About Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s Program
The Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s Program (CGS-M) has a single, harmonized application process for the three federal granting agencies: the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
These three agencies are also referred to as the “Tri-Council”. The CGS-M selection process and post-award administration are carried out at the institutional level, under the guidance of the three agencies.
Eligible Canadian institutions receive a CGS-M allocation indicating the number of students to whom they can offer scholarships; these allocations are divided by broad fields of study: health, natural sciences and/or engineering, and social sciences and/or humanities.
Recipients of a University of Alberta Graduate Entrance Scholarship are encouraged to apply for CGS-M funding if they meet the eligibility requirements.
Scholarship Value
The CGS-M is valued at $17,500 for 12 months. It is not renewable.
Eligibility Criteria
1. 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
2. Must be in a graduate program with a significant research component
3. 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
4. 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
5. Must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent)
6. Must not have received any other Tri-Agency funding for a master’s program
Nomination Procedures
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 2023 CGS-M Memo to Departments.
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Application Procedures
Applications submitted this Fall 2022 term are for awards to start May or September 2023, or January 2024 (2023 CGS-M competition year).
1) Review the complete CGS-M Program details and requirements, and all deadlines:
Prospective UAlberta graduate students are to note program admission deadlines stated below. Both prospective and current University of Alberta apply online through the CGS-M Research Portal, which is the Tri-Agency’s electronic system for creating, managing and submitting applications for funding.
Students may apply for up to three Canadian post-secondary institutions; submitted applications are reviewed by the institution at which they propose to hold their award. FGSR will access University of Alberta applications following the Tri-Agency application deadline of December 1, 2022.
2) Start the CGS-M Online Application: Students are to complete a full application entirely online 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. FGSR 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 adjusted.
3. 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, 2022.
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.
4. 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.
FGSR will not provide copies of transcripts from student records held at UAlberta (includes transcripts from other Canadian/international post- secondary institutions and UAlberta transcripts), nor can FGSR upload transcripts to the Research Portal on students’ behalf.
Transcripts deemed incomplete, missing, illegible, or unofficial may result in the applicant 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.
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Application Deadline
December 1, 2022 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, 2023: 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 UAlberta.
Mid-February 2023 – end of March 2023: FGSR Graduate Scholarship Committee reviews and adjudicates eligible applications.
April 1, 2023: Applicants are notified of results on the online Research Portal.
