Graduate-student stipends in Canada below the poverty line
Briefly

All of the minimum stipends we found were below the poverty line after tuition, except for the physics department at the University of Toronto." This stark statement highlights the struggle of graduate students to make ends meet, reflecting a systemic issue in funding education. The emphasis on the needs for improvement points to the critical necessity for universities to reassess their financial support frameworks.
People who want to study science in Canada have three options: hope for more support from their supervisor, take on big debts or emigrate." This quote clearly captures the grim reality faced by aspiring scientists, underscoring the precarious position of funding opportunities for students and the potential long-term effect of financial strain on their careers.
The authors estimate that Canadian stipends would need to increase by 1.5 times merely to keep pace with the cost of living." This statistic brings to light how significantly out of touch current stipends are with living costs, emphasizing the urgent need for adjustments to support graduate students adequately.
Canadian stipends also lag behind those in other similar countries - the highest Canadian minimum stipend is roughly equivalent to the lowest biology stipend in the United States, and lower than the stipend in the United Kingdom." This comparison illustrates the broader context of stipends internationally, showcasing that the issue is not just a localized problem but one that reflects a lack of competitive funding for students in Canada.
Read at Nature
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