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In light of Queen’s University’s ongoing operating budget deficit, work is underway to identify, assess, and implement measures to reduce costs and increase revenue to achieve a balanced operating budget. While some of the choices ahead will be difficult, we are focused on finding sustainable solutions that will help the university achieve a balanced budget for the long term and enable us to reinvest in our core academic mission of teaching and research. Measures that have been implemented so far include a university-wide hiring freeze, voluntary retirement and early exit incentives, base budget reductions across the board, general spending reductions in areas like travel, technology, and procurement, operational improvements such as sharing of services and expenses, cost-sharing initiatives, and new campus partnerships. 

One proposal for consideration, worked on by faculty leadership over the summer, is the removal of the Queen’s Graduate Award (QGA) for master’s students. Research master’s students currently receive a stipend of approximately $23,000 per year on average which is the fifth-highest amount relative to the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities, and third-highest in the U6. The QGA makes up a proportion of this funding. It is provided to departments through the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (SGSPA) at a rate of $4,100 per domestic master’s student. 

The decision to remove the QGA would not impact current master’s students. Funding would remain the same for current students including students in a program for longer than one year. This decision would come into effect in Fall 2025.

The university remains committed to supporting students who face financial barriers to education. Funds will be reserved for master’s students with limited financial means and distributed through needs-based awards. This is in line with Queen’s approach to undergraduate awards.

This measure would result in an annual cost savings of $3.5 million for the university, and over the longer term, enable the university to reinvest funds in PhD student programming and stipends. 

With this change, Queen’s would not only remain ranked in the top 10 of U15 for master’s funding, but fifth in the U6 as well. Through reinvestment in PhD funding, it would also allow the university to improve its overall ranking for PhD funding in the range of third to sixth position within the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities. 

A final decision around this proposal will be broadly communicated to the Queen’s community. We understand decisions around our financial challenges are difficult but balancing the budget is not optional. The university is committed to supporting members of our community that may be impacted by changes due to the operating budget deficit.

Dr. Matthew Evans, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic)