Indigenous and Black Engineering/Technology (IBET) PhD Fellowship

The Faculties of Engineering of six Ontario Universities (McMaster, Ottawa, Queen’s, Western, Waterloo, Toronto,) are committed to increasing the diversity of Canada’s workforce by increasing the diversity of engineering faculty and industry. As part of their efforts to encourage, mentor, support and enhance the preparation of tomorrow’s diverse leaders, each Engineering Faculty is creating the Indigenous and Black Engineering/Technology PhD Fellowship to attract and financially support highly qualified domestic applicants who identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) and Black.

Each university shall hold a set of Fellowships.  McMaster recipients of the award shall receive a teaching assistantship and scholarship from the Dean valued in total at $25,000 per year for up to 4 years/12 terms while enrolled as a full-time student in good standing in the Faculty of Engineering.  An additional $6,000 per year shall be given by the home Department/Supervisor of the recipient for incoming students without an existing research scholarship, bringing the total award package to $31,000.

The fellowship is intended as a scholarship for new students. Currently enrolled students will be awarded the $25,000 TA and scholarship award on top of their existing funding package. (Note: In cases where a student has a TA, an additional TA is not included). The award is subject to the Faculty’s Major Scholarship Policy, which means the value of the existing funding package (i.e. research scholarship and departmental scholarship) will be reduced by $2500 per term for the duration of receiving the fellowship.

• Canadian or a permanent resident of Canada who self identifies as being Indigenous or Black;
• Meet the minimum admission requirements of their chosen doctoral program in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) or School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) in McMaster’s Faculty of Engineering;
• Admitted/transferred into a PhD program in Engineering by the Fall term of 2021 or later;
• Maintain Full-Time status while enrolled in the PhD program;
• Must stay in good standing within the program and maintain satisfactory progress in their academic program to remain eligible.

• Recipients who hold or are subsequently awarded a major scholarship* may have the value of their fellowship reduced. The Departmental/Supervisor portion of the IBET Fellowship may be partially or fully reduced while receiving this additional funding. *Major scholarships have a value of more than $10,000, with examples including: Vanier, Tri-Agency Doctoral CGS and PGS, Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), and Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST. The Faculty of Engineering will advise the student(s) of any adjustments to their funding accordingly.
• The IBET Momentum Fellowship can only be held by a student enrolled in a PhD program in the Faculty of Engineering. The student may be admitted into the program by direct-entry, admissions with a Master’s degree, or transferring from a Master’s program.
• If a recipient of the IBET Fellowship transfers out (either to a PhD program outside of the Faculty of Engineering or to a MASc or MEng program) or is withdrawn from their PhD program, then they will no longer be eligible for the funding.
• For the IBET Momentum Fellowship, a separate application is required. The Faculty Committee on Scholarships, chaired by the Associate Dean, Graduate Studies (Engineering) will consider new program applicants (or those transferring to the PhD programs, as applicable) who have submitted a separate award application form as potential candidates for this fellowship based on the criteria for the award, on the basis of information provided in their award application and graduate program application, and any relevant transfer-related paperwork.
• Recipients agree to their name and likeness being publicly associated with the IBET Momentum Fellowship, including but not limited to, appearing in stories and videos on the Faculty’s website and social media channels as well as the central website created by the six participating universities.

The award will be administered in accordance with these terms as well as the Regulations for Payment as amended from time to time.