Canadian Government NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships for PGS-Doctoral Students 2024: (Deadline 17 October, 2024)

The Canada Graduate Scholarships — Doctoral (CGS D) program is a federal program of scholarships administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Scholarships are awarded through national competitions by these three granting agencies.

The CGS D program supports and promotes research excellence in a wide variety of disciplines and broad fields of natural sciences and engineering, health and social sciences and humanities, including interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research. This support allows scholars to concentrate on their doctoral studies more fully, to seek out the best research mentors in their chosen fields and to contribute to the Canadian research ecosystem during and beyond the tenure of their awards.

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Canadian Government NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships

Aim and Benefits of Canadian Government NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships

• The objective of the Canada Graduate Scholarships — Doctoral (CGS D) program is to promote continued excellence in Canadian research by rewarding and retaining high-calibre doctoral students at Canadian institutions. By providing support for a high-quality research training experience to awardees, the CGS D program strives to foster impacts within and beyond the research environment.

Benefits:

• Value is $35,000 per year for three years.

Canadian Government NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships Courses

• Engineering
• Natural sciences

Requirements for Canadian Government NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships Qualification

To be eligible to apply, you must

• Be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), as of the application deadline
• Have completed no more than 24 months of full-time study in your doctoral program or the PhD portion of your joint professional undergraduate/PhD program (such as MD/PhD, JD/PhD, DVM/PhD) by December 31 of the calendar year of application if previously enrolled in a graduate program
• Have completed no more than 36 months of full-time study in your doctoral program by December 31 of the calendar year of application if enrolled directly from a bachelor’s to a PhD program (without having completed or enrolled in another graduate program)
  • direct-entry applicants must be enrolled in their doctoral program at the time of application
• Have completed no more than 36 months of full-time study in the PhD portion of your joint professional undergraduate/PhD program (such as MD/PhD, JD/PhD, DVM/PhD) by December 31 of the calendar year of application if you have not previously enrolled in another graduate program
  • if you have not previously completed or enrolled in another graduate program, you must be enrolled in your joint MD/PhD program at the time of application
• Have completed no more than 36 months of full-time study in your joint program by December 31 of the calendar year of application if enrolled in a joint graduate program (such as, MA/PhD, MSc/PhD, MBA/PhD)
  • if you fall into this category, you have access to the 36-month window whether or not you were previously enrolled in a master’s program

Note: If you are eligible to apply to the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s (CGS M) program, you may be able to maximize your potential period of funding by applying to the CGS M program for your first year of doctoral funding instead of the CGS D program. You are responsible for choosing the type of award for which you apply. See Other restrictions below for more information.

Number of months

Eligibility for CGS D is based on the number of months of full-time study, including summer months, toward the degree for which you are requesting funding by December 31 of the calendar year of application. Two terms of part-time study count as one term of full-time study.

Note: The agencies count all studies toward the doctoral degree for which funding is requested, whether or not they were completed at the degree-granting institution.

Fast-track and joint programs

Fast-track: If you were registered in a master’s program and subsequently transferred to a doctoral program (fast-track), the months of study completed are calculated starting from the date on which you transferred into the doctoral program.

Joint programs: If you are registered in a joint program and a master’s degree is obtained as part of the program (for example, MA/PhD, MSc/PhD), the months of study are calculated starting from the date on which you are officially registered in the joint program (including the master’s portion of the program).

If you are registered in a joint professional undergraduate/PhD program (such as MD/PhD, JD/PhD, DVM/PhD), only the months of study in the PhD portion will be counted.

Other restrictions

• You can submit a maximum of one scholarship or fellowship application per academic year to either NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC. Should more than one application be submitted, the eligible application submitted first chronologically will be retained. Nominations to the Vanier CGS program and applications to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program do not count toward this limit (other exceptions may apply to CIHR internships)
• You cannot have already received a doctoral-level scholarship from NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC (does not apply to CIHR Fellowships)
• You cannot hold a tenure or tenure-track appointment concurrently with your CGS D award

Program of study:

• An eligible doctoral program must include a significant research component that leads to the completion of a thesis, major research project, dissertation, scholarly publication, performance, recital and/or exhibit that is merit/expert-reviewed at the institutional level as a requirement for completion of the program.
• Joint programs with a professional degree (for example, MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD, MBA/PhD) as well as clinically oriented programs of study, including clinical psychology, are eligible if they have a significant autonomous research component as described above.

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Subject matter eligibility

• NSERC supports research whose major challenges lie in the natural sciences and engineering (NSE), other than the health sciences. The intended objective(s) of your research must primarily be to advance knowledge in one or more NSE disciplines.
• It is strongly recommended that you refer to the Selecting the appropriate federal granting agency web page for more information about the agencies’ mandates and to the Addendum to the guidelines for the eligibility of applications related to health web page for examples of eligible and ineligible research subject matters related to NSERC’s mandate.
• If your proposed research falls outside of NSERC’s mandate, and you are not offered a CGS D award, your application may be deemed ineligible for the PGS D program.
• NSERC staff may consult, as required, with outside experts or officials at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for input before reaching a decision on subject matter eligibility.

If you have questions or concerns regarding the eligibility of your subject matter, email schol@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Canadian Government NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships

Institutional review:

• The faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at each Canadian institution is responsible for coordinating the institutional evaluation of CGS D applications. Institutions then submit applications according to their quotas for consideration to each agency.

Agency review:

• Agency selection committees review applications (whether sent directly to the agencies or via the institutions).

Indigenous student researchers:

• Institutions may recommend applications from self-identified Indigenous student researchers to the doctoral awards competition beyond their application quota. Self-identified Indigenous student researchers must agree to their personal information being used for this purpose by making the appropriate selection in the application form.

Black student researchers:

• The Government of Canada has deployed additional funds to increase direct support for Black student researchers. CGS D applicants who self-identify as Black and provide consent to be considered for funds targeted towards specific groups may be selected to receive this funding. Each agency has a limited number of additional CGS D awards reserved for this initiative.

For more information, consult the Frequently asked questions about the new Black scholars funding.

Selection criteria:

The evaluation of CGS D applications, whether by institutions or the agencies, is based on the following criteria:

San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment:

• In 2019, NSERC, CIHR and SSHRC, along with other Canadian research funding agencies, signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). The agencies are committed to meaningful assessment of excellence in research funding and to ensuring that a wide range of research results and outcomes are considered and valued as part of the assessment process. They will continue work to ensure that their strategies, policies and guidance align with DORA.

Notification of results:

• Applicants whose applications were submitted to the agencies, whether directly or via their institution, will be notified of results by April 30.
• The agencies will publish the names (and other basic award information) of scholarship recipients on their respective websites.
• For more information, see the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Application Deadline

17 October, 2024

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Canadian Government on ebiz.nserc.ca to applySelecting the appropriate agency:

• You should complete the agency application that is best aligned with your research subject matter to ensure that it is reviewed by experts in disciplines closest to your field(s) of study. For more information refer to Selecting the appropriate federal granting agency.

To complete the application process, refer to the appropriate agency’s application website and instructions.

• NSERC: Online system and instructions
• CIHR: ResearchNET and instructions
• SSHRC: Online system and instructions

Incomplete applications may be rejected from the competition.

Where to submit an application

You must apply either through a Canadian institution or directly to the appropriate agency depending on your registration status at the application deadline date and/or your registration status in the calendar year of application. Failure to submit an application through the correct channel will result in your application being rejected.

To determine the correct channel, you must

• determine if an institution has a quota for your selected agency
• refer to the chart and supporting information in the Where should I submit my application? flowchart

If you are unsure of your registration status in the calendar year of application, contact your faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent).

Quotas

The term “quota” refers to the maximum number of applications an institution can forward to each agency’s national competition. Institutions receive separate quotas from each agency (NSERC, CIHR and SSHRC).

Application deadlines

Institution deadlines

• If you are applying through an institution, you must submit your application by the deadline set by the institution, which may be well in advance of the agency deadline.
• For more information about institutional deadlines, you should contact your faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent).

Agency deadlines

• If you are eligible to apply directly to one of the agencies (consult the Where should I submit my application? flowchart), you must submit your application using the appropriate agency application portal before 8:00 p.m. (ET) on October 17. If the deadline falls on a weekend, applications can be submitted the following business day before 8:00 p.m. (ET). Incomplete applications may be rejected.

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