McMaster to lower PhD tuition for international students

In the wake of increased provincial government funding aimed at attracting international PhD students, Ontario universities including the University of Toronto and Brock University have lowered tuition prices for graduate students from abroad.

In Jan. 2018, the University of Toronto announced that, come Sept., international students will pay the same prices as domestic students. A month later, Brock University scrapped international PhD student fees entirely.

These policy changes come in the wake of improved Ontario government funding for international PhD students.

According to an article published in The Globe and Mail on Feb. 8, in Oct. 2017, the Ontario government modified the structure of the grant it provides to Ontario universities, ensuring that 10 to 15 per cent would be allotted to international students.

The number is 15 per cent at McMaster.

When asked if the university has plans to lower PhD tuition costs for international students in the wake of these changes, Patrick Deane said that McMaster is in the early stages of exploring a fee structure that is similar to the one being implemented at the University Toronto.

“Work is underway on this and Doug Welch [dean of graduate studies] will follow up once McMaster’s plans are further developed,” said Deane.

Currently, McMaster international PhD students pay an average of $16,761 to $17,096 in tuition fees, which is approximately $10,000 more than what domestic students pay.

After four years of a PhD program at McMaster, costs can add up to $70,000 for international students. This approximation, however, does not account for mandatory supplementary fees, such as health insurance, and the costs of housing, textbooks, food and other services.

McMaster will continue to work on their own international PhD student fee structure and students may expect a change in the coming future.

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