2021-2022 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS)

Vanier CGS overview

The Government of Canada launched the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS) program in 2008 to strengthen Canada’s ability to attract and retain world-class doctoral students and establish Canada as a global centre of excellence in research and higher learning. Vanier Scholars demonstrate leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and/or engineering and health.

Scope

Up to 166 scholarships are awarded annually.
A total of up to 500 scholarships are active at any time.

Value

$50,000 per year

Duration

3 years (non-renewable)

Scholarships are distributed equally between the three federal granting agencies:

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Selection Criteria

• Academic Excellence
• Research Potential
• Leadership (potential and demonstrated ability)

Eligibility

Confirm that you and your nominating institution meet all the criteria below before you apply for a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS).

Nominations that do not meet all of the eligibility criteria will be deemed ineligible.

Candidate eligibility

Citizenship

Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada and foreign citizens are eligible to be nominated for a Vanier CGS.

To be considered for a Vanier CGS, you must:

• be nominated by only one Canadian institution, which must have received a Vanier CGS quota,
• be pursuing your first doctoral degree (including joint graduate research program such as: MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD – if it has a demonstrated and significant research component). Note that only the PhD portion of a joint degree is eligible for funding;
• intend to pursue, in the summer semester or the academic year following the announcement of results, full-time doctoral (or a joint graduate research program such as: MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD) studies and research at the nominating institution; For joint graduate research program, only the PhD portion of a joint graduate research program is eligible for funding.
• have completed no more than 20 months of full-time study in their doctoral program as of May 1, 2022;
  • The doctoral program would begin after the completion of a Master’s degree. The months of study completed are calculated from the doctoral enrolment date.
• have completed no more than 32 months of full-time study in their doctoral program (i.e. joint graduate research program, fast-track, accelerated), by May 1, 2022 if:
  • enrolled in a joint graduate research program, e.g., MD/PhD, MA/PhD, DVM/PhD. Applicants in this category have access to the 32-month window whether or not they were previously enrolled in a Master’s program:
    • The months of study are calculated starting from the date on which an applicant is officially registered in the joint program (including the Master’s portion of the program).
  • accelerated directly from a Bachelor’s to a PhD (not previously enrolled in a Master’s program);
    • The months of study completed are calculated from the doctoral enrolment date.
  • accelerated (Fast-track) from a Master’s degree into a Doctoral program without obtaining the Master’s degree.
    • The months of study completed are calculated from the original Master’s enrolment date.
• have achieved a first-class average, as determined by your institution, in each of the last two years of full-time study or equivalent. Candidates are encouraged to contact the institution for its definition of a first-class average; and
• must not hold, or have held, a doctoral-level scholarship or fellowship from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC to undertake or complete a doctoral program.

Eligibility of program of study

• An eligible doctoral program must include 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 requirement for a completion of the program.
• Joint graduate research programs with a professional degree (e.g., MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD) as well as clinically-oriented programs of study, including clinical psychology, are also eligible programs if they have a significant autonomous research component, as described above.

Note: ResearchNet will only allow the creation of one application per applicant. Applicants should only seek a nomination from the institution at which they want to study and are advised to discuss their decision with the nominating institution before they submit the application through ResearchNet.

Number of months of doctoral studies

All prior doctoral-level studies, regardless of discipline, are considered in the evaluation of eligibility, and are considered to be continuous, full-time, and uninterrupted unless otherwise confirmed by the institution (including the summer months, unless on official leave). The Vanier-Banting Secretariat (the Secretariat) will count two months of part-time study as one month of full-time study.

Eligibility to hold a Vanier CGS

Without exception, the Vanier CGS is tenable only at the eligible Canadian institution that submitted the nomination.

To hold the Vanier CGS, the candidate must:

• be registered as a full-time student at the nominating Canadian institution and be pursuing a doctoral program (or joint graduate research program MA/PhD, MSc/PhD, or MD/PhD); and
• not hold a faculty appointment concurrently with a Vanier Scholarship unless they arrange for a leave of absence from the appointment
• remain enrolled and demonstrate continued satisfactory progress in their doctoral program.
• not hold, or have held, a doctoral-level scholarship from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC to undertake or complete a doctoral program.
• not be concurrently holding any other SSHRC, NSERC or CIHR training award (note: Michael Smith Foreign Studies Supplement excepted).

Multiple applications

Eligible candidates may apply to both the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship program and other agency-specific doctoral-level scholarship/fellowships programs (whether to the same or a different federal granting agency) in the same academic year, provided that the research proposed in each application falls within the mandate of the federal granting agency to which the application is submitted.

Note: since eligibility, evaluation criteria and competition deadlines are different; applications submitted to Vanier CGS are not considered in agency-specific doctoral award competitions. You must apply to each program individually.

Candidates who are successful in both competitions will have to choose which award to accept.

Visit scholarship webpage for details