Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master's (CGS-M) Competition

Eligibility requirements:

• Must be a Canadian citizen or 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.
• Must be in a graduate program with 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.
  • 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.
• Must 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
  • Refer to Application Procedures and Deadlines for the UofA
• Must 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, allowing it to be activated during the first 12 months of the subsequent doctoral program for which you are requesting funding

• Must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent)
• 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
• Submit a maximum of one scholarship (master’s or doctoral) or fellowship application per academic year to either NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC

*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.
**UofA Spring/summer terms (course and thesis-based graduate programs) are normally counted as full-time  

IMPORTANT NOTE: Special circumstances may have affected your research, professional career, record of academic or research achievement or completion of degrees. Relevant circumstances might include administrative responsibilities, maternity/parental leave, child-rearing, illness, disability, cultural or community responsibilities, socio-economic context, trauma and loss, family responsibilities or a pandemic.

The following question may apply:

• Do you have any special circumstances to take into consideration that may have affected your research, professional career, record of academic or research achievement or completion of degrees?

If you answered Yes to the above question, the following prompt and text field (5,000 characters maximum, including spaces) will appear:

• Describe any special circumstances that have had an effect on your performance or productivity (required).

See instructions for completing an application here for complete details. 

For complete eligibility consult the CGS-M website.

Contact GPS Award Services at grad.awards@ualberta.ca if further clarification regarding the eligibility requirements is required. Note that Awards Services will not pre-calculate GPA's or review transcripts to confirm eligibility.

Applications submitted this Fall 2024 term are for awards to start May or September 2025, or January 2026 (2025 CGS-M competition year). Applicants may apply for up to three Canadian post-secondary institutions through the CGS-M Research Portal, which is the Tri-Agency's electronic system for creating, managing and submitting applications for funding. Submitted applications are reviewed by the institution at which they propose to hold their award.

GPS will access prospective and current U of A student applications from the Portal, following the Tri-Agency application deadline of December 1, 2024. Winners may receive offers from multiple institutions, but may accept only one CGS-M offer; this award is NOT transferable.

1) Review the complete CGS-M Program details and requirements, and all deadlines. Prospective U of A graduate students are to note program admission deadlines stated below.

Where special circumstances exist that affected students' research, professional career, record of academic or research achievement, or completion of degrees, students are to address such where prompted.

2) Start the CGS-M Online Application:
Students are to complete a full online application in the Research Portal by following CGS-M’s Instructions for completing an application. It is the student's responsibility to read all instructions and be familiar with the application process before applying. GPS does not have access to the Research Portal prior to the deadline and cannot assist students with application materials. After complete applications have been submitted online to the Research Portal by the deadline, they cannot be revised/adjusted.

References: students should consider requesting letters of recommendation (CGS-M's Reference Assessment Forms) as early as possible in order to meet the application submission deadline of December 1, 2024. It is highly recommended students give their referees a deadline at least 2 weeks 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 Reference Assessment Forms via the CGS-M Research Portal by the deadline.

Transcripts: it is the student’s responsibility to obtain and upload copies of official up-to-date transcripts to the Research Portal for up to three Canadian post-secondary institutions to view. It is the students’ responsibility to follow Tri-Council's Instructions for completing an application for transcript requirement guidelines (ex. definition of up-to-date; ALL postsecondary coursework undertaken, etc). These instructions are imperative and extremely important, as non-compliance with transcript-related guidelines is the primary reason for the rejection of applications.

• GPS will not provide copies of transcripts from student records held at UAlberta (includes transcripts from other Canadian/international post- secondary institutions, UAlberta transcripts, and transcripts included in former, recent, or in progress admission/award applications), nor can GPS upload transcripts to the Research Portal on students’ behalf.  
• Transcripts deemed incomplete, missing, illegible, or unofficial may result in the application being removed from the competition. Self-produced transcripts or marksheets from institutions’ self-served student systems (includes UAlberta transcripts produced from BearTracks) are considered unofficial and will not be considered.

a) An up to date UAlberta transcript for all study at this university. Registered and newly admitted students MUST show current Fall 2024 full time registration (courses/thesis in progress). An unofficial UAlberta transcript (must be produced from Beartracks) will be accepted by UAlberta for applicants applying here ONLY).  For applicants also applying to other institutions other than UAlberta, it is imperative that you check in with other institutions directly regarding their transcript regulations/policies & follow such rules carefully.  

• Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their application well ahead of the deadline. As the deadline approaches, delays may occur due to high traffic on the Research Portal; this may prevent the timely submission of student’s applications, and they should plan accordingly.
• Requests to submit late applications will not be accepted. GPS cannot assist with issues students may encounter with the external Research Portal.
• Applications cannot be revised or adjusted after submission in the Research Portal.

4) Application Review - December 1 – February 7, 2025: GPS accesses UAlberta applications, and completes its initial preliminary review to verify eligibility and completeness.

• Prospective students must apply for admission to a UofA graduate program by their proposed Department program deadline, or by February 7th, 2025, whichever comes first, in order to be considered for a CGS-M at UAlberta. Note: this is for May 1, 2025, July 1, 2025, September 1, 2025, and January 2026 admission intakes.
  
• Prospective students only need to submit an application for admission; complete admission decisions are not required for the CGS-M competition, and thus are included in the full nomination review.
• Departments may contact promising CGS-M applicants who have not applied for admission and encourage them to apply

5) Application for Admission Deadline - February 7, 2025: If not yet admitted to a graduate program, prospective students must apply for admission no later than February 7th in order to be considered for the CGSM at UofA. Prospective students who haven’t applied for admission by this date will have their applications removed from the competition.

6) UofA Adjudication - Mid-February 2025 – end of March 2025: the GPS Graduate Scholarship Committee reviews and adjudicates eligible applications.

7) Final Results - April 1st, 2025: Applicants are notified of results in the online Research Portal.

Departmental nomination is not required for the CGS-M competition, however departments should inform their prospective students of their internal application for admission deadline. Students are not required to submit their CGS-M application to their department or to their proposed department of study. Departments are requested to review the 2025 CGS-M Memo to Departments.

Applications will be reviewed in two stages: first by GPS for eligibility and completeness; then by the Graduate Scholarship Committee for selection of winners. Any change of status, including the official notice for winners will come via the Research Portal.

Each university has a set allocation for each granting agency. The allocation is the total number of scholarships that the university is allowed to offer in the annual competition. The University of Alberta's 2025-26 allocations are as follows:

• CIHR: 38
• NSERC: 54
• SSHRC: 49

Winners will receive notification on April 1st, which is the earliest date on which institutions are permitted to offer the award. Winners may receive offers from multiple institutions, but may accept only one CGS-M offer; the award is not transferable.

See Application Procedures for complete details on the application submission requirements.

December 1, 2024 before 6:00 p.m. (Mountain Time)/8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time): Deadline for students to submit their completed application and CCV through the Research Portal. 

February 7, 2025: If not yet admitted to a graduate program, prospective students must apply for admission no later than February 7th in order to be considered for the CGSM at the UofA. 

Mid-February 2025 – end of March 2025: GPS Graduate Scholarship Committee reviews and adjudicates eligible applications.

April 1, 2025: Applicants are notified of results on the online Research Portal.

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

Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements Pilot Initiative
The Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements Pilot Initiative will provide financial support to meritorious Indigenous students who have applied to the Canada Graduate Scholars—Master’s program (CGS M).

Fisheries and Oceans Canada Aquatic Science Supplements and the Supplement for Research in Field Impact Assessment: Active NSERC CGS-M awards holders with research in the areas of ocean science and impact assessment are eligible for these 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.

Department of National Defence MINDS Scholarship Initiative: This initiative offers research training awards and supplements to master’s and doctoral students in the social sciences and humanities whose work is related to one or more of the MINDS Policy Challenges and/or Canada’s defence policy Strong, Secure, Engaged. Students are to refer to SSHRC's website for eligibility and application details. Offers will be made to award holders from SSHRC. Depending on the offer, payments may be made in the same manner as the award: via GPS.