New scholarships for international doctoral students

A new scholarship offered by the Ontario government will attract some of the world's
brightest minds to McMaster University.

The Ontario Trillium Scholarship will offer $40,000 a year for up to four years for
international students to pursue doctoral studies at Ontario universities. McMaster has
been allocated five scholarships a year.

“Programs like this allow us to attract the best and brightest to McMaster from all
corners of the world, helping build a diverse and vibrant knowledge-based economy
here in Ontario,” said Allison Sekuler, associate vice-president and dean of graduate
studies. “They also help us spread the word internationally about the excellence of
McMaster's educational and research opportunities.”

According to Sekuler, attracting world-class international PhD students to McMaster is
beneficial not only to the University, but to the entire province.

“PhD graduates are key contributors to research and innovation in Ontario, and
international PhD students bring fresh perspectives to critical issues investigated within
Ontario universities. Most international students remain in Canada after graduation,
and those who do not become ambassadors for Canada around the world.”

The new program complements the Ontario Graduate Scholarship program, which
provides more than $40-million annually in support of domestic graduate students,
and supports the provincial government's Open Ontario commitment to increase the
number of international students in Ontario while maintaining spaces for qualified
domestic students. The provincial awards also complement McMaster's own School of
Graduate Studies International Excellence Awards, created in 2008 to recognize the
outstanding contributions of international graduate students.

The effective start date for the new scholarships will be September 2011.