MFRE Scholarship Awards and Funding

1. MFRE Scholarship Awards for Canadian and International Students

Merit-based Entrance Awards (No application required)

The MFRE program offers several scholarship opportunities to students. The admissions committee reviews the documents and grades of all incoming applicants to determine if they are eligible to be nominated for these scholarships. If you believe you are well suited to one of the MFRE Scholarships, please ensure you note these qualifications and suitability in your statement of interest. The scholarship recipients will be notified by email when offers are provided.

1. MFRE Environment and/or Resource Sector Scholarship ($10,000). Designed for an outstanding professional with work experience or a student with a demonstrated interest in the environment or resource sectors in North America and who will contribute that experience to the MFRE program. Interest can be demonstrated by course selection, volunteering, and course papers connected to the sector. Two of these scholarships are offered in each academic year

2. MFRE Data Analytics in the Food and Resource Sector Scholarship ($10,000). Designed for an outstanding individual with an interest in enhancing their data analytics skills and who will apply these new skills to advance the food and resource sector in the areas of environmental metrics, agri-tech, sustainability reporting, or climate change assessment. Two of these scholarships are offered in each academic year. 

3. MFRE Business in the Food and Resource Sector Scholarship ($10,000). Designed for an outstanding business student with an interest in advancing their knowledge and then working in the food and resource sector and who will contribute their business and leadership skills to the MFRE program. Two of these scholarships are offered in each academic year.

4. MFRE Food and/or Agricultural Sector Scholarship ($10,000). Designed for an outstanding professional with work experience or a student with a demonstrated interest in the food and/or agricultural sectors in North America, and who will contribute that experience to the MFRE program. Interest can be demonstrated by courses, volunteering, and course papers connected to the sector. Two of these scholarships are offered in each academic year

5. Canadian Agri-Food Trading Scholarship. Students from China have the opportunity for a one annual $1000 scholarship to an outstanding incoming international student from China. This award will appear on the student’s academic history (transcript) as “Canadian Agri-Food Trading Intl. Graduate Scholarship in Land and Food Systems. One of these scholarships are offered in each academic year

6. MFRE General Scholarship. The MFRE program offers scholarship awards to a maximum of $7000 to outstanding students (domestic or international). The criteria for this award include academic merit, student financial need, leadership, and the recipient’s potential contribution to the MFRE program. Potential contribution ranges from bringing diversity to the program to bringing relevant professional experience to the program.

2. Funding

Teaching Assistantships: Application Details Provided by MFRE Program

Each year there are opportunities for MFRE students to TA undergraduate Food and Resource Economics (FRE) courses. TA positions generally require 85 hours/term at a rate of $28 to $30/hour (Approx $2,500/term).  When considering taking on a TA role, it is important to consider that the timing of undergrad course assignments and exams will likely follow the same schedule as MFRE and MFRE courses have high workloads. However, many students successfully take on TA roles and enjoy the opportunity!

If you are interested in a TA position, please follow this process:

1. On your MFRE application, under the section titled “Funding – Source of Support”, state that you are interested in a TA role and note in what type of course/s you are interested in being a TA ( ex: business, microeconomics, statistics).

2. Once you receive and accepted the offer, email the MFRE Admin mfre.lfs@ubc.ca, to let us know you are interested in a TA position, explaining why you are suitable for a given TA/course and how you would handle the additional workload. The MFRE Director will review your request together with your grades/courses using information from the admissions package. The student will be informed of this decision via email. If granted permission, details as to how to apply will be provided in the email.

3. Other Scholarships (Application required)

1. Indigenous Graduate Fellowship (IGF)

   The Indigenous Graduate Fellowship (previously Aboriginal Graduate Fellowship) competition has been launched. Multi-year fellowships are provided to Master’s and doctoral students in all disciplines. Eligibility for the IGF has been extended to students in professional and coursework-only Master’s programs including the UBC Master of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE).
   • Applications:
     • Application and reference forms, along with detailed instructions, will be posted on the following website in early January 2023
       • https://www.grad.ubc.c/awards/indigenous-graduate-fellowships
     • In the meantime, applicants can begin preparing as follows: 
       • Draft an outline of proposed research (research-based Master’s and doctoral applicants) or a statement of professional aspirations (professional Master’s applicants) 
       • Gather transcripts for all university-level studies (including studies undertaken but not completed) up to December 31, 2022  
       • Identify and contact references (two references required)
       • Complete relevant entries in the Canadian Common CV (research Master’s and doctoral applications)
     • Applicant deadline: Feb 3, 2023
   • Eligibility:
     • All Indigenous students are eligible to apply, but priority is given to Indigenous students whose traditional territory falls, at least in part, within Canada. This includes Canadian First Nations, Métis or Inuit students and may include Indigenous students from Alaska and other states of the USA. The university may request further information to confirm Indigenous eligibility.
     • Applicants may or may not be UBC graduate students at the time of application – the competition is open to both incoming and continuing graduate students. However, awardees must be enrolled as full-time status graduate students at the UBC-Vancouver campus for the 2023-2024 academic year in order to receive an Indigenous Graduate Fellowship through this competition.

2. Dr. Karl C. Ivarson Agricultural Scholarship For students from the province of Alberta.

3. MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program

   MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program at UBC for students from Sub-Saharan Africa is in review and on hold from 2022 onward.

4. Country-Specific Scholarships

The MFRE program has had students enroll from the following countries/regions with partial/full scholarship support from their home countries: