Doctoral Thesis Completion Award application

A new application will be available in June 2024. Please see below for updated details, effective Fall 2024.

Use this form to:

  • apply for a doctoral thesis completion award

A limited number of awards are available each academic term to support doctoral students who are within the last two terms of program completion (term of award plus one additional term). The intention is to assist highly qualified, full-time doctoral students to complete their thesis writing and defence. 

Priority will be given to applicants who identify as Indigenous*

*For the purpose of this award, an Indigenous person is one who is a citizen or member of a First Nations community (Status/Non-Status), Métis, or Inuit as defined in the Canadian Constitution Act 1982. To protect the integrity of Indigenous graduate students eligible for specific funding, those identifying as Indigenous must be verified by the Office of Indigenous Relations at the University of Waterloo through the Indigenous verification process.  

Value: Varies

Eligibility and Requirements:

Applicants must:

  • be registered full time in a PhD program
  • be in good academic standing with a realistic plan of completing their degree within 1-2 terms of receiving the award (term of award plus one additional term)
  • not have previously received this award

Preference will be given to doctoral students who are no longer receiving minimum funding and/or have experienced research interruptions that were beyond their control.

A change of enrolment status to part-time, inactive, withdrawal or degree completion during the term in which the award is paid will require repayment of all or part of the award. Repayment amounts are recalculated based on the University of Waterloo tuition refund policy. Any inquiries regarding OSAP/provincial student loans should be directed to the Student Awards and Financial Aid Office. 

Departmental deadlines:

Fall term – July 15     

Winter term – November 15  

Spring term – March 15    

Where the advertised deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline date will be the following Monday.

Application process, notification, and payments:

  • Applicants will submit their complete application to their department co-ordinator.
  • Departments review and submit the applications to their Faculty.
  • The Faculty sends forward their top four applications to Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) and notifies those that were not selected for Faculty endorsement.
  • GSPA ranks, makes final selections, and notifies applicants of the results.
  • Awards will be applied to the student's Quest account at the beginning of each term.