Perseverance and supports helping graduate students

For most of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office (FGPS) has been closed to walk-in traffic and in-person appointments to help keep students and staff safe. Laurier’s graduate students have shown remarkable flexibility and resilience during these unpredictable times as Laurier continues to maximize university activities as permitted by municipal and provincial public health guidelines.

FGPS continues to provide a variety of academic leadership and administrative support to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and graduate program coordinators remotely through email, virtual phone calls, web resources, online professional development opportunities and more.

“Graduate students have found creative ways to succeed despite the many challenges caused by COVID. I have been impressed and inspired by their commitment and determination. Their knowledge, skills, and energy will help drive our recovery from this pandemic,” says Douglas Deutschman, associate vice-president and dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

Enock Mac’Ouma, a PhD student in Geography, is one of the many students who has used FGPS’s services while completing his degree remotely.  

“No doubt, FGPS is doing an excellent job with matters related to course registration, updates on scholarships and funding, as well as all issues affecting the graduate student and research community at Laurier,” says Mac’Ouma.

With the help of the FGPS office, Mac’Ouma has been able to connect quickly and frequently with team members to help solve questions surrounding appeals, course registrations, funding opportunities and more.

“FGPS has been very effective, efficient and fast at responding to my problems. Recently, it took the FGPS team less than two hours to sort out my appeal, register me for GG891 and normalize my Laurier registration status. They are amazing indeed!”

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies is an academic faculty that is led by Deutschman, the associate vice-president and dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. The faculty is responsible for establishing and administering policies and procedures related to graduate admissions, academic progression requirements, graduate student scholarships and financial support in all graduate programs.

"Dr. Deutschman and his team are an exceptional group of teaching and administrative leaders. They work tirelessly to ensure graduate students receive quality and timely services. I have witnessed firsthand how they support students, and I'm incredibly happy to know that students are being shown such care and compassion during this time of change," said Alishau Diebold, President of the Graduate Student Association.

How We Support You

FGPS supports graduate programs, their students and postdoctoral fellows in the following broad areas:

Enrolment management

We manage the application processes for graduate programs, including maintaining application records, supporting Laurier’s admission platforms and targets and providing records management support to programs. Learn more about our three-step admissions process.

Student scholarships

We establish and oversee all procedures related to federal and provincial scholarship and postdoctoral fellowship programs and manage the institutional teaching assistant and scholarship budget. Check out available scholarship and bursary information.

Student records

We verify and monitor student registration, grade submission, student progress and a number of student records processes including progress reports, the Ontario Visiting Graduate Student program, petitions, defences and more. Learn more about the ways to best manage your program.

Financial support funding

We support students in their financial matters related to attending graduate school, including a range of funding opportunities for master's and doctoral students. Laurier also provides graduate students with a unique tuition payment option known as the Tuition Payment Plan Program designed to help alleviate the financial pressures of pursing graduate studies. Visit our Tuition and Funding page for more information on graduate funding opportunities.

Postdoctoral resources and support

We provide documented policies, procedures and guidance for postdoctoral fellows. This includes oversight of the appointment process, coordination and management of services available to postdocs, and monitoring of compliance related to term limits, eligibility requirements and procedures. Explore more information about Postdoctoral Studies at Laurier.

We can help!

The FGPS team is here to support you through your academic journey! To learn more about the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and how we can help, visit our website or email us to book a virtual appointment.