MURA endowed scholarships and prize

MURA has supported academic awards for McMaster students since 1991.

Current Awards

Undergraduate

• The McMaster University Retirees Association In-Course Scholarship, given to the student enrolled in Level 2 or above of a program in Aging and Society who attains the highest Fall-Winter average; $2,500 awarded annually. Established in 1991.
• The McMaster University Retirees Association Graduand Prize, given to a student graduating from a program in Aging and Society who attains high averages; $1,000 awarded annually. Established in 1992.

Graduate

• The MURA Academic Scholarship, awarded by the School of Graduate Studies to a graduate student researching technological advances related to seniors and who demonstrates academic excellence; $1,000 awarded annually. Established in 2020.

The undergraduate scholarship is presented at Fall Convocation, the graduand prize is given at the end of the academic year, and the graduate scholarship is awarded in February. The recipients are recognized and honoured at the annual MURA Holiday Lunch.

History of the Awards

Undergraduate Awards

In 1991, MURA decided to give a $300 annual scholarship to a full-time undergraduate gerontology student. The scholarship was first awarded in 1992/93. A $100 annual prize for a part-time gerontology student was added the next year. The amounts were later increased to a $1,000 scholarship and a $250 prize. These original awards were funded from MURA's operating budget.

In 2005-2006, MURA no longer asked for voluntary fees from its members because the McMaster University Faculty Association, the McMaster Staff Association (now Unifor Local 5555), the University President's Office, and later SEIU agreed to support MURA’s budget. These funding arrangements are still in place.

In lieu of membership fees, MURA started a campaign to raise money for an academic awards endowment fund. The original fundraising goal of $32,000 was met by the fall of 2009, which permanently endowed the $1,000 scholarship and $250 prize. By 2012, a new funding goal of $50,000 had been reached, increasing the scholarship to $1,250 and the prize to $350. By August 2015, we had reached and surpassed a third funding goal of $64,000. The fund stood at $69,000 at that point, raising the scholarship to $2,000 and the prize to $550.

The most recent fundraising goal for the undergraduate endowment of $85,000 was reached in December 2018. With this goal reached and availability of a one-time fund surplus, the graduand prize increased to $750 in May 2019, and the scholarship amount to $2,500 in fall 2019.

In 2018, the terms of the undergraduate awards were changed to reflect the incorporation of gerontological studies into the new department of Health, Aging and Society.

In the spring of 2019, the part-time student prize was changed to a graduand award, available to both full and part-time students.

Graduate awards

MURA launched a fundraising drive in November 2020 to establish a new academic endowment fund for graduate student awards. The fundraising goal of $25,000, which provides a $1,000 annual scholarship to a graduate student researching technological advances related to seniors, was reached in March 2023. Retirees and friends of MURA donated over $22,000 to this fund. MURA donated $3,000 from surplus funds to top up the endowment so the first annual scholarship could be awarded in 2023.

Support the Awards

Donations from MURA members and friends are most welcome and are encouraged on a continuing basis. Additional funding will enable MURA to raise the value of our undergraduate and graduate awards to help keep up with the rising cost of education.