Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work (PhD) | Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Admission Information & Requirements

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Fees	Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / Refugee / Diplomat	International
Application Fee	$116.25	$168.25
Tuition *
Installments per year	3	3
Tuition per installment	$1,875.34	$3,294.66
Tuition per year (plus annual increase, usually 2%-5%)	$5,626.02	$9,883.98
Int. Tuition Award (ITA) per year (if eligible)		$3,200.00 (-)
Other Fees and Costs
Student Fees (yearly)	$1,144.10 (approx.)
Costs of living	Estimate your costs of living with our interactive tool in order to start developing a financial plan for your graduate studies.

* Regular, full-time tuition. For on-leave, extension, continuing or part time (if applicable) fees see UBC Calendar.
All fees for the year are subject to adjustment and UBC reserves the right to change any fees without notice at any time, including tuition and student fees. Tuition fees are reviewed annually by the UBC Board of Governors. In recent years, tuition increases have been 2% for continuing domestic students and between 2% and 5% for continuing international students. New students may see higher increases in tuition. Admitted students who defer their admission are subject to the potentially higher tuition fees for incoming students effective at the later program start date. In case of a discrepancy between this webpage and the UBC Calendar, the UBC Calendar entry will be held to be correct.

Financial Support

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

From September 2024 all full-time students in UBC-Vancouver PhD programs will be provided with a funding package of at least $24,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships. Please note that many graduate programs provide funding packages that are substantially greater than $24,000 per year. Please check with your prospective graduate program for specific details of the funding provided to its PhD students.

Funding Statistics

Based on the criteria outlined below, 16 students within this program were included in this study because they received funding through UBC in the form of teaching, research, academic assistantships or internal or external awards with a mean of $30,105 and a median of $27,841.

This results in a net balance (any funding provided to the student minus tuition and fees) mean of $23,212 and median of $22,416.

11 students received Teaching Assistantships. Median TA funding based on 11 students was $4,053.
10 students received Research Assistantships. Median RA funding based on 10 students was $7,953.
5 students received Academic Assistantships. Median AA funding based on 5 students was $12,336.
16 students received internal awards. Median internal award funding based on 16 students was $14,172.
2 students received external awards. Median external award funding based on 2 students was $35,000.

Study Period: Sep 2023 to Aug 2024 - funding for full-time PhD students enrolled in three terms per academic year in this program across years 1-4, the period covered by UBC's Minimum Funding Guarantee. Mean and median values might mask variability in sources and amounts of funding received by individual students. Beyond year 4, funding packages become even more individualized.
Review methodology

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union.

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans.

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 24 hours a week during academic sessions.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement.

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Applications	14	10	16	17	0
Offers	7	7	5	7	0
New Enrolment	5	3	5	5	0
Total Enrolment	25	20	19	16	13

Research Supervisors

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

Applicants should browse faculty profiles and indicate in their application who they are interested in working with. No commitment from a supervisor prior to applying is necessary, but contacting faculty members is encouraged.

Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program specific.

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

Baines, Donna (Social work; Anti-oppressive, decolonizing and critical approaches to theory and practice; Decent work and good care in social services, long term care, home care, etc.; Age-equity, age-inclusion, age-friendly cities; Harm reduction and supportive housing)
Bratiotis, Christiana (Social work; interventions in the context of hoarding; organizational processes involved in hoarding task forces; service utilization)
Caragata, Lea (Social oppression and marginalization; Counselling, welfare and community services; Social policy; welfare systems; Poverty; labour markets; lone mothers; social policy; youth provisioning)
Charles, Grant (Psychosocial oncology, intellectual disabilities, family interventions and at risk youth)
Ibrahim, Mohamed (mental health; addiction among new immigrants and refugees; global mental health)
Karki, Karun (sense of belonging among the racialized diaspora and minoritized communities, ethno-racial and gender segregation in the Canadian labour market, social determinants of health of diasporic and marginalized communities)
Kia, Hannah (LGBTQ2S+ health; LGBTQ2S+ aging; social work and other professional practice with sexual and gender minorities; effective social work practice with trans and gender diverse people; poverty, sexual and mental health issues among diverse LGBTQ2S+ populations)
Lee, Barbara (Social work; Social Work; Child Welfare; Child Maltreatment; Child Protection; Ethno-Cultural Communities; Newcomers; Service Delivery; Service Outcomes)
Montgomery, H. Monty (Social work, n.e.c.; First Nations Child Welfare, Aboriginal Social Policy, Indigenous Distance Education)
Nobiss, Jac
O'Connor, Deborah (family support to frail or mentally impaired seniors; formal support services, Dementia, the interface between living with dementia, family care, and the use of formal support services)
Wilson, Tina (Social work; social work and environment; history and philosophy of social work; critical social theories; generational standpoints; Social justice; social work rhetoric)
Yan, Miu Chung (Issues related to settlement and integration of immigrants and refugees, labour market experience of new generation youth from racial minority immigrant families, and community building roles and functions of neighbourhood-level place-based multiservice organizations )

Overview

What makes the program unique?

Quick Facts

Admission Information & Requirements

1) Check Eligibility

Minimum Academic Requirements

English Language Test

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Other Test Scores

Prior degree, course and other requirements

2) Meet Deadlines

3) Prepare Application

Transcripts

Letters of Reference

Statement of Interest

Supervision

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

Citizenship Verification

4) Apply Online

Tuition & Financial Support

Tuition

Financial Support

Program Funding Packages

Funding Statistics

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Foreign government scholarships

Working while studying

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Cost Estimator

Career Outcomes

Sample Employers in Higher Education

Sample Employers Outside Higher Education

Sample Job Titles Outside Higher Education

PhD Career Outcome Survey

Disclaimer

Career Options

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

ENROLMENT DATA

Disclaimer

Doctoral Exams Upcoming

Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 12:30 - Room 200

Research Supervisors

Supervision

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for this program

Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

Sample Thesis Submissions

Related Programs

Same specialization

Further Information

Specialization

UBC Calendar

Program Website

Faculty

Academic Unit

Program Identifier

Classification

Karen Lok Yi Wong

Nancy Lin

Darryl Gray

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