Graduate Student Support
We will be a university of choice for outstanding students
The Front and Centre philanthropic campaign will transform the University of Manitoba. Alumni, donors and the university community have shaped five campaign priorities that will ensure our province’s long-term economic, social and cultural vitality.
Graduate students are vital to the university. Teamed with the sharpest research minds, they power the knowledge economy, enhance the U of M’s vibrant culture, bring fresh insights, and grow the university’s international research reputation.
The primary barrier to attracting and retaining a stronger complement of graduate students is financial support. Despite the strength of our people and programs, it’s not surprising that graduate students will choose another university when given greater financial incentive to do so. Without aggressive investment, they will seek opportunity, discover success, share knowledge, contribute to their communities, and generate wealth – elsewhere.
Average financial support per student
Patlee Creary with her family
The U of M needs to attract more students like Patlee Creary, a Wu Scholar and PhD student at the Arthur V. Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice. Creary is researching the role of the military in peacekeeping and peace-building operations. “I am particularly interested in looking at the role and identity transitions that military persons have to go through to move from being a member of an armed force to a member of a peacekeeping force, which really requires a different approach,” she says.
Creary balances a busy family life with the requirements of her research, and a job in order to make ends meet was out of the question. “It gives me the freedom to really focus on the work that I need to get done at school so I can find the time to do the additional research work and find time to write journal articles, instead of having to work a job to get money to survive,” she says.
“It really makes a huge difference. It takes a weight off and allows me to be about to focus on the process of being a graduate student and actually getting involved in research. I’m really grateful for it.” – Patlee Creary
The Sir Gordon Wu Graduate Student Scholarship is designed to attract and sustain excellent graduate students. Sir Gordon Wu studied at the U of M for a year in 1953 before transferring to Princeton University.
“I am very grateful for the individual who would find it in their heart to still be giving back after these many years,” says Creary. “I really hope that as I move into my own career that I have the presence of mind to still be thinking about the university as an alumna.”
To continue supporting graduate students like Patlee Creary, $100 million of the Front and Centre campaign is dedicated to funding fellowships. The U of M will increase the graduate student population by offering more competitive fellowship opportunities.
Graduate students will bolster our research output in areas where we have established excellence, increase our expertise in new and emerging areas, and produce the future leaders of our businesses, communities and governments.
Support Graduate Student Success at the University of Manitoba. Give now!