Scholarships and Bursaries

Scholarships, bursaries and financial aid are offered directly by the college of registration of the student, with the expection of some scholarships that are offered through the Toronto School of Theology's Board of Trustees. The TST Board offers a number of scholarships which are open for application to TST students across the federation. Aside from the TST Board scholarships and the OGS and SSHRC competitions, inquiries and applications for financial assistance should be directed to your college of registration.

For advanced degree students, application forms for financial aid are separate from the application for admission and are available directly from your college of application. The registrar or advanced degree director of your school may also be aware of scholarships and bursaries available through other organizations.

Some organizations provide various kinds of funding of theological education. We have listed such programs known to TST at the bottom of this page.

For additional sources of financial aid, see the University of Toronto Financial Aid Website

Ontario Graduate Scholarships and Social Sciences and Research Council Fellowships

Advanced degree students are encouraged to apply for Ontario Graduate Scholarships and Social Sciences and Research Council Fellowships.

Ontario Graduate Scholarhsip Program: Students in the ThM or ThD programs with at least an A- average are eligible for the OGS. Students from outside of Canada on a student visa may be eligible to apply. For more information and additional eligibility criteria, go to: http://osap.gov.on.ca/eng/not_secure/OGS.htm

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC): Offers doctoral and master’s fellowships, for which TST doctoral and M.A. students are eligible. Visa students are not eligible. See the SSHRC’s website for more information and additional eligibility criteria: http://www.sshrc.ca/web/apply/students_e.asp.

TST students submit their OGS and SSHRC applications to the TST Advanced Degree Office. The internal deadline is normally in the beginning of October for doctoral SSHRC and OGS scholarships. The master’s SSHRC deadline is normally in November. The exact deadline will be announced annually. To find out more about OGS and SSHRC scholarships, please email: tstadv.degree @ utoronto.ca

Applicants to TST who are applying to an eligible program (ThD and ThM for the OGS; M.A., ThD and PhD for SSHRC) are also encouraged to apply for an OGS and/or SSHRC scholarship. Please see the OGS and SSHRC websites for details on how to apply prior to admission into a program.

TST Board Scholarships

In addition the TST offers the following scholarships and bursaries. The amount available each year fluctuates with the performance of the TST endowment.

Bill Lord Bursary in Continuing Education
A few small bursaries are available each year for persons taking continuing education courses at the TST or one of its colleges.
Selection Criteria: Applicants are asked to demonstrate financial need and to indicate the connection between the course for which they are seeking funding and their ministry.

C. Douglas Jay Scholarship
This award was established by the Board of Trustees in 1981 in honour of the founding Director of the TST, Professor C. Douglas Jay.
Eligibility: The award is available to an advanced degree student in TST, preferably a doctoral student, working in the area of Christian Social Ethics.
Selection Criteria: Applications will be judged on academic excellence and the quality of the research proposal.
Amount available: Amount to be awarded: $1,000

Gordon Farquharson Scholarship
This award, funded by a gift of the Ralph M. Barford Foundation plus matching funds from the Ontario Trust for Student Support (OTSS), was established by the Board of Trustees in 2008 in honour of Gordon Farquharson, a long-time friend of the TST.
Eligibility: The award is available to a student registered in a research doctoral program at TST, who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, is a resident of Ontario as defined by OSAP, and has demonstrated financial need.
Selection Criteria: Applications will be judged on the basis of excellence in the applicant’s chosen program of study.
Amount available: $10,000

John M. Kelly Award
This award was established in 1994 to honour Father John M. Kelly, former President of the University of St. Michael’s College and former member of the Toronto School of Theology Board of Trustees.
Eligibility: The award is available to a basic or advanced degree student in TST who is a present or past member of the TST Board, Basic or Advanced Degree Councils or any TST Committee or Department.
Selection Criteria: Applications will be judged on the quality and significance of the applicant’s service to TST, and his or her academic achievement.
Amount available: Amount to be awarded: $1,000

John McGonegal Bursary
This award was established in honour of the Rev. John McGonegal by the parishioners of the Anglican Church of St. Philip the Apostle, Caribou Road, Toronto. Father McGonegal was formerly chaplain at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto and at the Verdun Hospital in Montreal.
Eligibility: The award is available to a student in the Toronto School of Theology who wishes to undertake CAPPE Supervised Pastoral Education (includes both Clinical Pastoral Education and Pastoral Counselling Education.)
Selection Criteria: Applications will be judged on financial need and educational merit.
Amount available: Financial support for one unit of CAPPE Supervised Pastoral Education

Margaret Fleck Scholarship
This award, funded by a gift of the Ralph M. Barford Foundation along with matching funds from the Ontario Trust for Student Support (OTSS), was established by the Board of Trustees in 2006 in honour of the Reverend Margaret Fleck, a divinity graduate of Trinity College and former member of the TST Board of Trustees.
Eligibility: The award is available to a student registered at TST, who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, is a resident of Ontario as defined by OSAP, and has demonstrated financial need.
Selection Criteria: Applications will be judged on the basis of excellence in the applicant’s chosen program of study, and the applicant’s demonstrated capacity to communicate effectively to the broader community.
Amount available: $10,000

Marjorie Watson Powles Award
This award was established by the TST Board in 2002 in honour of Marjorie Watson Powles, a woman serving the church and who exemplifies a creative, positive vision for the role of women in the church and society.
Eligibility: The award is available to a woman studying at the TST in a basic or advanced degree program.
Selection Criteria: Applications will be judged on the applicant’s active engagement in community and congregational life, strong feminist perspective and transformative vision, and demonstrated academic excellence
Amount available: 2009 Amount: $1,000, payable upon registration in September

OSOTF Bursary Assistance for PhD and ThD Students
Bursary money from the portion of the Toronto School of Theology’s endowment fund built up under the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund (OSOTF) program is available to help currently registered PhD and ThD students in need of extra financial assistance. The OSOTF bursary provides a supplementary grant for students facing unforeseen financial emergency or whose college was unable to provide the financial help they requested.
Eligibility: To be eligible, an applicant must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, a resident of Ontario as defined by OSAP, and have demonstrated financial need through previous application for bursary assistance or student loan in this academic year.
Amount available: For the year 2009, the total bursary amount available is $2,500.

St. Lazarus Bursary
This award was established in 1994 through a gift from the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem.
Eligibility: The award is available to a Canadian advanced degree student at TST working in the area of ecumenism.
Selection Criteria: Applications will be judged on academic excellence, the significance of the student’s intended research, and the student’s need for funding.
Amount available: Amount to be awarded: $1,300

Doctor of Ministry Bursaries
A limited amount of bursary assistance is available to incoming and returning DMin students thanks to bursaries established by the Estate of Charles Gundy, the J.T. Weir Memorial fund, the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund (OSOTF) and tuition-set aside funds.
Eligibility: Students must demonstrate financial need.
Selection Criteria: Applications will be judged on academic excellence and the student’s need for funding.
Amount available: Amount to be awarded: TBA

Other Sources of Financial Assistance

Advanced Degree Student Association Travel Bursaries
Twice a year ADSA offers three travel bursaries of $200 each to three AD students presenting papers at conferences held outside of Ontario in the term in which the travel bursary is offered.
Eligibility: If you have been awarded a travel bursary within the last three years you are not eligible to apply for this series of awards. Should we have more applicants than awards, the winners will be determined by lottery.
Amount available: $200 each

Faithful Companions of Jesus Theology Bursaries
The Faith Companions of Jesus sisters offer three different theological bursaries:
The Madeleine d'Houet bursary for any Roman Catholic laywoman enrolled in full time theology or religious education in a recognized degree granting Canadian Catholic school of theology ($1000);
The Youth Ministry bursary for accredited training in youth ministry (no one bursary being more than $500); and
Bursaries for short courses in Theology, Liturgy, Spirituality of Social Justice of Earth/Native Spirituality (no one bursary being more than $500).
Amount available: $500 to $1000 depending on the bursary type
Additional Note: Applicants may apply for one bursary only.

Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Bursary for Ministry Preparation
The purpose of this bursary is to support and encourage Catholic lay women engaged in pastoral ministry within the Church and to provide financial assistance for further studies in preparation for this ministry.
Eligibility: The candidate must be a Catholic woman pursuing theological or pastoral studies at an Institute or University with a view to engaging in pastoral ministry and be in need of financial assistance.
Selection Criteria: Applications will be reviewed by a committee of Grey Sisters.
Amount available: Up to $5000 will be awarded for full-time or part-time study for one year. The candidate may re-apply for the same amount for a second year only.

Ivor Norris Bursary
A bursary sponsored by the Anglican Ordinariate of the Canadian Forces. The bursary is awarded annually to theological students who have had, or have, some connection with the Canadian Forces.
Eligibility: Awarded to applicants with a personal connection to the Canadian Forces through personal military service (past or present), being married to or the child of someone with past or current service. Applicants must be sponsored by a Bishop for ordination within the Anglican Church of Canada and enrolled in full time theological studies.

Martin Moser Society for Theological Studies Bursary Fund
This bursary fund was set up to honour Father Martin Moser, o.m.i, a Catholic priest, theologian and teacher with a passion for ecumenism and a commitment to the role of the laity in the Church, Father Moser taught theology for over 30 years at Newman Theological College in Edmonton, Alberta, and served as dean of theology for nine of those years. He currently teaches part time at St. Mark's and Corpus Christi Colleges at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Father Moser is also a full time pastor in the Vancouver area.
In 2006, a group of friends and former colleagues/students of Father Moses's established the Martin Moser Society for Theological Studies. The purpose of this society is to provide bursaries to lay people of any Christian denomination who are pursuing theological studies in preparation for ministry in the Canadian Church.
Eligibility: The applicant must be a lay man or woman of any Christian denomination who is enrolled in a recognized Canadian theological school pursuing a graduate or undergraduate degree in theology or theological studies in preparation for ministry in the Canadian Church. Note: This bursary is not intended for those preparing for ordained ministry.
Amount available: One bursary of $3000 is being offered in 2009.

OECTA Scholarships & Fellowships
Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association provides some financial asssitance to members pursuing further academic studies: Post-graduate scholarships and religious study fellowships are available annually.
Selection Criteria: Full-time study, OECTA Involvement, Benefit to OECTA membership over time, Academic initiatives - Completion of Program, Length of teaching experience, Previous receipts of funds from OECTA

Redemptorist Anniversary Bursary for Doctoral Studies in Moral Theology
1987 was the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, commonly called the Redemptorists. To mark this occasion the Redemptorists of the Canadian English-speaking province established a bursary to be awarded to a lay person engaged, or ready to engage, in doctoral studies in the field of moral theology.
Eligibility: For each year of assistance, the recipient will be required to work two years in Canada in the teaching of moral theology or in a related field (such as bioethics) up to a maximum of five years.
Amount available: The bursary will provide an annual income up to $20,000 each year for a period of up to three years.

The Anglican Foundation of Canada: Bursary Assistance for Students Preparing for Ministry in the Anglican Church of Canada
Eligibility: For more information, please contact your college or the Anglican Foundation of Canada.

The Fund for Theological Education - Doctoral Assistance
The Fund for Theological Education gives generous competitive scholarships to persons from under-represented racial and ethnic groups for ThD or PhD programs in theological studies.  On Nov 8, 2009, they will hold a workshop for interested prospective applicants at the American Academy of Religion meetings in Montreal.  Faculty nominations are required for applicants.  Or you can ask for more information, including updates and nomination or application forms, at doctoralinfo@thefund.org .

The Fund for Theological Education - Ministry Fellow Program
A fellowship program providing support and guidance to entering Master of Divinity students who embody the highest intellectual and spiritual qualities essential for Christian leadership as pastors, educators, and citizens.
Eligibility: 1) Applicants must be entering their first year of a Master of Divinity program at an Association of Theological Schools accredited seminary in the fall. (Currently enrolled students are not eligible for this program. M.T.S., Th.M., and M.A. students are also not eligible.) ; 2) Applicants should demonstrate excellent capacities for ministry, high academic ability, deep religious commitment, and the intent to pursue ministry as a career; 3) Applicants should combine imagination and creativity with compassion, vision, a capacity for critical thinking, leadership, communicative ability, and personal integrity; 4) Applicants should bring to the minister's role a strong sense of personal identity, a capacity to understand and act in behalf of the needs of others, and a familiarity with and dedication to a faith tradition; 5) Applicants must be citizens of the U.S. or Canada. Applicants must be 35 years of age or under.
Selection Criteria: "FTE's Partnership for Excellence is an ecumenical effort to identify, inspire and nurture outstanding college undergraduates and first-year seminary students pursuing vocations in ministry and theological scholarship. Together with seminaries, churches, non-profit organizations, students, ministers and professors, Partnership for Excellence encourages excellence and diversity in the next generation of leaders for the church. The Partnership also aims to revitalize the understanding of ministry by the public and, in doing so, to raise the profile of ministry and teaching as work that channels commitment, competence and compassion to serve the world and the common good."
Amount available: Up to $5000

Links to Financial Aid Information

http://www.seminaryscholarship.com