NEO guarantees a minimum financial assistance to all students accepted in the option. This means that should a student not have any funding (scholarships, fellowships, TAs, supervisor support), then the NEO option will cover a base amount. The amount is $CAD2,500; students will be considered for this amount once for the M.A. and M.Sc. degrees, and twice for Ph.D. degree.

Please also note that under the new MIDAS program, foreign PhD students are no longer assessed differential tuition and fees – they are now assessed the same as Quebec residents.

Regardless, NEO graduate students should apply for financial assistance whenever possible:

1) STRI-McGill-NEO (SMN) fellowships

The SMN fellowship is a contribution of STRI aimed at attracting and retaining the best possible students in NEO. There are no citizenship restrictions. The maximum scholarship is $US10,000. Students who are award this fellowship will be given a lesser amount if they also receive another major fellowship (FCAR, NSERC, McGill Major, OAS, Fullbright, etc). Priority will be given to NEO students whose main research supervisor is a STRI scientist.

Selection criteria are:

• (1) Academic excellence
• (2) Research ability and potential
• (3) Career projection and interest in Latin America and the Environment
• (4) Quality of the supervisory environment.

Evaluation is based on:

• (1) Transcripts
• (2) Publications and letters of reference
• (3) A statement requested from all eligible NEO candidates (see NEO application form)
• (4) A statement requested from the main supervisor for admission in NEO. The members of the Coordination Committee will not rank their own candidates.

Complete application, including the NEO application form, must be received by the Department by February 1. Decisions will be made public in April.

2) NEO-FAES recruitment award

In recognition of the high quality students with partial funding that are attracted by the STRI-McGill Neotropical Environment Option (NEO), and in recognition of the additional costs associated with this unique program, the Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (FAES) is offering a top-up requirement award for a FAES graduate student entering the NEO program. FAES includes the following departments: Plant Science, Natural Resource Sciences, and Bioresource Engineering.

Terms and conditions: The award is $5000 CAD. It is normally not renewable – although a former recipient may receive this award in a second year if no new applicant is deemed appropriate. The recipient will be a NEO graduate student who has a supervisor in FAES. Awards are contingent on matching funds provided by scholarships, fellowships, or supervisor support (but not TAships). The minimum amount of matching funds necessary to receive the award is $5000 CAD. Note that students receiving major fellowships (e.g., NSERC, FQRNT, SENACYT, CONACYT, NEO) are still eligible for the top-up award. Recommendation of an award recipient to the FAES Dean will be made by the NEO scholarship committee. The committee’s decision will be based on the academic credentials of the incoming student, as well as the quality of the proposed research environment (as inferred from the NEO supervisor statement).

3) Other McGill fellowships and scholarships

McGill offers several fellowships and scholarships to its graduate students. Prospective PhD students as well as students applying to a Master's degree in the Faculty of Science may apply for the Tomlinson Fellowship (deadline February 1) prior to being accepted into the NEO program.

Students already registered at McGill can apply for McGill Majors (fellowships) (deadline early October).

All information concerning financial support is available from the McGill Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies website or from the graduate coordinators in each department. As an example, many departments have “top-up” awards for incoming students who already have major fellowhsips, such as NSERC, FQRNT, SENACYT, and CONACYT.

4) Teaching Assistantships

Within the period of January through April, four teaching assistantships (TAs) of 180 hours are available to NEO graduate students in the context of the Panama Field Study Semester. These assistantships are allocated by the Director of NEO. When at McGill, NEO students are also eligible for Departmental teaching assistantships. NEO students should therefore contact their department to inquire about TA opportunities.

5) Funding from Latin American countries

Many countries have national funding agencies that provide support for graduate students to attend foreign institutions. Students in the NEO program have received support from:

• SENACYT(Panama)
• CONACYT(Mexico)
• CONICYT(Chile)
• COLCIENCIAS(Colombia)
• IFARHU(Panama)

6) Additional potential sources of funding:

The Organization of American States offers the Academic Studies Program (former PRA) fellowships, available to citizens from all American countries. Applicants must apply in their country of origin.

In addition, we would like to attract the attention of Latin American students to the International Foundation for Science.

7) The International Development Research Centre (IDRC):

To support research that meets the priorities of developing countries, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) offers awards through the Centre Training and Awards Program (CTAP) to Canadians or permanent residents of Canada and Developing Countries Nationals.

8) Government of Canada International Scholarship Programs

Visit the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada website(DFAIT) to learn more about opportunities for study and research in Canada and Canadian Scholarships for Non-Canadians.

9) International Council for Canadian studies

For more information contact International Council for Canadians Studies