Graduate Student Initiative (GSI) Funding
The Department of Language & Literacy Education is committed to admitting and graduating students from its thesis-based programs who will make important contributions to their communities, to scholarship, to academic leadership, and who will be competitive in the academic job market in Canada and internationally. A key factor in fulfilling this commitment is recruiting and supporting a diverse and talented pool of candidates.
GSI Eligibility, Criteria, and Procedures employed by LLED:
LLED distributes GSI funding through principles of excellence and equity. LLED uses GSI funds as entrance scholarships for purposes of recruiting new students and supporting existing students who are making successful progress in their studies, in order to help as many students possible.
Please note that within LLED, students who receive UBC Four Year Fellowships or other full (tuition plus stipend) external funding are generally excluded from GSI funding.
Students do not need to apply for GSI funding. Existing students will be assessed based on their course work or annual progress report. All incoming students will be automatically considered and ranked for GSI awards based on the following criteria:
Planned Program of study
- Clarity and completeness of research proposal (questions, methods, link to literature)
- Potential contribution or significance of the work (e.g., advancement of knowledge, innovative design, originality)
- Feasibility
Professional and academic experience
- Research assistantships or other relevant work experience that is related to the proposed research and career
- Publications
- Conference presentations
Academic results
- Prior academic success (based on transcripts)
- Academic awards and distinctions (e.g., dean’s list, scholarships)
Appraisal Letters
- The two letters of appraisal previously submitted in the program application