The Government of Canada, through the three granting councils—the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)—has developed a set of graduate scholarship programs at the master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral levels.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research (the Committee) conducted “a study of the Government of Canada’s graduate scholarship and post-doctoral fellowship programs, in particular the freezing of funding amounts, the funding system and the impact on graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.”^[1]

Only a fraction of graduate students benefit from these scholarship programs. The vast majority of students are funded through research grants obtained by their professors or through other scholarships from the provinces, post-secondary institutions and the private sector. However, federal scholarships set the standard for the value of scholarships and funding provided to other students by universities and other organizations.

Most federal graduate scholarships have not increased in value since they were created, some as far back as 2003. When inflation is accounted for, several of these scholarships have fallen in actual value by 50%.

The evidence compiled during this study highlighted the consequences of this situation on students and the next generation of scientists in Canada.

Many students face severe financial hardship, with some of them relying on food banks. Many are forced to find additional sources of income by working part-time jobs, increasing the risk of failure. Students’ financial hardship also takes a toll on their mental health.

This also raises the question of the accessibility of graduate school, the risk being that only the wealthiest or most well-off students are able to afford it. Witnesses also raised the risk of brain drain if graduate funding in Canada is not competitive with scholarships available in other countries. At stake is training the next generation of scientists.

To address these challenges, witnesses put forward solutions. They called for federal reinvestment in higher education and research. This reinvestment would include an increase in the amount and number of federal scholarships, as well as greater support for the granting councils, so that they can increase the value of the research grants that indirectly fund many students.

Based on the evidence compiled, the Committee made six recommendations to the government.