Funding Information for Supervisors and Staff
Below are information, instructions, and deadlines for supervisors and support staff interested in awarding graduate students a stipend for activities in relation to their thesis or graduate training.
For further information regarding how University of Winnipeg graduate students receive their funds, please visit Student Award Payment Process.
Graduate students may receive tax-exempt remuneration for Research Assistant (RA) and Teaching Assistant (TA) activities, given as a training award, when those activities are related to their course of study AND when in the course of those activities they receive a high degree of mentorship from their supervisor.
Like other awards (Tri-Council, Research MB, etc), training awards cannot be canceled or diminished during the academic year for any reasons except for changes in registration status (withdrawal, change from full- to part-time, etc).
The paperwork for graduate student training awards can be found on Graduate Studies: Forms for Faculty and Staff.
To pay your UWinnipeg graduate student bi-weekly as an employee, you may hire them through HR.
Below we have detailed instructions for how, and when, to complete the paperwork required to have your student receive their funding.
The paperwork for graduate student training awards can be found on Graduate Studies: Forms for Faculty and Staff
Annually committed funding refers to awards students receive as part of the funding package their program has committed to them. These are distinct from top-up awards, which students receive throughout the year in addition to their annually committed funding.
Deadlines for Annually Committed Funding Paperwork
Paperwork for annually committed funding must be sent to the student's graduate program chair or designate by the internal deadlines set by the program. This information is included in the Funding Memo that the graduate program chair sends the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Please confirm with your graduate program chair when they require this paperwork.
Instructions for Annually Committed Funding Paperwork
Please note that incorrect or incomplete paperwork can significantly delay award payments to students.
- Complete a Graduate Studies Training Award T4A Form.
- For annually committed funding, we recommend using the default award distribution.
In the case of departmental lab instructorships, we recommend a one-time payment in the first month of the instructorship. - The Training and Award Particulars section must be completed confirming that the activities associated with the award are related to the student’s graduate study.
- Any additional details or requests regarding the award may also be included in the Particulars section.
- If you are unable to sign the Excel sheet, you may save it as a .pdf and insert your signature.
- For annually committed funding, we recommend using the default award distribution.
- Complete a transfer form debiting (DR) the account(s) from which the award is to be paid, and crediting (CR) award number 75100, name Graduate Research and Training Awards, or, if applicable, the program-specific award number and name (please confirm with your graduate program chair or designate).
- Please note that transfers of ≥$5,000 require two signatures: one from the award holder, and one from their department chair or next higher-up.
- Transfer forms are available through Financial Services’ Forms page. The second sheet contains an example of how to complete the form
- If you are unsure of your account number, please contact researchaccounting@uwinnipeg.ca
- In the details section at the bottom, indicate the name of the student receiving the award and the award amount. Please indicate also whether the students is an international or domestic student.
- If you are unable to sign the Excel sheet, you may save it as a .pdf and insert your signature.
- You may use the same transfer form for multiple students
- Send the T4A and transfer form to your student’s graduate program chair or designate for inclusion in the program’s funding memo.
Top-up awards are those given to students by supervisors/programs/departments in addition to the student’s committed funding for the academic year/term.
Top-up awards are processed as one-time lump sum payments. It can take up to eight weeks from the time the paperwork is received to the time a student receives their cheque with the credit balance. Thus, it is recommended that all graduate program faculty review the deadlines below, and submit their paperwork well in advance of when they would like their student to receive cash-in-hand.
Deadline for Top-Up Awards
Top-Up Awards are processed once a month following the deadline for submission. Please note the periods at the beginning and end of each term during which no top-up awards are processed as during that period the Faculty of Graduate Studies is processing annual and term committed funding.
Fall Term Deadlines
- October 15
- November 15
- December 1: Final date to submit paperwork for awards to be processed in the Fall term
Winter Term Deadlines
- February 15
- March 15
- April 1: Final date to submit paperwork for awards to be processed in the Winter Term
Spring/Summer Term Deadlines
- June 15
- July 15
- August 1: Final date to submit paperwork for awards to be processed in the Winter Term
It is the supervisor/grant holder’s responsibility to ensure that all paperwork is filled out accurately and sent to their graduate program chair (or designate) to be shared with the Faculty of Graduate Studies by the relevant deadline. Items submitted between the deadlines listed may not be processed until the following month.
Instructions for Top-Up Award Paperwork
- Complete a Graduate Studies Training Award T4A form.
- For top-up awards, use the one-time payment option
- The Training and Award Particulars section must be completed confirming that the activities associated with the award are related to the student’s graduate study
- Any additional details or requests regarding the award may also be included in the Particulars section
- If you are unable to sign the Excel sheet, you may save it as a .pdf and insert your signature.
- Complete a transfer form debiting (DR) the account(s) from which the award is to be paid, and crediting (CR) award number 75100, name Graduate Research and Training Awards, or, if applicable, the program-specific award number and name (please confirm with your graduate program chair or designate).
- Please note that transfers of ≥$5,000 require two signatures: one from the award holder, and one from their department chair or next higher-up.
- Transfer forms are available through Financial Services’ Forms page. The second sheet contains an example of how to complete the form
- If you are unsure of your account number, please contact researchaccounting@uwinnipeg.ca
- In the details section at the bottom, indicate the name of the student receiving the award and the award amount. Please indicate also whether the students is an international or domestic student
- If you are unable to sign the Excel sheet, you may save it as a .pdf and insert your signature
- You may use the same transfer form for multiple students
- Ensure the paperwork is sent to your student’s graduate program chair or designate, and shared with the Faculty of Graduate Studies, by the deadlines above. Please check with the student’s graduate program chair regarding their internal processes.
Graduate students at external universities are paid via direct deposit through Payroll.
- Have the student complete the new hire paperwork at
- This is NOT required if the student is already on UWinnipeg payroll, but please have them confirm that their banking information is up to date.
- Complete a Research Award Fellowship form (available on Grad Studies Forms page)
- In the Particulars section please indicate:
- The student’s home institution, program, and degree
- A confirmation that the training activities associated with the award are related to the student’s graduate study/thesis (required for the award to be tax exempt).
- If you are unable to insert a signature in the Excel sheet you can save the form as a .pdf and add a signature through Adobe
- Student funding paperwork available on Graduate Studies: Forms for Faculty and Staff
- Email form to graduateawards@uwinnipeg.ca to be signed by the Dean of Graduate Studies and forwarded to HRIS.
Please note that the Faculty of Graduate Studies reviews award paperwork on 16th of each month (or the following business day). We recommend supervisors send the paperwork to the Faculty of Graduate Studies eight weeks in advance of the first pay date they would like the award to begin.
Supervisors with a strong preference to pay their Graduate Student Research Assistants on a regular, recurring schedule (monthly, biweekly, etc) should consider hiring their student through HR.
Students hired as Research Assistants are members of the PSAC RC bargaining unit. They are employees and that income is not tax exempt.
Researchers do not need to follow the normal posting process in the event that they wish to grant an appointment to a student for the purposes of pursuing research activities arising directly from the student’s graduate or undergraduate thesis. This appointment shall occur no later than two (2) months following the completion of the student’s undergraduate or graduate thesis.
To hire without posting, the researcher and student should complete the new hire packet (uwinnipeg.ca/newhire) as well as the Employment Form for Hourly PSAC-RC Employees (available on Human Resources Forms). On the employment form researchers should select exception D.
Once complete, the paperwork may be sent to hris@uwinnipeg.ca.
For additional information, please review Frequently Asked Questions – PSAC-RC Hiring Research Assistants/Senior Research Assistants.
For help with questions during the process, please contact Erin McCarthy, Human Resources Consultant at e.mccarthy@uwinnipeg.ca.