Graduate students of Brandon University rejoice! A number of opportunities for scholarships and internships have arisen within the past week. While the majority are for graduate students, there is also one scholarship intended for undergraduate students – the information for the majority of undergraduate scholarships will be available outside of the scholarships office in the Mackenzie Building later this term.

Brandon University has a scholarship competition for those Manitoba undergraduate students intending to go on to graduate studies at BU called the Brandon University Manitoba Graduate Scholarships (BU-MGS) Competition. Funded by the province of Manitoba and awarded by BU, the purpose of this scholarship is to make sure that Manitoba’s scholars continue their studies at home, foster research that will stimulate economic growth, and attract excellent students in Manitoba. BU-MGS awards five grants of $15,000 per year to full-time graduate students who have demonstrated academic excellence and research potential. The application deadline is March 1st, 2017, and there will be an information session on Tuesday, January 24th from 12:40pm to 1:30pm in Health Studies Room 045. Those wishing to attend should RSVP to Kerry Murkin (murkink@brandonu.ca) by Friday, January 20th.

A call has been put out for Parliamentary interns. Ten university graduates will be chosen for a 10-month internship on Parliament Hill. The Parliamentary Internship Programme is an initiative of the Canadian Political Science Association in cooperation with the House of Commons, and applicants may come from any discipline, as long as they are a Canadian citizen under the age of 35. Over the course of the ten months, the interns will work with two Members of Parliament, one from the leading government and one from the official opposition. Interns will be given a $23,000 stipend, and will be expected to work full time hours. Applications are due by January 31st, 2017. For more information, see https://pip-psp.org/home.

The undergraduate scholarship is directed towards students in the natural sciences and engineering fields. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has given ten BU professors grant money to award to a student in their fields. Students must apply to work with the professor, and the professor must approve of the student working with them. The scholarship is designed to give students research experience before starting their careers or continuing their education. Students are encouraged to apply for the NSERC scholarship before February 1st.