The fully financed Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, which is available to outstanding postgraduate students worldwide, is now accepting applications. Academic Excellence, Research Potential, and Leadership are the three equally weighted selection criteria for this three-year, $50,000 per awardee fellowship during PhD study.
The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS) program was established by the Canadian government in 2008 to enhance Canada’s capacity to draw in and keep top-tier doctoral students and to position the country as a global hub of excellence in research and higher education. Vanier Scholars exhibit scholarly excellence and leadership qualities while pursuing graduate degrees in the social and humanities, sciences, engineering, or medicine.
Three factors are primarily taken into consideration when awarding the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship includes; Academic Prowess, Research Possibility and Leadership (potential and demonstrated ability).
Level/Field of Study
PhD programs in health research, natural sciences and/or engineering research, social sciences and/or humanities research, or combined MA/PhD or MD/PhD programs are all available.
As a requirement for completion of the program, an eligible doctoral program must have a significant research component that results in the completion of a thesis, major research project, dissertation, scholarly publication, performance, recital, and/or exhibit that has been merit/expert-reviewed at the institutional level.
If they feature a sizable autonomous research component, as mentioned above, clinically oriented programs of study, such as clinical psychology, as well as joint graduate research programs with a professional degree (e.g., MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD) are also eligible programs.
Host Nationality
The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship is hosted in Universities in Canada with Vanier CGS funding. The Vanier CGS is only valid at the Canadian institution that qualified for it and submitted the nomination.
Eligibility for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
- May only be nominated by one Canadian institution, and that institution must have met the Vanier CGS quota;
- be enrolled in your first doctoral program (including combination undergraduate/graduate research programs like MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, and JD/PhD, assuming they have a proven and significant research component). Keep in mind that funding is only available for the PhD portion of combined degrees;
- intend to undertake doctoral study and research at the institution that nominated them full-time during the summer semester or the academic year that follows the release of the results; Keep in mind that funding is only available for the PhD portion of combined degrees;
- Participants have finished their doctoral studies in no more than 20 months.
- having completed the previous two years of full-time study with a first-class average—or the equivalent—as decided by your school. You are urged to get in touch with the school to inquire about what constitutes a first-class average; and
- Must not be currently pursuing or have previously completed a doctoral degree while holding a doctoral-level scholarship or fellowship from CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC.
- Candidates for a Vanier CGS may be Canadian citizens, Canadian permanent residents, or foreign nationals.
Requirements to Apply for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
The following are needed for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship:
- Nomination letter (signed by the department head )
- Canadian Common CV (CCV)
- Institution transcripts
- Leadership Reference Letters
- Personal Leadership Statement
- Two Leadership reference Letters
- Project References
- Research proposal
- Research contributions
- Referee Assessments
Application Process
Candidates must be recommended by a Canadian institution where they have a spot reserved for them. Direct applications to the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship program are not accepted.
You can start an application in one of two ways. To begin the nomination procedure for the Vanier CGS program, either the student notifies the faculty of graduate studies at the chosen institution of their intention to do so OR the institution contacts the intended candidate.
The student uses the ResearchNet application system to construct the application and submit it to the nominating institution by the internal deadline. The Vanier-Banting Secretariat (the Secretariat) is then forwarded the nominating institution’s suggested nominations by 2 November 2021.
It is crucial to go to the official website (link provided below) to access the application form and learn all the information necessary to apply for this scholarship.
Selection Process
After you have submitted your nomination application to your school, the school will submit your name to the Vanier Scholarship board. The board will select beneficiaries based on a quota system. See the list of eligible universities.
Financial Benefit
Up to 166 scholarships are given out each year under the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, which has a value of $50,000 per person per year for three years.
Deadline for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
July – November 2022: A candidate looks for a nominating institution, then puts together and submits an application package.
Internal Deadline (varies): Application deadline with the nominated institution. For a precise date, get in touch with the nominated institution.
November 2, 2022 (20:00 EST): The Vanier CGS program’s nomination deadline for universities.
November 2022 – March 2023: Review and evaluation of nominations.
Early April 2023: expected results notice. Whenever the results are made public on ResearchNet, nominees will receive an email notification.
May 1, 2023, September 1, 2023, or January 1, 2024: Payments begin.
There are so many scholarship opportunities in Canada, you can always go through them and give it your shot.