NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship - Doctoral (CGS-D)/Postgraduate Scholarship - Doctoral (PGS-D) Competition

The CGS-D is valued at $40,000/year (tenable only in Canada), for three years.

The PGS-D is valued at $40,000/year (tenable in Canada and abroad), for three years.

Eligibility requirements:

• Must be a Canadian citizen, 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;
• Have completed no more than 24 months of full-time study in their doctoral program or the PhD portion of the 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 the PhD portion of their joint professional undergraduate/PhD program (such as MD/PhD, JD/PhD, DVM/PhD) by December 31 of the calendar year of application if they have not previously enrolled in another graduate program
  • students who have not previously completed or enrolled in another graduate program must be enrolled in their joint MD/PhD program at the time of application
• Have completed no more than 36 months of full-time study in their 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 students fall into this category, they have access to the 36-month window whether or not they were previously enrolled in a master’s program
• Have completed no more than 36 months of full-time study in their 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 who are not enrolled in their doctoral program should contact the appropriate agency for further guidance.
• Submit only one award application to either CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC in a given academic year (nominations to the Vanier CGS program do not count towards this limit). Should more than one application be submitted, the eligible application submitted first chronologically will be retained;
• Not have already received a doctoral-level scholarship or fellowship from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC.
• Proposed research must clearly lie within the natural sciences and engineering (NSE), rather than the health sciences. Refer to NSERC's Eligibility Criteria for Students and Fellows for additional information.
• Students who 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 they transferred into the doctoral program.
• Students in joint programs with a professional degree as well as clinically oriented programs of study are to refer to NSERC's website.
• Note: if students who are eligible to apply to the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s (CGS M) program, they may be able to maximize your potential period of funding by applying to the CGS M program for the first year of doctoral funding instead of the CGS D program. Students are responsible for choosing the type of award for which they apply. See Other restrictions on the CGSD website for more information.

For complete eligibility requirements and other restrictions, visit the NSERC Website.

Applicants are evaluated and selected according to criteria in the following categories:

• Research ability and potential - 50%
• Relevant experience and achievements obtained within and beyond academia - 50%

For complete selection criteria, please visit the NSERC Website.

The application submission deadline listed below is for applications submitted through the University of Alberta only. Failure to submit an application through the correct channel may result in an application being removed from the competition. For more information, refer to the flow chart “Where should I submit my application?” of the CGS D Scholarships descriptions. This flowchart details which option should be selected within the online application form. Note: all applicants registered in a degree program at the U of A (with a quota) at any time during the calendar year of application (January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024) must apply through the U of A, even if they intend to pursue their doctoral studies at an institution other than the U of A.

Applications submitted this Fall 2024 term are for awards to start May or September 2025, or January 2026.

1. Review 2025 NSERC Memo to Students and Departments and the PGSD/CGSD Program details and requirements.

2. Start NSERC's Online Application:
Students are to complete a full application by following NSERC's Application instructions, and submit through NSERC's On-line Services portal. It is the student's responsibility to read all instructions and be familiar with the application process before applying. GPS accesses U of A applications from the agency portal for university review and adjudication.

• Students should consider requesting letters of recommendation (NSERC's Reports on the Applicant) as early as possible in order to meet the application submission deadline of October 3, 2024. It is highly recommended students give their referees a deadline at least one week prior to any application deadline in order to avoid possible delays/changes. Students are responsible for ensuring their references have completed and successfully submitted the Report on the Applicant via the NSERC online portal.
• Edits or corrections such as spelling, grammar, formatting, attachments, etc. are the responsibility of the student and will not be checked by GPS. Students who do not follow NSERC's application instructions and On-line Presentation and Attachment Standards may jeopardize their application.

University Transcript Policy and Requirements – applicants who do not adhere to these instructions may be rejected:

U of A Transcripts: U of A unofficial transcripts (printed from BearTracks) will be accepted

• U of A transcripts must be up-to-date and show current full time registration (courses/thesis in progress) if the applicant is currently registered.
• Transcripts associated with transfer credit MUST be included.
• GPS will not print an unofficial U of A transcript for institutional review should the student submit an outdated or incomplete transcript. Outdated/incomplete copies will render the students’ application incomplete and will be rejected.

Other Institution Transcripts: certified true copies of official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate studies from other institutions attended are required. Opening and scanning a paper transcript, or providing a copy of an official e-transcript will not render the transcript unofficial:

• Transcripts must be up-to-date; students are responsible for obtaining official transcripts
• Transcripts associated with transfer credit MUST be included.
• GPS does not provide copies of transcripts from student records held at the U of A (includes transcripts from other Canadian/international post-secondary institutions, and transcripts included in former, recent, or in progress admission/award applications). Students are responsible for ensuring transcripts for all institutions attended are are included in their application.
• Missing, unofficial, or illegible transcripts may deem students' applications as incomplete and will not be reviewed. Refer to SSHRC’s Application Instructions. These instructions are imperative, as non-compliance with transcript related guidelines is the primary reason for the rejection of applications.
• One copy of the legend (reverse of each transcript) must be included
• Self-produced transcripts or mark sheets from institutions’ self-served student systems are considered unofficial and will not be considered.

It is the student's responsibility to ensure that their transcripts are complete and legible once uploaded. In all cases, the applicant is responsible for ensuring that the application is complete by reviewing the final version of the online application.

4. Application Deadline and Submission
October 3, 2024, 11:59 pm (MST): Deadline for students to submit their completed application via NSERC's On-line Services portal (including Reports on the Applicant and uploaded transcripts). Note that there is no system shutoff in NSERC's portal October 3, 11:59 pm; however, student’s applications will be date and time stamped once submitted, and this will be the copy used for university review and adjudication. Applications submitted after this date will not be accepted and extension requests will not be granted.

• Students registered in a degree program at the U of A (with a quota) at any time during the calendar year of application (January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2024) are to select “Form 201 PGS D applicants applying through a Canadian University”. If they do not, GPS will not receive the application. It is the students’ responsibility to follow “Where should I submit my application?” and choose the appropriate selection according to their registration status. Failure to submit an application through the correct channel will result in the application being rejected.
• Changes cannot be made after the application has been submitted. Students will not be offered the opportunity to revise their applications.
• Students are responsible for ensuring their references have completed and successfully submitted the Report on the Applicant via the NSERC online portal by October 3, 2024.
• Edits or corrections such as spelling, grammar, formatting, attachments, etc. are the responsibility of the student and will not be checked by GPS. Students who do not follow NSERC's application instructions and On-line Presentation and Attachment Standards may jeopardize their application.
• Clicking "Submit" does not mean that a student's application has been automatically forwarded to the national NSERC competition. All eligible applications will be shared to the Graduate Scholarship Committee (GSC) adjudicators for review.

NOTE: Institutions are permitted to recommend an unlimited number of self-identified Indigenous* applicants to the PGS D program above their application quota. To be considered for this, Indigenous applicants must provide consent within the application form to share this information with their institutions and NSERC.

*“Indigenous peoples” is a collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants. “Aboriginal peoples” is often used as a synonym. For the purposes of these programs, NSERC uses the Canadian Constitution act, 1982 definition as including the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.

All complete and eligible applications are reviewed by the GPS Graduate Scholarship Committee. A list of recommended applications is chosen and sent to NSERC for final adjudication at the national level by November 21, 2024. The University of Alberta's quota of recommended applications for the 2025 competition year is 64.

NSERC will notify all recommended applicants of final decisions by April 2025.

See Application Procedures including the 2025 NSERC Memo to Students and Departments for complete details leading up to the application submission deadline.

October 3, 2024, 11:59 pm (MST): Deadline for students to submit their completed application via NSERC's On-line Services portal.

October 4 - Mid October, 2024: GPS Award Services reviews applications for eligibility and completeness. Note: Students will not be offered the opportunity to revise their applications.

Mid October - Mid November, 2024: GPS's Graduate Scholarship Committee reviews applications and selects nominees to be forwarded to NSERC for review at the national level.

November 21, 2024: Deadline for GPS to forward university nominations to NSERC for the national competition.

End of November, 2024: Results of the NSERC competition at the University level will be shared with Departments. Students whose applications have been forwarded to NSERC will receive a notification from GPS. Unsuccessful students will be notified via the NSERC portal.

April 2025: Final NSERC doctoral results are expected to be announced.

• Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement: Active CGS-D holders who wish to undertake research outside of Canada for a defined period of time may consider applying for this supplement.

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada Aquatic Science Supplements and the Supplement for Research in Field Impact Assessment:
  • Active NSERC PGS-D and CGS-D awards holders with research in the areas of ocean science and impact assessment are eligible for the supplements. NSERC will identify applications from amongst active award holders; no further application is required for these supplements.
  • Offers will be made to award holders from NSERC. Payments will be made in the same manner as the award: via GPS.

• Information of additional supplements are available on NSERC’s website.

The Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) is the primary contact and administrator for the NSERC Doctoral award and its regulations for the term the student holds the award. Recipients planning to accept the award at the U of A (activate Payment of Award: Awards paid by Canadian institutions) are to proceed with the following steps:

1) Advise NSERC if the award will be accepted (for May 1, Sept 1, or Jan 1).

2) Submit the following two documents to grad.awards@ualberta.ca:

• Copy of the offer letter “Notification of Results” from NSERC’s secure site
• Tri-Agency's Request for First Instalment or Reinstatement of Award Paid by Canadian Institution form.
  • This form is required to pay the award at the university. Students are to ensure to complete the appropriate form “Paid by Canadian Institution”, not “Award Paid Directly to Award Holder”.
  • Complete Parts 1, 2, and 3; leave Part 4 blank. GPS will sign and complete this section as the university official, and will return to the agency on students’ behalf.  
  • Note that the start date may be changed from the "Proposed Start Date" as initially indicated on the application.
  • When selecting the start date, consider other sources of funding (if applicable) that will be held or currently hold (ex. other awards, department funding) to ensure there are no conflicts with overlap. 

Students’ renewable award will be viewable in the GSMS Awards Portal under “My Awards” with the status of "Awaiting Renewal". GPS will notify students approximately 2 months prior to the renewal start date when it will be viewable in GSMS.

It is the student’s responsibility to send the renewal request to GPS via GSMS approximately 4 weeks before the start of the renewal year. Requests for renewals are subject to review by GPSS Awards Staff. Note that the value and specifics of the award may be adjusted. Renewal request requirements:

1) Student supervisor's authorization via GSMS 

To request the supervisor's authorization and to renew the award, follow the complete GSMS Awards: Renew My Award instructions (also available on GPS’s website under Awards and Funding/Award Resources/Student Resources/Renew my Award). 

 Enter a due-date for the supervisor sign-off that is as late as possible before the renewal deadline. Ensure the request is properly submitted; incomplete submission requests may result in delayed payments. 

2) Required form for all Tri-Council (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) Doctoral award holders: the completed Tri-Agency Doctoral Awards Progress Report (also available in the Forms Cabinet (under Awards\Awards Management)):

• the Progress Report must be signed by the Department's Graduate Coordinator/Chair (not the student’s program supervisor); students are responsible for securing the appropriate signature from their Department.
• the Progress Report is required to initiate payments; it is students’ responsibility to ensure that the Progress Report is complete in every respect, once uploaded. If incomplete, including missing signature(s) and/or unmarked checkbox (Student Progress), delays in processing will occur and may result in delayed payments

3) Award requirements: students must meet the eligibility requirements of their award set out within the Graduate Scholarship Committee Scholarships and Awards Manual (SAM). 

• the SAM is located in GPS's Forms Cabinet.
• the award is also subject to the regulations outlined in the Tri-Agency Research Training Award Holder’s Guide.

4) Full-time registration: students are to ensure they are full-time registered in their program during the tenure of the award. Students are to contact their home department if assistance with registration is required.