Finances and Funding
- Research has shown that greater financial literacy—ranging from savings and budgeting strategies to debt management—helps improve mental and physical health while increasing productivity.[2]
- While typically linked with project management skills (e.g., delivering on budget), financial literacy is considered an asset for jobs in a variety of fields.
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Quick Guide to Finances & Funding
- Identify gaps in your finance knowledge and seek out training and/or resources to support growth in areas that are important to your financial health
- Develop your financial planning and management skills, and respect budget limits
- Understand the principles of financial management and develop commercial awareness: i.e., the understanding of how a business makes money, what customers want, and what problems exist within a business areas.
- Develop your oral and written communication skills to draft more persuasive funding proposals Identify relevant funding opportunities and procedures (e.g., application requirements, deadlines)
Finding Sources of Funding
Sources of funding—i.e., scholarships, fellowships, grants, or stipends—in academia can be internal or external. Many financial institutions, services, and funding agencies offer training and tools to assist students in learning how to manage their finances and to identify funding opportunities (e.g., university student aid offices, bank financial advisors, or web applications). Here are a list of resources at McGill to help you in your search for funding:
Funding Opportunity Databases
- A list of opportunities for Graduate students and Postdoctoral fellows
- Funding resources for Graduate Students, postdoctoral fellows, international students, work-study programs, and special funding.
- A list of scholarships, grants, bursaries, and other financial assistance for Canadian students.
- A list of scholarships, grants, bursaries and other financial assistance for international students.
- A list of merit-based scholarships for students.
Funding and Application Writing Workshops
- An opportunity to have your two-page project summary reviewed by a former Tri-council or Quebec committee reviewer in a 30 minute consultation session. Multiple sessions held each fall.
- A list of info sessions on how to find and apply for funding and external fellowships.
- A list of grant programs and grant application info sessions.
- Workshops on how to prepare a compelling and strong application.
Websites, Books and Articles
McGill Research and Innovation: Resources for Preparing Grant Applications
- Offers resources on the grant writing process.
Browning, B. A. (2009). Grant writing for dummies. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. http://mcgill.worldcat.org/oclc/262719116
O'Neal-McElrath, T. (2013). Winning Grants Step by Step: The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals. Hoboken: Wiley. http://mcgill.worldcat.org/oclc/86108107
Enhancing Financial Literacy
Estimating your current and potential financial resources is the first step in budgeting. Here you'll find a selection of resources that can help you develop your financial literacy:
Workshops & Courses
- McGill Scholarships and Student Aid – Frugal Scholar Workshops: A list of workshops where you will learn how to calculate costs, build a budget, prepare taxes, manage debt and finance.
- McGill Personal Finance Series: www.mcgillpersonalfinance.com. A free online series of recorded webinar developed by Desautels Faculty of Management covering the essentials of personal finance from budgeting to investing.
- McGill SKILLSETS – Financial Skills for the Real World Series: A series of workshops designed to help you improve your financial literacy. Topics range from managing debit to investing to children & money. Can be taken as individual sessions or as a series.
- McGill School of Continuing Studies – Accounting & Finance Courses: A variety of course selections to help students acquire fundamental and advanced finance knowledge. This includes part-time courses, summer courses, online courses, workshops and certificate program, with credit and non-credit options.
Websites, Books, & Articles
- McGill Scholarships and Student Aid – Your Finances – This site offers tools and resources to help you develop your financial wellness.
- Government of Canada – Benefits: A list of programs and resources to find financial assistance in Canada.
- Financial Literacy Self-Assessment Quiz: once you’ve completed the quiz, you will receive customized money management resources and events suggestions based on the identified knowledge and skill gaps.
- Canadian Financial Literacy Database: resources, events, tools and information on budgeting, money management, insurance, saving, investing, and taxes from various Canadian organizations. Resources by population or topic.
- The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: offers advice and tools for financial management, promotes financial education, and raises consumers’ awareness of their rights and responsibilities.
- Tyson, E. (2012). Personal finance for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. http://mcgill.worldcat.org/oclc/794663328
- Pogue, D. (2016). Pogue's basics: money: Essential tips and shortcuts (that no one bothers to tell you) about beating the system. http://mcgill.worldcat.org/oclc/960741757
References
1 FP Canada™ 2025 Financial Stress Index. FP Canada (2025).
2 Impact of financial literacy, mental budgeting and self control on financial wellbeing: Mediating impact of investment decision making. Ruofan Bai. PLoS One. (2023).