Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships Program

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships Program

A Vanier CGS is valued at $50,000 per year for up to three years.

Canada is building world-class research capacity by recruiting top-tier doctoral students, both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to our economic, social and research-based growth for a prosperous future. To promote this world-class excellence, the Government of Canada has created the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS) program. Once in full operation, this program will support 500 international and Canadian doctoral students with highly prestigious scholarships.

The Vanier CGS program reaffirms Canada as a global centre of excellence in research and education. The program supports Canada’s science and technology policy direction, which capitalizes on people, strengthens knowledge and encourages entrepreneurial advantages to build a competitive Canada.

The scholarships are administered by Canada's three federal granting agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

The Vanier CGS program aims to attract and retain world-class doctoral students by supporting students who demonstrate both leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health. Canadian and international students are eligible to be nominated for a Vanier CGS.

Students wishing to apply for a Vanier CGS must do so through the Canadian university to which they are applying for doctoral studies. Based on their allocations, universities will forward a limited number of nominations to the appropriate federal research granting agency— CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC.

Value and Duration

A Vanier CGS is valued at $50,000 per year for up to three years.

When can the award be taken up?

Award recipients must take their award up in the first semester (May or September) following the announcement of results if they:

* have already undertaken their doctoral program of study at the Canadian nominating university; or
* have already undertaken a doctoral program of study at a Canadian university and will be transferring to a doctoral program at the Canadian nominating university.

Award recipients can take their award up in May, September or January following the announcement of results if they:

* have not yet started a doctoral program of study; or
* will transfer from a doctoral program at an international university to a doctoral program at the Canadian nominating university.


Application deadline

Without exception, all nominations from Canadian universities must be submitted via ResearchNet and received by the federal research granting agencies by November 6, 2009. Late or incomplete nominations will not be considered.


Eligibility

To be considered for a Vanier CGS, you must:

* be nominated by only one Canadian university, which must have received a Vanier CGS allocation;
* intend to pursue, in the summer semester or the academic year following the announcement of results, full-time graduate studies and research at an eligible Canadian university at the doctoral level in the social sciences or humanities (where combined MA/PhD programs may also be eligible), the natural sciences or engineering, or a health-related field (where combined MD/PhD programs may also be eligible);
* not intend to pursue a degree program that combines undergraduate and graduate degrees;
* have completed between zero and 20 months of doctoral studies as of May 1 following the announcement of results (see Notes below);
* be seeking financial support to pursue your first doctoral degree (or combined MA/PhD or MD/PhD);
* have achieved a first-class average, as determined by your university, in each of the last two years of full-time study or equivalent (see Notes below); and
* not have already received a scholarship or fellowship from SSHRC, NSERC or CIHR to undertake or complete a doctoral degree or combined MA/PhD or MD/PhD.

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