Canada Graduate Scholarships — Master’s program

Objective

The objective of the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s (CGS M) program is to help develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies.

Description

The CGS M program provides financial support to high-calibre scholars who are engaged in an eligible master’s or, in some cases, doctoral program in Canada (refer to Eligibility for more information). This support allows these scholars to fully concentrate on their studies in their chosen fields.

The CGS M program supports up to 3,000 students annually in all disciplines and is administered jointly by Canada’s three granting agencies: 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). The selection process and post-award administration are carried out at the institutional level, under the guidance of the three agencies. Students submit their application to the institution at which they intend to hold their award using the  Research Portal.

Eligibility

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 date
• be enrolled in, have applied for or will apply for full-time admission* to an eligible graduate program at the master’s or doctoral level at a Canadian institution with a CGS M allocation
• respect the internal deadline to apply for admission for your intended program of study—contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the selected Canadian institution(s) for more detailed information
• have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application
• either between 0 and 12 months of full-time studies (or full-time equivalent) in the program for which you are requesting funding,** which may be one of the following:
  • a master’s program
  • a doctoral program that you are entering directly from a bachelor’s program without having ever been enrolled in any graduate programs (direct-entry)
  • a combined master’s-doctoral program
  • a master’s program that will transition to an eligible doctoral program, either before or after award activation, with no master’s degree conferred (fast-track)
  • a master’s program for which the degree requirements will be completed before the end of the award, allowing the award to continue into an eligible doctoral program
• or between 4 and 12 months of full-time study (or full-time equivalent) in an eligible master’s program for which the degree requirements will be completed before activation of the award at that same institution, allowing it to be activated during the first 12 months of the subsequent doctoral program for which you are requesting funding
• not have held or be currently holding a CGS M scholarship from NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC
• not have held or be currently holding an Indigenous Scholars Award and Supplement
• have achieved a first-class average**, as determined by the host institution, in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent)
  • Note: Institutions may, at their discretion, accept CGS M applications from individuals who have not obtained a first-class average; contact your proposed host institutions to determine their use of this eligibility criterion
• submit a maximum of one scholarship (master’s or doctoral) or fellowship application per academic year to either NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC
  • Note: Should more than one application be submitted, the eligible application submitted first chronologically will be retained
  • Note: 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 programs)

*Refer to the Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide for details regarding part-time admission.
**All studies credited toward the eligible program will be counted, whether or not they were completed at the degree-granting institution. Two terms of part-time study count as one term of full-time study.

Program of study eligibility

An eligible graduate 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/MA, JD/PhD, MBA/PhD, MA/MBA) as well as clinically oriented programs of study, including clinical psychology, are eligible if they have a significant autonomous research component, as described above.

Master’s programs that are based only on course work are typically not eligible since they do not include a significant research component, as described above.

Given the specific requirements of certain disciplines, institutions are invited to contact the appropriate agency for guidance on the eligibility of programs of study.

Eligible locations of tenure

Without exception, CGS M awards are tenable only at eligible Canadian institutions.

Field of research and subject matter eligibility

NSERC, CIHR and SSHRC support and promote high-quality research in a wide variety of disciplines and areas, which are divided into broad fields of research (health, natural sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities). This includes research that bridges two or more disciplines or that requires the skills of several disciplines.

You must ensure that you are submitting your application to an institution that has an allocation for the field of research you intend to pursue. Applications deemed by a host institution to have been labelled incorrectly will be re-labelled according to the agency’s research subject matter guidelines (refer to  Selecting the appropriate federal granting agency). You should contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution where you intend to hold the award for further guidance on subject matter eligibility.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

The Tri-agency is acting on the evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding, and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-agency statement on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Black student researchers

The Government of Canada has deployed additional funds to increase direct support for Black student researchers. CGS M applicants who self-identify as Black and provide consent in their application to be considered for funds designated for specific groups may be able to receive this funding through a scholarship as part of this initiative. Each agency has a limited number of additional CGS M awards reserved for this initiative.

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

Application procedures

To apply to the CGS M program, you must complete and submit an application to up to three institutions using the Research Portal. Consult the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s program: Instructions for completing an application for more information on how to apply.

Allocations

Eligible Canadian institutions are assigned a separate allocation of awards to offer from each agency. Institutions must respect the agency-specific allocation. Refer to the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s award allocations page for a list of allocations by institution and by agency.

Deadline

The deadline for CGS M applications is December 1, before 8:00 p.m. (ET). Complete applications must be submitted by the deadline using the  Research Portal. If the deadline falls on a weekend, applications must be submitted by the following business day before 8:00 p.m. (ET).

Note: As the application deadline approaches, delays may occur due to a high volume of users on the Research Portal, which may prevent the timely submission of your application. It is your responsibility to strictly follow the instructions for completing an application. Requests to submit late applications will not be accepted.

Selection process

The faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at each institution is responsible for coordinating the selection process for the CGS M applications. Refer to Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s program information and instructions for scholarships liaison officers for more information on the selection process.

Selection criteria

The merit review of CGS M applications will be carried out by institutions with an allocation and will be based on the following evaluation 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). As such, 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

Offers of awards will be available in the  Research Portal as of April 1. Alternate offers may be made up until January 31 of the next calendar year. It is your responsibility to regularly check the Research Portal between April 1 and January 31 for results of the competition. Refer to the instructions for completing an application for more information on the notification of results.

Conditions of the award

Location of tenure

Awards must be held at the institution where the offer of award originates. Awards are not intended to be portable; however, at the discretion of the host institution and with agency approval, exceptions may be made in certain circumstances (for example, parental reasons, medical or pandemic-related reasons, family-related responsibilities, or exceptional supervision circumstances).

Policies and guidelines

You must comply with the policies and guidelines set out in the Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide and in any other documents related to scholarship applications and awards. In addition, the award is subject to final approval by the relevant agency before funds can be released.

You cannot be concurrently holding another NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC award, with the exception of the Michael Smith Foreign Studies supplement (MSFSS).

The agencies reserve the right to interpret and enforce the policies and guidelines for their funding opportunities set out in their published materials.

Use and disclosure of information

All personal information collected as part of this program is used by the agencies and by the relevant officials in the eligible research institutions to review applications and to administer and monitor awards. It may also be used to determine the most appropriate funding jurisdiction, or to monitor overlap in federal support. Details on the use and disclosure of this information by the agencies are described by NSERC on the Use and disclosure of personal information provided to NSERC web page, by CIHR on the  Info source – Sources of federal government and employee information web page, by SSHRC on the  Collection, use and disclosure of personal information web page and in the relevant program literature

Each agency may publish the names and other limited award information of award holders on their websites in accordance with the agencies’ policies on disclosure under the Access to Information Act and their Privacy Act policies and guidelines related to the collection, use, retention and disposal of personal information. For more information, consult the  Access to Information Act and the  Privacy Act. In addition, for SSHRC-funded scholarships, SSHRC will provide to the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) the same information as above in advance of the public announcement of awards, for its administrative purposes and in accordance with the memorandum of understanding between SSHRC and FRQSC.

For more details regarding CIHR’s use of personal information, refer to CIHR’s Master’s Award: Canada Graduates Scholarship details on  CIHR’s Funding Opportunity web page.

Official languages

You may submit your application in the official language of your choice. Institutions must have mechanisms in place to review both English and French applications.

Related opportunities

CGS M holders may be eligible for the following related opportunities:

• Canada Graduate Scholarships – Michael Smith Foreign Study supplements
•  Department of National Defence Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) Scholarship Initiative
•  Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements Pilot Initiative

Contact

The first point of contact for the CGS M program is the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution(s) where you intend to hold the award.

You can also contact any of Canada’s three granting agencies for information about this program. You should communicate with the agency whose mandate corresponds to your field of research.

The agencies aim to respond to inquiries within 48 hours. During peak periods (November to January), response time may be delayed.

For questions about submitting an application

• to NSERC, contact schol@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
• to CIHR, contact cgsma-bescbm@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
• to SSHRC, contact fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca