PhD students. Here is some explanation.

The current guaranteed funding in SSPHR is $29,145 per year for four years.

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About $15,006 per year comes from two TAships.
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About $14,139 per year comes from internal scholarship.
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In addition, the student gets the IDSA, which in effect makes their tuition about the same as domestic students. GSPA pays for almost all of the IDSA, except one third in Year 4, which is $5,100.

The question is who pays for the internal scholarship, as well as the additional $5,100 in Year 4. The recommendation is that:

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The School would pay for the internal scholarship in Year 1 and 2. In SSPHR, this means that one or more faculty members would use grant money to provide a GRS.
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The Faculty of Arts would pay for the internal scholarship in Year 3 and 4.
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The Faculty of Arts would pay for the additional $5,100 in Year 4.

Any faculty member who is interested is encouraged to talk with both their Area Head and me (christopher.lowry at uwaterloo.ca).

If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know.

Best,
Chris

________________________________
Christopher Lowry (he/him)
Associate Director of Graduate Studies, School of Social, Political and Historical Research
Associate Professor, Philosophy, University of Waterloo
Member, FAUW Equity Committee
Vice Chair, Clinical Research Ethics Board
Co-Editor, Social Philosophy Today
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Sheila McConnell, M.A. (she/her)
Administrative Officer
School of Social, Political, and Historical Research
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1
sheila.mcconnell at uwaterloo.ca<mailto:sheila.mcconnell at uwaterloo.ca>
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