Graduate Scholarship Supplements for Students With Disabilities
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026 • Scholarships & Funding, Canadian Universities & Colleges
There is no single tri-agency disability supplement added automatically to every scholarship, but graduate students with disabilities combine a federal grant worth up to $20,000 a year, a university accessibility grant, and disability-related travel costs built into some tri-agency funding.
💵 The Canada Student Grant for Services and Equipment for Students with Disabilities pays up to $20,000 per loan year in 2025-26.
🎓 Universities such as the University of Toronto run their own graduate accessibility grant, assessed case by case.
📩 Apply for each source separately, and register with your campus accessibility office before you apply for any of them.
A tri-agency travel supplement covers disability accommodation costs for funded research travel.
What exists, and what does not
Tri-agency scholarships, the Canada Graduate Research Scholarships run by CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, do not carry a dedicated add-on supplement for students with disabilities the way they do for Indigenous scholars. Support for disability-related costs at the graduate level comes from a different set of programs: a federal grant tied to your provincial student aid application, university-run accessibility grants, and in one specific case, an allowable cost category inside a tri-agency travel award. Knowing which program applies to your situation matters more than looking for one program that covers everything.
The federal grant: CSG-DSE
The Canada Student Grant for Services and Equipment for Students with Disabilities pays up to $20,000 per loan year for the 2025-26 cycle, meant to cover services and equipment supporting your studies: note-takers, tutors, assistive technology and similar disability-related educational costs. Access it through your province's student aid application, OSAP, StudentAid BC and the equivalent elsewhere, alongside or instead of a student loan, with documentation of a permanent disability on file with your institution or province.
Apply as early as your province's cycle allows. Assistive technology and support services often need to be in place before your term starts, not requested partway through.
University-run accessibility grants
A number of Canadian universities run their own graduate-level accessibility fund, separate from federal or provincial aid. The University of Toronto's SGS Accessibility Grant is assessed case by case, aimed at costs not already covered by your institution, your province, or a federal program. Ask your own graduate studies office whether an equivalent fund exists, since these rarely appear in general scholarship search tools and are usually administered directly by the graduate school or the campus accessibility office.
Disability accommodation inside a tri-agency travel supplement
If you already hold a Canada Graduate Research Scholarship, NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship, SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship or Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, the tri-agency Research Travel Supplement lists disability-related accommodation among its eligible expenses for research travel of two to six months. This applies only if you are traveling for research under that award. It is not a general disability grant, but if travel is part of your research plan, build these costs into the application rather than assuming they are not covered.
Where these sources compare
| Source | Typical value | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| CSG-DSE (federal, through provincial aid) | Up to $20,000 per loan year (2025-26) | Assistive technology, note-takers, tutors, disability-related services |
| University accessibility grant (for example, the SGS Accessibility Grant) | Case by case | Costs not covered by other sources |
| Tri-agency Research Travel Supplement | $9,000, if applicable | Disability accommodation during funded research travel only |
Check for a provincial layer too
Some provinces run their own disability-related bursary or grant alongside the federal CSG-DSE, under a different name than the federal program. Check your province's student aid site, OSAP, StudentAid BC, Alberta Student Aid, and the equivalent elsewhere, for the current program name and whether it stacks with the federal grant or replaces part of it.
Apply for each source on its own track
Register with your campus accessibility or disability office first. Most of the funding above requires documentation that starts there.
Apply for CSG-DSE through your provincial student aid portal for the current academic year.
Ask your Faculty or School of Graduate Studies whether an internal accessibility grant exists, and apply directly with whatever documentation and cost estimates it asks for.
If you hold a tri-agency award and plan to travel for research, include disability accommodation costs in your Research Travel Supplement application rather than filing for them separately.
Keep a running record of what each program has already paid for. Programs assessed case by case, like a university accessibility grant, typically ask what other funding you have already received for the same cost, so a clear record speeds up your application instead of slowing it down.
Where the gaps still sit
None of these three replace disability-related accommodations your university already provides as part of your program, extended exam time or alternate format materials arranged through your accessibility office at no extra cost to you. They also do not reach living costs beyond what CSG-DSE and your regular student aid package already fund. If a specific cost does not fit any of the three categories above, ask your campus accessibility office directly. Many have a small discretionary fund or know which government or university office to redirect the request to.