Western expands bursaries, supports for graduate students

Western University has made a number of changes to address graduate financial stability and wellbeing. Western Provost and VPA Florentine Strzelczyk launched a new Graduate Student Affordability Working Group earlier this year to better understand and support graduate students who face financial difficulties. Based on the group’s findings, Western has expanded its original commitment to provide bursaries for graduate students over the next three years, introduced a new staff position to support incoming graduate students, and tripled the summer staffing for its off-campus housing office. As part of these ongoing efforts, the university also plans to redesign the orientation program and ensure clear financial information is provided to prospective and current graduate students.