Scholarships & Bursaries
Puja finds managing finances as a graduate student difficult
Puja Bagri completed her Bachelor of Science at Mac and is now a PhD candidate in the Medical Science Graduate Program. She is a passionate women’s health advocate and her research is focused on women’s reproductive health. She has been fortunate to share her research broadly, having presented at 15 different conferences.
Puja is inspired daily by her supervisor, Dr. Charu Kaushic, who has helped her gain confidence in her ability as a researcher and inspired her to mentor young women to pursue STEM careers. Puja volunteers as a workshop facilitator at McMaster’s Children & Youth University, serves as Co-President of the Medical Sciences Student Association and mentors undergraduate students through McMaster’s Mentor Match Program.
However, Puja finds managing finances as a graduate student difficult. Thankfully, she has been able to receive scholarships and bursaries over her time at Mac, which allows her to focus on making an impact with her research and her community work.
Financial stress was an obstacle growing up for Kwasi
Financial stress was an obstacle growing up for Kwasi Adu-Poku, who is starting his third year of Kinesiology at Mac. His parents pushed him to excel academically so that he might qualify for scholarships to attend university. Kwasi was nervous when he was accepted to McMaster, both beacuse he would be the first in his family to move away, and because he was not sure he would be able to pay for school. Kwasi qualified for a scholarship and a McMaster Men’s Basketball Bursary which has enabled him to study, achieve Academic All-Canadian Athlete status and play the game he loves.
Commuting and working meant Anna had limited time to engage in school activities
Anna Verdillo is beginning her fourth year majoring in Communications Studies & Multimedia. As an off-campus commuter student working part-time to pay for school, Anna had limited time to engage in school activities in addition to studying and working. Financial aid from a donor bursary helped her to budget time for academic and extra-curricular growth opportunities and now she’s a teaching assistant for a first-year Social Sciences class and an executive member of the Society of Off-Campus Students (SOCS).
Establish a student award
Your gift can help ensure that qualified students have access to a McMaster education regardless of their economic situations. McMaster offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate awards including academic grants, athletic financial awards, bursaries, exchange awards, Ontario graduate scholarships, travel awards and undergraduate scholarships.
You can support undergraduate students by establishing a scholarship, bursary, academic grant, travel award, exchange award (for study abroad), or athletic financial award.
You can support graduate students by establishing a scholarship, bursary, academic grant, travel award, or Ontario Graduate Scholarship.
Academic Grant: Based on a combination of academic merit and financial need.
Athletic Financial Award: For outstanding student-athletes.
Bursary: Based primarily on financial need.
Exchange Award*: For students who participate in a formal exchange program to study abroad in the fall/winter semester. This is an award by application.
Ontario Graduate Scholarship: A merit-based scholarship at the Master’s or PhD level, based on province-wide competition.
Scholarship*: Based primarily on academic merit.
Travel Award*: For students who participate in summer travel and return in the fall semester.
An endowed award will exist in perpetuity, as the capital remains untouched. Only a portion of the investment income is awarded each year. The minimum annual value required for a new endowed award is $1000, which requires a commitment of $25,000 at the current expenditure policy rate of four percent.
An expendable award exists only for the period of time that funding is provided and is expended in its entirety for this duration, annually. It does not earn investment income. The minimum value of a new annual award is $1,000, which requires a commitment of that amount annually for a minimum of five years.
*Awards that require an application (such as exchange awards, travel awards and some scholarships) require a minimum annual value of $3,000. This requires a commitment of $75,000 for an endowed award or a commitment of $3,000 annually for at least five years for an expendable award.
A note of appreciation from Andrea
As a student who comes from a low-income family, entering university caused a great deal of stress in my life in terms of affording tuition and textbooks.
I’m a first-year student from Mississauga, and I came to McMaster University in order to pursue my love of science. I chose to enroll in the Life Sciences program since I knew it would give me the opportunity to explore various scientific fields, such as Molecular Biology and Genetics. At McMaster, I get to explore my interests along with other people who are just as passionate as I am. I hope to work torwards a MSc and eventually work in a lab of my own.
It is because of generous donations that I am able to focus on my studies instead of worrying about how to pay for required course materials. It is thanks to donors that I can continue to work towards my future goals. Thank you so much!
A note of appreciation from Kaiming
Thanks to generous support, I am the first in my family to attend university in Canada.
Growing up in a less privileged community not only offered financial and academic challenges, but it also helped me to realize the value of a university education.
I have almost finished my degree at McMaster and can report that my academics are off to a first-rate start. I plan to complete a masters in Electrical Engineering. McMaster offers one of the finest programs in the country. I hope I can build myself more and build a successful career. I might even have the ability to help students after I graduate.
My educational pursuits would not be possible without generous support from bursary donors. Thank you for enabling this opportunity!