Valued at $15,000 each, the Graduate Entrance Research Scholarships (GERS) are available to full-time* students who are entering a Master's or Doctoral program at UNBC for the first time who have not previously held an Entrance Award**. To be eligible students must have the intention to enrol in a thesis or a project based degree and alignment with UNBC's research priorities. Students will normally have a graduate admission GPA of 3.67 or greater.

UNBC's research priorities can include but are not limited to:

• UNBC Strategic Research Areas:  Environment and Natural Resources; Community Development; Northern, Rural and Environmental Health; First Nations and Indigenous Studies.
• A connection to the mandate, goals or areas of specialization within the UNBC Graduate Studies Program.

If applicants to a UNBC Master's or Doctoral program meet the eligibility requirements they will be automatically considered for this scholarship. There is no application required as applicants will be assessed on their application to UNBC. Students will find out if they have received an award after they receive notification of their admission decision. The GERS is a competitive scholarship and meeting the eligibility requirements does not guarantee students will receive a scholarship. Students will not be contacted if they are unsuccessful.

Please see program application deadlines here

Please note: Students can only be considered once for each program they apply. If a student does not receive a GERS and defers their admission they will not be reconsidered for the scholarship. 

* Applicants/students in the MBA Program are not eligible for this scholarship as the MBA Program is offered on a weekend delivery basis. 

** A Graduate Entrance Scholarship (GES), Graduate Entrance Research Award (GERA), Graduate Entrance Research Scholarship (GERS).  GES & GERA competitions no longer active past January 2020 Entry.

Award Notification and Accepting an Award

Students will be notified of their award offers after their offer of admission. Award offers will normally be made by the following dates:

• September/May intakes - award offers are sent out by April 1st
• January intake - award offers are sent out by August 1st

Students who accept a scholarship will be allowed to defer their start date for up to one year and still keep the award for deferrals up to one year. Deferrals longer than one year will need approval from the Director of Research and Innovation. Awards are not transferable among programs. If a student declines admission they also decline the award offer and will need to re-apply and be reconsidered by the next program. 

PhD Support Supplement

PhD students that receive a GERS are eligible to receive a $10,000 supplement, if they meet eligibility requirements (listed on the application form). Eligible GERS recipients can apply for the supplement until May 1st, with funding made available in September. If additional funding is available the PhD supplement will be made available to PhD students who did not receive an entrance scholarship at admission.