Awards and Scholarships

All of our graduate students who do not hold external scholarships are automatically entitled to a cost of living stipend from their supervisors. On average stipends range from $32,000 to $35,000/year. Example of UBC Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Student Financial Support 2023-2024.

Many of our grads hold external scholarships and we strongly encourage students to apply for these external awards. Apart from the prestige attached to winning, holders can also increase their income and gain additional funds in the form of research allowances.

Eligibility for these awards depends on your academic ability, potential for research and whether you are an international student or a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident.

Thinking about applying for one of the Tri-Agency funding opportunities? The three Tri-Agencies are NSERC, CIHR and SSHRC. For students in the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science you will only be concerned with the first two agencies as SSHRC is an Arts and Humanities scholarship.

When do you apply? Normally we have a September deadline for all of the PhD level scholarships.  Usually around December 1 will be the deadline for MSc level Tri-Agency competition.

The Astell Award

The Astell Award is to recognize trainees at all levels in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UBC for outstanding commitment to activities related to promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI).

Postdocs, PhD, Masters, and undergraduate students in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are all encouraged to apply for the Astell Award. To apply, send your 2 page CV that includes a 100 – 150 word statement describing your EDI related activities to Doris Metcalf, doris.metcalf@ubc.ca by March 15, 2024 at 5 pm PST. Top candidates will be invited to share their experiences in person with the selection committee in early July and awards will be made directly to the trainee (up to 2 awards of $500) at the first fall talk of BMB departmental seminar series. For more information please contact Annie Ciernia annie.ciernia@ubc.ca or Thibault Mayor mayor@mail.ubc.ca.

David Hoar and Noreen Rudd Scholarship in Biochemistry, #4496

The David Hoar and Noreen Rudd Scholarship is to recognize trainees in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UBC. Scholarships totaling $2,000 have been made available through an endowment established by David Hoar (BSc 1966, PhD) and Noreen Rudd (MD 1965) for outstanding undergraduate and graduate First Nations, Inuit and Metis students of Canada in the Department of Biochemistry. Preference will be given to students from areas in British Columbia outside of the Lower Mainland and Greater Victoria. David is a geneticist and molecular biologist. He served on the Board of Directors and the Vancouver Aquarium. In 1988, he became the first person to testify in a Canadian court about DNA evidence. Noreen is a pediatrician and medical geneticist. She played a key role in the development of prenatal testing in Canada, and was a founding member of the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists. The scholarships are made on the recommendation of the Department of Biochemistry, and in the case of a graduate student, in consultation with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

PhD, Masters and undergraduate students in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology are all encouraged to apply for the David Hoar and Noreen Rudd Scholarship. To apply, send your CV, (2 page maximum) and a summary describing your connection to your First Nation, Inuit or Metis community, (250 words maximum) to doris.metcalf@ubc.ca The new extended deadline is November 1, 2024 at 5pm PST. Please include your student number in your CV.  If a suitable candidate is not identified, no candidate will be nominated for the award.  For more information, please contact Thibault Mayor, mayor@mail.ubc.ca