Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships and NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships

What kind of support do these scholarships provide?

Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) and NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships (PGS) provide financial support to high calibre scholars who are engaged in master's or doctoral programs in the natural sciences or engineering. The CGS will be offered to the top-ranked applicants at each level (master’s and doctoral) and the next tier of meritorious applicants will be offered an NSERC PGS. This support allows these scholars to fully concentrate on their studies and seek out the best research mentors in their chosen fields. NSERC encourages interested and qualified Aboriginal students to apply.

Since total NSERC scholarship support is limited to a maximum of four years full-time equivalence, scholars are encouraged to complete their studies in an expeditious manner.

Are you eligible for scholarship support?

To be considered eligible for support, as of the application deadline date, you must:

• be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada;
• hold, or expect to hold (at the time you take up the award), a degree in science or engineering from a university whose standing is recognized by NSERC (if you have a degree in a field other than science or engineering, NSERC may accept your application at its discretion);
• intend to pursue, in the following year, full-time graduate studies and research at the master's or doctoral level in an eligible program (see Eligibility Criteria) in one of the areas of the natural sciences and engineering supported by NSERC; and
• have obtained a first-class average (a grade of "A-") in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent).

You are not eligible to receive scholarship support while you are in a qualifying year of study.

For degree programs you have completed, provide the date on which all the requirements of your degree were met, including the successful defence and submission of the corrected copy of your thesis (in accordance with your university's regulations). It is not the conferred or convocation date indicated on your transcript. The Scholarship Liaison Officer may be asked to confirm the date the degree requirements were met.

Note: You may submit only one application per year to one granting agency (NSERC or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [CIHR] or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council [SSHRC]).

What categories of scholarships are available?

There are four types of scholarships available through the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships and NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships programs: CGS M, PGS M, CGS D and PGS D.

CGS M and PGS M

These scholarships are for a maximum duration of 12 months.

To be eligible to apply:

• you must have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application, between zero and 12 months of studies (full-time equivalent) in the master’s program for which you are requesting funding; or
• if you were admitted into a doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program (you were never registered in a master’s program), you must have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application, between zero and 12 months of studies (full-time equivalent) in the doctoral program for which you are requesting funding; or
• you must have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application, no more than 12 months of studies (full-time equivalent) in a master’s program, and you are requesting funding for your doctoral program; and
• you must not have previously taken up an NSERC PGS A, PGS M, IPS 1*, or a CGS M; and
• you must not hold, or have held, a CGS M from either CIHR or SSHRC.

In evaluating your eligibility, NSERC will consider all studies counted towards the graduate degree for which funding is requested, whether completed at the degree-granting institution or not. NSERC will count two sessions of part-time study as one session of full-time study.

To hold these awards you must:

• be registered full-time in your master's or doctoral program at an eligible university; and
• take up the award in May following the announcement of the results, if you have completed 12 months of studies as of December 31 of the year of application.

Note: CGS/PGS M support will not extend beyond the 28th month of your master's program.

CGS D and PGS D

These programs offer support for 24 months or 36 months.

Note: If you entered your doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s degree and have completed between four and 12 months of studies in the doctoral program, you may be eligible to apply for a PGS M or for a PGS D. Applying for a PGS M, if you are eligible, will maximize your potential period of funding. You are responsible for choosing the type of award for which you apply.

To be eligible to apply:

• you must have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application, between zero and 24 months of studies (full-time equivalent) in the doctoral program for which you are requesting funding; or
• if you were admitted into a doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program (you were never registered in a master’s program), you must have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application, between four and 36 months of studies (full-time equivalent) in the doctoral program for which you are requesting funding;
• you must not have previously taken up an NSERC PGS B, PGS D, CGS D, IPS 2,* or a Vanier CGS; and
• you must not hold, or have held, a CGS D or Vanier CGS from either CIHR or SSHRC.

In the evaluation of your eligibility, NSERC will consider all studies counted toward the graduate degree for which funding is requested, whether completed at the degree-granting institution or not. NSERC will count two sessions of part-time study as one session of full-time study.

If you registered in a master’s degree and subsequently transferred to a doctoral degree, the months in the doctoral degree will be calculated starting from the date on which you were officially registered in your PhD program.

You will be eligible for only a two-year CGS/PGS D, if:

• you previously held a two-year PGS A or IPS 1*;
• you previously held a one-year CGS M or PGS M plus a PGS M Extension; or
• you have completed more than the full-time equivalent of 12 months of your doctoral program (24 months if you were admitted to the doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program) as of December 31 of the year that you apply for the CGS/PGS D.

To hold these awards, you must:

• be registered full-time in a doctoral program at an eligible university;
• take up the award in May following the announcement of the results if, as of December 31 of the year of application, you completed 24 months of studies in the program for which support was requested (36 months if you were admitted to the doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program).

Note: CGS/PGS D support will not extend beyond the 52nd month of your doctoral program (64th month if you were admitted to the doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program).

Maximum total duration of scholarship support

Scholarship support for graduate studies through NSERC is limited to a lifetime maximum of four years (48 months) of full-time equivalency. NSERC will include any graduate-level scholarship funding provided by SSHRC and CIHR in the calculation of previous funding support.

If you have had up to 12 months of support at the M level (through an IPS 1,* PGS M, CGS M) you are eligible for a maximum of 36 months of support at the D level (through an IPS 2,* PGS D, CGS D or Vanier CGS D) providing you meet the other eligibility criteria for those programs (months of study, etc.).

If you have had between 12 and 24 months of support at the M level (through an IPS 1,* PGS A, PGS M + PGS M extension or CGS M + PGS M extension), you are eligible for a maximum of 24 months of support at the D level (through a 24-month IPS 2,* CGS D or PGS D) providing you meet the other eligibility criteria for those programs (months of study, etc.).

Note the following exceptions to this rule:

• If you have held a 24-month IPS 1,* you may still be eligible to hold a CGS D for a period of 36 months providing you meet the other eligibility criteria (months of study, etc.).
• If you are applying for a Vanier CGS, consult the  Vanier CGS Web site for information on duration of scholarship support specific to that program.

* IPS includes all NSERC industrial postgraduate scholarship programs.

Can you hold your CGS/PGS award part-time?

CGS and NSERC PGS are also available to those who are restricted to part-time studies for reasons of disability or family responsibility.

For eligible part-time students, the stipend will be the equivalent of a full-time award spread over a longer period of time. All other CGS/PGS regulations will apply.

Where can you hold your scholarship?

Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships

Without exception, these awards are tenable only at eligible Canadian universities.

NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships

You may take up your PGS M or PGS D at any eligible Canadian university. You may also take it up at any eligible foreign university, provided you have received a previous degree in the natural sciences or engineering from a Canadian university.

How do you apply for a scholarship?

To apply for these scholarships, you must complete and submit an Application for Postgraduate Scholarship or Postdoctoral Fellowship on-line (Form 201). Read the instructions on how to complete Form 201.

There is a single application and selection process for the CGS and the NSERC PGS. The top-ranked applicants at each level, master’s and doctoral, will be offered a CGS, and the next tier of meritorious applicants will be offered an NSERC PGS.

If you are offered a CGS, but decide to take your award to an eligible foreign university and are eligible to do so, you must decline the CGS and accept a PGS award in its place.

How you apply depends on your status at the application deadline date and/or your registration status in the year of application. You must apply either through a Canadian university or directly to NSERC.

The table below presents various possibilities and explains where to submit your application. The table does not display all the possibilities. If you are unsure about how you should apply, contact NSERC schol@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

Note: If you applied directly to NSERC when you were required to apply through a Canadian university, your application will be deemed ineligible and rejected.

Application Deadlines

There are different application deadlines to keep in mind.

University Deadlines

If you are applying through your university, there is an internal deadline that your department sets for receiving applications. It would be the earliest of the deadlines, since the department will review applications before passing them along.

If you are applying through your university, the next deadline is the date when the university Faculty (School) of Graduate Studies must receive your application through the NSERC On-line System. The university will review all applications received from the departments, rank them and then send recommended applications to NSERC. The university is responsible for notifying you if your application is not forwarded to NSERC. For more information about departmental and university application deadlines, contact your current or former department, or the Faculty (School) of Graduate Studies.

NSERC Deadlines

• NSERC must receive all applications from Canadian universities by November 25 of each year.
• If you are applying directly to NSERC, your application must be submitted electronically to NSERC before 8:00 p.m. (EDT) on October 15.

Incomplete applications will be rejected.

With the exception of personal contact information, NSERC will not accept any changes or updates to your application after it has been submitted. Personal contact information may be updated by sending an e-mail to schol@nserc-crsng.gc.ca.

Review Procedures

University Review

The NSERC scholarship liaison officer at each Canadian university is responsible for coordinating the university review of CGS and NSERC PGS applications. The university review committee evaluates each master's and doctoral scholarship application within one of the following broad discipline categories that correspond to the S&F selection committees:

• Civil and mechanical engineering
• Chemical, biomedical and materials science engineering
• Electrical engineering
• Computing sciences
• Mathematical sciences
• Physics and astronomy
• Chemistry
• Earth sciences
• Evolution and Ecology
• Cellular and molecular biology
• Plant and animal biology
• Psychology

The university then submits to NSERC lists of applicants it recommends for a scholarship. Each university is assigned an overall quota of scholarship applications that it may forward to NSERC. It is up to each university to decide how it will distribute the quota (i) between master's and doctoral scholarship applicants; and (ii) among the categories listed above.

NSERC Review

NSERC scholarships and fellowships selection committees review all applications they receive (whether sent directly to NSERC or through the university review process). The committees recommend scholarships for the applicants they consider to have the best qualifications, according to the selection criteria described in the following section and within the limit of available awards.

Selection Criteria

CGS/PGS applicants are evaluated and selected according to the criteria in the following categories:

• Academic excellence
  • Academic record
  • Scholarships and awards held
  • Duration of previous studies
• Research ability or potential
  • Quality of contributions to research and development
  • Relevance of work experience and academic training to field of proposed research
  • Significance, feasibility, and merit of proposed research, and justification for location of tenure
  • Ability to think critically
  • Ability to apply skills and knowledge
  • Judgment
  • Originality
  • Initiative and autonomy
  • Enthusiasm for research
  • Determination and ability to complete projects within an appropriate period of time
• Communication, interpersonal and leadership abilities
  • The ability or potential to communicate scientific concepts clearly and logically in written and oral formats. For example, this could include:
    • quality of the application's presentation;
    • participation in preparing publications; and
    • awards for oral presentations or papers.
  • Professional and relevant extracurricular interactions and collaborations. For example, this could include:
    • mentoring;
    • teaching;
    • supervisory experience;
    • project management;
    • chairing committees;
    • organizing conferences and meetings; and
    • elected positions held.

Julie Payette-NSERC Research Scholarships

Julie Payette-NSERC Research Scholarships are the most prestigious Postgraduate Scholarships offered to 24 of the top-ranked CGS/PGS M candidates. Winners must not only display a first-class academic average, but should also demonstrate outstanding research ability and potential, excellent leadership skills and a broad range of outside interests. These awards are selected during the course of the regular Scholarships and Fellowships competition and are distributed proportionally to the number of applicants reviewed by the discipline-based committees.

NSERC André Hamer Postgraduate Prizes

The NSERC André Hamer Postgraduate Prize Master’s Level is offered to four of the most outstanding CGS recipients at the master's level. The prize is presented to the awardees in addition to their existing CGS M, and the recipients are selected from the pool of the top CGS M applicants who intend on conducting their research at a Canadian university.

The NSERC André Hamer Postgraduate Prize Doctoral Level is offered to the most outstanding Canadian or permanent resident and  Vanier CGS recipient who has applied through NSERC. The prize is presented to the awardee, in addition to their existing Vanier CGS.

Notification of Decision

NSERC notifies applicants whose applications were submitted to NSERC of the results by mail by March 31. NSERC will not provide results by telephone or e-mail. If you move after submitting your application, please inform NSERC by sending an e-mail to schol@nserc-crsng.gc.ca no later than March 1. You can also get the results from the Faculty (School) of Graduate Studies at your university.

NSERC will publish the names (and other basic award information) of scholarship recipients on its Web site. For more information, refer to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Conditions of the Award

Please refer to the appropriate Award Holder's Guide for policies and requirements about holding the award, such as the acceptance, start date, deferment, paid parental leave, holding the award on a part-time basis, etc.