Minimum stipend for some PhD students to rise, task force chair announces at Town Hall on Graduate Funding

Shows the Town Hall on Graduate Funding at L.R. Wilson Hall on June 7. The Task Force members are on stage and about 140 graduate students, faculty and staff are in attendance.
Members of the Task Force on Graduate Funding were on stage at the Concert Hall at L. R. Wilson Hall to hear directly from McMaster’s graduate community on June 7, 2023.

 

Starting on Sept. 1, 2023, all full-time/in-time PhD students at McMaster will see their minimum stipend rise to $17,500 plus tuition, from $13,500 plus tuition. It’s a change that will benefit seven per cent of PhD students.

The higher minimum stipend was one of several immediate actions announced at the Town Hall on Graduate Funding attended by about 140 graduate students, faculty members and staff on June 7.

The event at the Concert Hall at L.R. Wilson Hall was an opportunity for members of the Task Force on Graduate Funding to provide updates on their work to date and to hear from the McMaster graduate community. It started with a presentation by Steve Hranilovic, chair of the task force and vice-provost and dean of graduate studies.

The presentation listed actions being taken now to support graduate students, including:

  • Policy changes to remove limits should students desire more on-campus employment
  • Increasing efforts to make students aware of emergency bursary funds for non-tuition issues
  • There will be a review of offer letters to improve linkage to external information guides to help students understand their funding package
  • Commitment to greater communication and regular touchpoints with graduate students
  • Provost-funded project to explore a shorter PhD in Humanities
  • Commitment to continuing to collect information from McMaster’s graduate community
  • Commitment to continually update the aggregate data on graduate student funding and to keep that data public
Members of the Task Force on Graduate Funding answer questions from the audience.
Graduate students, faculty members and staff line up to share their thoughts and ask questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hranilovic said these actions were informed by five main themes that arose during the task force’s consultations to date, which include round table meetings with 95 participants and feedback provided on the task force’s website. The themes are:

  1. Financial struggles
  2. Graduate students need better and more transparent information
  3. International students face additional barriers
  4. Major scholarships and total funding
  5. Four-year funding model for PhD students

These themes were repeated and expanded on during the Q&A portion of the event, which was extended to allow everyone who lined up to speak to share their thoughts and feedback with the task force members on stage.

The task force will deliver a final report with recommendations to the Provost and to Graduate Council by the end of 2023.

See below for the presentation slides.

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Slide deck for Town Hall on Graduate Funding