Schulich School of Music Awards

Funding Opportunities

  • For information about funding opportunities available to performance and music research students, see Funding.
  • We recommend that you apply for external funding as soon as you have decided to pursue graduate studies, in order to maximize your funding.

Tuition Fees

Award and Competition Deadlines

Consult our graduate award deadlines calendar for upcoming grant competition information.

Schulich School of Music Awards

If you have been offered a Schulich School of Music award, read the following acceptance and renewal tips. You must fill out the online acceptance and renewal form by August 1st, 2023.

What do I need to do to receive my award?

  • You must have full-time registration or equivalent status (e.g. additional session). If you are a thesis student, you can just confirm your registration by adding the REGN RCGR courses on your record (CRN 179 for Fall 2023 and CRN 190 in Winter 2024). See the registration information sent to all students. Non-thesis students must confirm their registration and have a minimum of 12 credits per term.
  • If you are receiving payments through your personal bank account or planning to request a refund, specify bank account information in the “Bank account used for student-initiated payments” section under Direct Deposit Bank Account menu on Minerva, in order to receive direct deposit payments.
    • Bank account information can be indicated in two places on Minerva:
      • For fellowship payments you must enter it in the section entitled “student-initiated payments.”
      • If you will be receiving a salary from McGill (as a TA, for example) you also need to enter your banking information in the section devoted to work-related activities. Minerva lets you copy the information from one place to another in one easy click.
    • Even if your award is deposited to your McGill Student Account (fees), please set-up your banking information on Minerva. Direct deposit is used for everything from awards, refunds, teaching and grants.
    • If a refund by direct deposit is returned to McGill by our bank, due to incorrect bank account information, the refund will be re-credited to the student fee account, a fine of $45 will be charged and you will be informed by email that you need to update your bank account information.
  • Clear any outstanding conditions of acceptance (see warnings and/or holds) on Minerva. Fellowship payments may be delayed if a student has a document (condition of admission) warning and/or a hold on his/her record or if the awardee has a financial (accounting/tuition/libraries) warning and/or a hold on his/her record. Document holds or warnings are used to record outstanding conditions of admissions. When a newly admitted student is conditionally admitted, Enrolment Services places a warning on the student’s record to indicate that the admission is conditional. The warning still allows the student to register, but award payments may be delayed until the warning/hold has been removed. The warning typically changes to a hold if Enrolment Services has not received the document, thus preventing future registration.
  • Returning students must clear any K/KE (incomplete/extension) grades.
  • Ensure your address information and phone number is current and active (pay attention to expiry dates).

How and when will my award be paid?

Some payments will be made to your McGill Student Account to go towards part or all of your tuition fees. However, some payments will be made to your personal bank account.

  • You can see your awards and the method of payment via Minerva under the Financial Aid & Awards tab à My Financial Aid and Awards.
  • You can see the list of awards by Aid Year and each award will have a link to the disbursement schedule that tells the (scheduled) pay date, amount and method.

Awards administered by the Schulich School of Music will be paid out as follows:

  • Awards with an amount of $5,000 or lower:
    • Paid in full to your McGill account on September 1.
  • Awards with an amount between $5,001 and $12,000:
    • Paid to your McGill account in two installments.
    • 2023-24 payment dates: September 1 and January 2.
  • Awards with an amount $12,001 and over:
    • Paid to your personal bank account in equal monthly installments between September 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024.

I’m an international student and I can’t open a Canadian Bank Account until I arrive in Canada

For payments disbursed to your personal bank account, the payment cannot be submitted until this information is provided. Once the information is entered on Minerva, the payments will be disbursed. Once your bank account information is submitted on Minerva, please contact the Graduate Studies Office so that we can process the payment.

My tuition fees are due before I receive my award(s)

Fall term fees are due on August 31, 2023. Winter term fees are due on January 4, 2024. If your award is deposited into your Student Account on September 1st, there will not be any penalty for the one-day difference.

If your award is being paid in installments to your personal bank account and you are relying on your award to pay your fees, students with no prior outstanding tuition/fees may request that payment(s) of tuition and fees be deferred based on self-reported demonstrated sources of funding from the university, government or other external agencies. All requests are student-initiated using the "Defer Payment of Tuition and Fees" option through the Financial Aid & Awards Menu on Minerva. Such requests will be granted on a term by term basis during which time no interest or late payment charges will be applied on the fees covered by the deferral. The financial hold will be placed shortly after the deferral ends. The length of time that a fee deferral is in effect will depend on the nature of the fee deferral. Please see the following website for complete information: www.mcgill.ca/student-accounts/deferred. Fee deferrals must be done every term.

Students getting their scholarship money in a lump sum (awards of $12,000 or less) are not eligible for fee deferrals. If the scholarship doesn't cover the tuition fees, you must pay the difference by the deadline date.

My award was deposited into my Student Fee Account and there’s money left over after my tuition has been paid. How do I get it back?

You have a credit in your fee account? You are welcome to request a refund if you have a credit balance over $2 or leave the funds on account for a future term.

The on-line Refund Request Form is available to you on Minerva. You can access the on-line form as follows:

  • Log into Minerva
  • Select Student Menu
  • Select Student Accounts Menu
  • Refund Request Menu

Please make sure that your banking information is provided on Minerva as refunds are deposited into your personal bank account.

Complete information can be found here: https://www.mcgill.ca/student-accounts/your-account/requesting-refund.

Tips for writing Schulich School of Music award appreciation letters

If you have received an award, here are some tips for writing a letter of appreciation to the donor:

Begin your letter with a proper salutation to the donor(s): ex. Dear Mr. /Mrs. XXX.  If you award doesn’t have a specific donor, please address it to Dear Sir/Madam:

Here are some ideas of what to incorporate in the body of your letter:

  • Your academic background and any relevant personal information you wish to communicate to the donor;
  • Your degree program and your instrument,
  • Your future career plans;
  • Recitals, concerts or events that you will be participating starting next year;
  • Any recordings you have of recent performances.
  • Your graduate program at McGill, research interests, and thesis title (if known);
  • And depending on how far along you are with your research - your research goals and impact on the academic field.


End your letter with a clear statement of appreciation and thanks to the donor.  

*Recipients of the following scholarships should send their appreciation letter to:
Irene Baczynsky, University Advancement (irene.baczynsky [at] mcgill.ca).

Arthur & Helen Henderson Scholarship
Bourse d'étude commémorative Pierre Béluse
Clara Lichtenstein Memorial Fellowship
David Nutting Award in Music
Della Pergola Scholarship
Dr Robert H P Fung Scholarship
Edith Jacobson Low-Beer Fellowship in Music
Fondation McAbbie Scholarship
Gerald Wheeler Award
Gian Lyman Memorial Scholarship
Gustav & Romana Blume Memorial Scholarship
Helmut Blume Scholarship
Hnatyshyn Foundation Christa and Franz-Paul Decker Fellowship in Conducting
John Grew Award
Julius Schloss Memorial Award
June Rittmeyer Bursary
Lloyd Carr-Harris String Fellowship
Luba Zuk Piano Duo Composition Prize
Mariana Paunova Scholarship in Voice
Marianna Eaton Fellowship
Marvin Duchow Memorial Scholarship
Mary McLaughlin Memorial Prize
Maurice Pollack Foundation Fellowship
Max Stern Fellowship in Music
Paul-Marcel Gélinas et Vema-Marie Parr Gélinas Piano Award
Phyllis and Bernard Shapiro Fellowship in Opera
Phyllis and Bernard Shapiro Fellowship in Theory
Phyllis and Bernard Shapiro Scholarship in Opera
Piano Vocal Art Fellowship
Rachel & Benjamin Schecter Memorial Scholarship
Richard H. Tomlinson Fellowship
Robin MacLennan String Graduate Award
Sara Berlind Memorial Scholarship
Starling Graduate Award
tudent Excellence Award
Verna-Marie Parr Gélinas and Paul-Marcel Gélinas Scholarship
Wayne Riddell Choral Award
Wirth Family Fellowship in Music
Zoya Solod Memorial Scholarship
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