“I'm very disappointed. From a financial point of view, I regret my choice,” says Gianluca Segolina, who came from Italy 18 months ago to study for a doctorate in biology at the University of Quebec in Rimouski.
I chose UQAR in Canada because of the research project [auquel je pouvais participer] was really good. “I feel like I’m doing something important,” explains Gianluca in impressive French.
But soon after his arrival, he realized that the graduate student funding system was much less generous and much more complex than he had expected.
Since he is a foreign student, he is not eligible for major federal scholarships.
In fact, only a small minority of graduate students, Canadian or not, receive these fellowships, which are not a panacea; we will come back to it.
Without a scholarship, Gianluca receives around $20,000 a year, an income that his doctoral supervisor gives him by funding a research chair, but which is far from enough, he explains. His level of French is not sufficient to work as a lecturer, and the competition for the position of laboratory assistant is very high, which leaves him with few options.
Within a few months he used up a significant portion of his savings. He lives in a small room in a student dorm, the cheapest he could find.
I live without a car, I don't go on vacation, I never eat out. I often ask myself why I do this, why I am here.
I was recommended to find a job in the restaurant industry. But I already work eight to ten hours a day at the university, he explains, discouraged. It was a trap. You come here thinking that you will earn something, that you will be treated like a researcher, but in the end you are left with your savings.
The last year was particularly difficult for him. In order to get his depressive symptoms under control, he had to ask his parents for financial help and see a psychologist. If he doesn't give up, it's simply because he doesn't want to start from scratch and start his PhD all over again.
Although he appreciates the quality of the program and teaching, he is clear that if he had to make a choice again now, he would certainly turn to another country, perhaps Europe, where his financial situation is less would be vulnerable.
An inadequate scholarship… and not indexed
Even for those lucky enough to receive a scholarship, things don't always look rosy financially.
The CRSH (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) scholarship is not enough, that's clear, says Marlène Larochelle, a doctoral student in education at the University of Montreal.
When she decided to go back to school in her late thirties, she knew it would mean a significant drop in income for her family, but had no idea how complex it would be.
Every time she receives a payment from her $35,000 annual stipend, she sets aside a quarter of it. For what? To finance his fourth year of study, which is not funded because the main federal scholarships last three years. It is very, very rare to complete a doctorate in three years, she explains.
In addition to her research project, she says she has to combine two research contracts and a course load in order to be financially successful. I take part in other projects to expand my knowledge and advance my career, yes. But if I do so much, it's for financial reasons.
It's difficult to find the balance between the time I can spend on further developing my thesis and all other projects [dans lesquels je me suis investie] to generate income.
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Marlene Larochelle
Photo: Radio-Canada / Amelie Philibert
She also says that she knows several colleagues who take on several course units per session, but for this reason have to extend their studies by one or even several years. The more we work, the less time and energy we have for our doctorate.
The scholarship that Marlène receives has not been indexed since 2003, as have most of the scholarships awarded by the three main federal research councils.
However, Quebec Research Fund grants were significantly increased last year, and it was a breath of fresh air for my colleagues who received them, she admits a little bitterly.
Evolution of the value of graduate scholarships paid by the Government of Canada (Masters and PhD)
| Program name | Annual amount | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Graduate Scholarships – Masters | $17,500 | unchanged since 2003 |
| Canada Graduate Scholarships – PhD | $35,000 | unchanged since 2003 |
| NSERC Graduate Scholarships – PhD | $21,000 | unchanged since 2003 |
| SSHRC Research Grants – PhD | $20,000 | rose from $19,000 to $20,000 in 2004 |
Source: Report of the Standing Committee on Science and Research, Government of Canada Graduate Fellowship and Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs, November 2023
A report with clear conclusions
Bloc MP Maxime Blanchette-Joncas has heard stories like those of Gianluca Segolina and Marlène Larochelle. For some time now, he has also been heeding calls for help from the research community, which recently denounced that Canada is at the bottom of the list when it comes to funding scientific research.
As a member of the Standing Committee on Science and Research, he was involved in the Government of Canada's graduate and postdoctoral fellowship programs.
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Bloc MP Maxime Blanchette-Joncas from Rimouski-Neigette–Témiscouata–Les Basques is vice-president of the Standing Committee on Research and Science in Ottawa.
Photo: Radio-Canada
The committee heard from around forty witnesses, including representatives from students, universities and major research councils, and received an equal number of briefs.
The report, prepared and quietly tabled in the House of Commons last November, is harshly anti-government. It reports on problematic underfunding, which leads to financial difficulties for students, increased psychological problems, an increase in failures, an increase in the duration of studies and an increased risk of dropping out and brain drain.
The risk is that only the wealthiest or most privileged students will be able to pursue graduate studies.
The average student graduates with $28,000 in debt for a master's degree or $33,000 for a doctorate, according to figures provided to the committee by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations.
In addition, 86% of respondents to a national survey conducted in 2022 by the Ottawa Science Policy Network said they felt stress and anxiety about their finances, and 43% of them described their financial situation as precarious or in difficulty, as we learned from the Find out the committee's report.
This financial support does not make it possible to make ends meet for food or rent, and that means many graduate students live below the poverty line, points out Catherine Bibeau-Lorrain, president of the Quebec Student Union.
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Catherine Bibeau-Lorrain, President of the Quebec Student Union (UEQ)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Fannie Bussières McNicoll
After two decades of stagnating amounts awarded, the real value of these grants, taking inflation into account, has fallen by 50% since the early 2000s, the same report says.
In addition, the number of scholarships awarded was far from keeping pace with the number of doctoral students. The result is tough competition between students, which is in no way healthy for the research ecosystem, explains MP Maxime Blanchette-Joncas.
We are in a time of labor shortages. When a student has the choice between continuing their education despite financial constraints or taking a well-paying job, for some the choice is easy, he explains.
Lose international competition
As Daniel Jutras, rector of the University of Montreal, also recently complained, Maxime Blanchette-Joncas says the lack of support for doctoral students is driving away the future generation of researchers. We are endangering our ability to innovate. We can't convince the best international talent to come here.
What is the government's priority? […] Do we always want to follow other countries that will develop new technologies? […] Do we want to send our best talent to other countries for study and scientific research?
Comparing the Generosity of Doctoral Scholarships
| country | Annual Value of a PhD Scholarship in Science or Engineering (in Canadian Dollars) |
|---|---|
| Canada | $21,000 (Grant from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, NSERC) |
| Australia | $31,200 (indexed for inflation) |
| Great Britain | $31,500 |
| UNITED STATES | $65,000 (including $49,000 paid to the student and the remainder to the educational institution) |
| Germany | $66,000 |
| Denmark | $73,500 |
Source: The organization Support Our Research, which testified during the work of the Standing Committee on Science and Research
Take action
The report of the Standing Committee on Research and Science contains a number of fairly simple recommendations.
First, he suggests increasing the value and number of scholarships awarded. The mistake would be to increase the value of the scholarships without increasing the total amount, which would reduce the number of scholarship recipients and therefore access to financial support, warns Maxime Blanchette-Joncas.
He also recommends extending the funding period, which could help someone like Marlène Larochelle, and broadening the eligibility criteria for scholarships, especially for foreign students like Gianluca Segolina.
In addition, committee members recognize that non-fellowship recipients also need better financial support and therefore recommend renewed support for research.
In recent years, the Liberal government has abandoned support for research chairs, particularly in the three major funding agencies. Maxime Blanchette-Joncas complains that there hasn't been a cent left to adequately support scientific research for two years.
We call on the government to take action.
More than three months after the presentation of this report, the response from the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, is still awaited.
His press secretary Audrey Champoux will ensure that this response is delivered within the 120-day deadline of March 11th.
We thank the committee for its important work and take note of the report and the recommendations made. “We support students and university research, but we know that we have to do more,” writes Audrey Champoux.