The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships is aimed at attracting the best and brightest doctoral students to Canadian universities. They aim to make Canada a leading place for research and higher education worldwide. These scholarships support students pursuing a doctoral degree, including combined programs like MA/PhD or MD/PhD.
Country and University of Study: Canadian Universities that have received allocation or quota for Vanier CGS. The Vanier CGS is tenable at Canadian universities that submits nominations.
Course of Study: PhD programmes (or combined MA/PhD or MD/PhD) in natural sciences and/or engineering research; health, and social sciences and/or humanities research.
A qualified doctoral program should include a significant research part that leads to the accomplishment of a thesis, major research project, assessment, intellectual journal, presentation, reports/scholarly demonstrations with a standard expert review at the academy level as is recommended for a completion of the program.
Joint graduate research programs via a professional degree (e.g., MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD)
including clinically-oriented programs of study, such as clinical psychology, are able to obtain programs if they hold a notable and remarkable research basis.
Scholarships Awarded: 166 scholarships are granted yearly.
Eligible countries: Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada and foreign nationals are qualified to be nominated for the Vanier CGS.
Scholarship benefits: The scholarship is valued at $50,000 annually for the duration of study.
Who Can Apply for this scholarship?:
o be eligible for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS), you need to meet the following criteria:
- Be nominated by a single Canadian institution that is affiliated with the Vanier CGS program.
- Be pursuing your first doctoral degree, which includes joint undergraduate/graduate programs like MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD, as long as they have a practical exhibition and a significant research element. Please note that only the PhD part of a combined degree qualifies for funding.
- Plan to start full-time doctoral studies (or a joint graduate program like MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD) in the summer semester or the academic year following the announcement of results, at the institution you’ve chosen. Again, only the PhD portion of a combined degree is eligible for funding.
- Have completed no more than 20 months of doctoral studies by May 1, 2023.
- Have not spent more than 32 months in full-time study in your doctoral program by May 1, 2023. This includes three different scenarios: a. If you are enrolled in a joint graduate research program (e.g., MD/PhD, MA/PhD, DVM/PhD), you have access to the 32-month window regardless of whether you were previously enrolled in a Master’s program. b. If you transitioned directly from a Bachelor’s to a PhD program without completing a Master’s program. c. If you transitioned from a Master’s degree to a Doctoral program without obtaining the Master’s degree.
- Maintain a first-class average, as required by your institution, in each of the last two years of full-time study or an equivalent measure of academic excellence.
- Have not previously held or currently hold a doctoral-level scholarship or fellowship from CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC to pursue or complete a doctoral degree.
How to Apply for Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships Scholarship:
- Students cannot apply directly for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS). Candidates need to be selected and put forward by their respective Canadian universities or institutions for consideration for the scholarship.
- Candidates who wish to apply for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS), should notify the faculty of graduate studies at their respective institution about their intention to apply for the Vanier CGS program. Please visit: https://vanier.gc.ca/en/appendix_b_cgs_2021_22_to_2023_24.html for list of eligible Canadian universities and their quota
- Applicants are responsible for preparing and submitting their Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS) applications to the nominating institution by the institution’s internal deadline. They should use the ResearchNet application system for this purpose.
- The nominating institution sends the selected nominees to the Vanier-Banting Secretariat by 1 November 2023.
Deadline: The deadline for nominating institutions is November 1, 2023 (20:00 EDT).
Visit the Vanier CGS Official webpage for further information. All the best of luck to the future
scholars.