Graduate Student Finances and Regulations

Graduate Regulations
Graduate Students at Western Law are governered by regulations of the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. This includes thesis requirements, change of status and leaves of absence.
Graduate Studies Tuition and Fees
Tuition and fees are established each year by the Board of Governors of the University.
The approximate estimated annual costs (tuition and required ancillary fees) for the 2022-23 academic year for new full-time students are as follows:
Canadian | International | |||||
Tuition | Fees | Total | Tuition | Fees | Total | |
LLM and MSL | $10,368 | $1,720 | $13,088 | $27,284 | $2,476 | $29,760 |
PhD | $6,360 | $1,720 | $8,080 | $6,360 | $2,476 | $8,836 |
GDip Mining Law |
$13,500 $2,250 |
$1,305 $70 per term |
$14,805 |
$21,840 $3,640 |
$1,735 $70 per term |
$23,575 |
The above amounts are estimates only and may be subject to change. For the Master's and PhD programs, part-time tuition is approximately one-half of full-time tuition.
Further information on fees is available at the Registrar's website.
For students in the Graduate Diploma in Mining Law, Finance, and Sustainability:
Full-time students will normally enrol in 3 courses in each of the Fall and Winter terms, completing the program in 2 terms (8 months). Full-time students are not allowed to take course overloads (more than 3 courses) in any term. Students who do not complete the program within 2 terms must register for additional terms and pay fees as required.
Part-time students may enrol in a maximum of 2 courses per term. Students will not be registered or assessed fees for any term in which they are not enrolled in any courses (normally the Summer term).
Students may not transfer between the full-time per-term billing plan and the part-time per-course billing plan except in extraordinary circumstances. Please consider your options carefully and choose the correct registration plan for your needs.
Financing your Graduate Education
Western Law offers competitive funding packages to all full-time graduate students in our research-based programs (LLM, MSL and PhD). Funding packages for domestic Master's students (LLM & MSL) are designed to cover full-time tuition and most fees, and may consist of a combination of scholarships and awards and income from employment as a Teaching Assistant or a Research Assistant. Funding for international Master's students will normally be limited to a Western Law Graduate Scholarship in an amount which will cover approximately two-thirds of the cost of full-time tuition and fees. Your offer letter will contain the details of your individual funding package.
Full-time PhD students (domestic and international) are guaranteed funding equal to at least tuition plus $13,000 for four years, which may take into account any external funding received by the student.
The Graduate Diploma (GDip) is a professional graduate program and students in this program are expected to fund their own education. The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies has a needs-based bursary program to assist full-time students in professional graduate programs whose costs exceed their government loan.
Both full-time and part-time students who are eligible have access to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) for any financial need not met by other sources of funding.
An extensive list of internal and external funding opportunities is maintained by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS). Please visit the Funding Opportunities web page for more details. All students are encouraged to apply for funding at the time they apply for admission to Graduate Studies at Western Law.
All eligible applicants are expected to apply for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS).
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