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Funding for Graduate Studies at McGill:CGS MASTER’S

Information for Academic Units2015-2016 Competition

NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR

October 6, 2014

Presentation Overview

Introduction of the CGS Master’s Program Award Overview Applicant Eligibility Program Eligibilities Application Processes (internal) Reference Letters Transcripts Deadlines Result Announcements Resources

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Award Overview – Major changes

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Harmonized Tri-Council CGS MASTER’S Awards

Alexander Graham Bell (NSERC)Alexander Graham Bell (NSERC)

Frederick Banting and Charles Best (CIHR)Frederick Banting and Charles Best (CIHR)

Joseph-Armand Bombardier (SSRHC)Joseph-Armand Bombardier (SSRHC)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~•Why?•What does this mean?

CGS Master’s Award - Harmonization

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• Why harmonize?– Streamline the process

• One single student application• One single online platform (“Research Portal” hosted by NSERC)

• Canadian Common CV adopted• Common evaluation criteria and review mechanisms• Common post-award policies and regulations• One deadline• Eliminating administrative duplication

• Website for all info: tri-agency CGS harmonization site

CGS Master’s Award - Harmonization

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• Adoption of the incoming model

• Students may select up to 5 institutions with a single application

• Selection process moved from a two-stage to a one stage process

• Universities will manage the selection process and award scholarships-agency no longer conduct centralized national selection processes

• Eligibility screening of subject matter has been delegated to universities

• Universities received yearly allocations of CGS awards, by agency that will be in effect for 3 years.

• CIHR - 40• NSERC - 57• SSHRC - 56

CGS Master’s Award - Harmonization

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Before: Outgoing Before: Outgoing = Students apply for a CGS scholarship through the university they are currently registered

Now: Incoming Now: Incoming = Students apply for a CGS scholarship through the university they wish to attend

STATS from Fall 2013 Competition

• McGill received a total 989 Applications

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Agency Accepted Not Offered Declined Withdrawn by McGill

Total

CIHR 40 135 9 1 194

NSERC 57 320 74 1 467

SSHRC 56 213 42 1 328

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CGS Master’s Award - Applicant Eligibility Requirements

• be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada

• 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 at a Canadian institution with a CGS M allocation. Note: Applicants who are not currently enrolled in their intended graduate program must submit an application for admission by December 10, 2014

**Applicants must check with the academic unit for admission deadline. For students applying for funding to CGSM an earlier deadline may be established by the unit.

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CGS Master’s Award - Applicant Eligibility Requirements

• have completed, as of December 31 December 31 of the year of applicationof the year of application, between zero and 12 months of full-time studies zero and 12 months of full-time studies (or full-time equivalent) in:

– the master’s program for which applicant is requesting funding; oror

– the doctoral program for which funding is requested if you were admitted into a doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program ( were never

registered in a master’s program, or is registered in a combined Master’s-PhD program); oror

– a master’s program, but are requesting funding for a doctoral program (an example is a student who is fast-track from a master’s to a doctoral program within 12 months of starting their Master’s and is seeking funding for the first 12 months of their doctoral program);

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CGS Master’s Award - Applicant Eligibility Requirements

• not have previously held a CGS M from any of the Tri-Council;

• have achieved a first-class average, as determined by the host university, in each of the last two years of study (full-time equivalent) CGPA– CHIR CGPA 3.70 – NSERC CGPA 3.70 – SSHRC CGPA

• Humanities 3.70, (includes History), Fine Arts (Music, Art History), Literature, Education

• Social Studies 3.60, (Other than Education and Law)

• Law 3.40 (BCL, LLB)

• submit a maximum of one maximum of one CGS M application per year which, with the Research Portal, will allow the application to be submitted to up to five to up to five universities.universities.

• Degree and program eligibility may be verified on the NSERC webpage

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CGS Master’s Award - Applicant Eligibility Requirements

Calculating CGPA•To calculate, use the GPA Calculator http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/staff/gpa you will have to log in to use it

•To calculate a foreign GPA, use Transcript key & Foreign Country Grade Conversion Guide http://www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/apply/prepare/requirements/international-degree-equivalency

GPA calculations cover last 2 years of full-time studies, and must include:• Last 2 years of full-time undergraduate• Graduate to date (must have two terms completed with graded courses)• Note that one year is equal to minimum 24 credits

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CGS Master’s Award – Program of study Eligibility Requirements An eligible graduate program must have a significant research componentsignificant research component. •A significant research component is considered to be original, autonomous research 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 not eligible since they do not include a significant research component.

Non-traditional Programs of Study•Joint programs with a professional degree (e.g. MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD, MBA/PhD, MA/MBA) are eligible if they have a demonstrated and significant demonstrated and significant research componentresearch component as described above. •

•Clinically-oriented programs of study, including clinical psychology are also eligible programs if they have a demonstrated and significant research demonstrated and significant research componentcomponent as described above.

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CGS Master’s Award – Program of study Eligibility Requirements (cont’d.)

Field of Research and Subject Matter EligibilityField of Research and Subject Matter Eligibility

• CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC support and promote high-quality research in a wide variety of disciplines and areas. This includes research that bridges two or more disciplines or that requires the skills of several disciplines.

• Applicants are asked in the CGS M application to categorize their proposed “field of research”- i.e., health (CIHR), natural sciences and engineering (NSERC), social sciences and humanities (SSHRC). However, the universities are responsible for approving this categorization, and may override it if appropriate. This distinction is important because a university can only award these scholarships according to the agency-specific CGS M allocations they receive.

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CGS Master’s Award – Program of study Eligibility Requirements (cont’d.)

Field of Research and Subject Matter EligibilityField of Research and Subject Matter Eligibility

• Applicants must ensure that they are submitting their application to a university that has an allocation for the field of research they wish to pursue.

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• Applications deemed by a host university to have been labeled incorrectly will be re-labeled. Universities must ensure that agency-specific scholarships are awarded to applications eligible under each agency’s research subject matter guidelines (refer to Selecting the Appropriate Federal Granting Agency).

• Applicants should contact the graduate studies office of the Academic Unit where they intend to apply for admission, or where they are currently, or will be, registered in an eligible program of study for further guidance on subject matter eligibility.

• http://www.science.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=en&n=FEE7261A-1

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CGS Master’s Award – Transcripts

• Students are responsible for uploading their transcripts.

• Be diligent and ensure that you have all transcripts from all universities listed in the application.

• Any application received by GPS that is deemed incomplete will not be considered.

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CGS Master’s Award – Complete application package Every application package must contain the following:•Application Form: the following information should be verified

– Field of Research is appropriate

– McGill MUST be indicated as one of the Proposed Host Organizations with correct Faculty and Department/Division name

– Research Proposal uploaded by student

– ALL transcripts that have been uploaded by student

•Two letters of

•Copy of the Canadian Common CV

– This must be validated for the correct funding agency.

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CGS Master’s Award – Selection Criteria

Criteria Description WeightAcademic

ExcellenceAs demonstrated by past academic results, transcripts, awards and distinctions.

50%

Indicators of Academic Excellence:Academic record (first class average), Scholarships and awards held, Duration of previous studies, Type of program and courses pursued, Course load, Relative standing (if available)

Research Potential

As demonstrated by the applicant’s research history, his/her interest in discovery, the proposed research, its potential contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the field, and any anticipated outcomes.

30%

Indicators of Research Potential:Quality and originality of contributions to research and development, Relevance of work experience and academic training to field of proposed research, Significance, feasibility, and merit of proposed research, Judgment and ability to think critically, Ability to apply skills and knowledge, Initiative, autonomy and independence, Research experience and achievements relative to expectations of someone with the candidate’s academic experience

The merit review of CGS M applications will be carried out by universities with an allocation, and will be based on the following evaluation criteria:

Selection Criteria

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CGS Master’s Award – Selection Criteria

Criteria Description Weight

Personal Characteristics

and Interpersonal Skills

As demonstrated by the applicant’s past professional and relevant extracurricular interactions and collaborations.

20%

Indicators of Personal Characteristics and Interpersonal Skills:Work experience, Leadership experience, Project management including organizing conferences and meetings, The ability or potential to communicate theoretical, technical and/or scientific concepts clearly and logically in written and oral formats, Involvement in academic life, Volunteerism/community outreach

Selection Criteria cont'd.

Notification of Results • Institutions will establish a list of applicants to whom awards will be

offered as of April 1. The offers of awards will be made using the Research Portal, where applicants will have 21 days to Accept or Decline the offers. Institutions may make subsequent offers should some of the offers be declined, until they have no awards remaining, but before January 31 of the following year.

• It is the responsibility of the applicant to verify the Research Portal for results of the competition.

• Applicants may accept only one CGS M offer. If they accept an offer, they will be deemed to have declined any other pending offers (if applicable), and they will not be eligible to receive further offers.

• Applicants are not eligible to receive or accept a CGS M offer from an institution where they are not currently enrolled in nor have applied for admission to an eligible program of study.

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CGS Master’s : Deadlines

ASAP Students should order transcripts

Determined by Academic Unit

Applicant to McGill submit complete hard copy application package to the unit

December 01, 2014 Students must complete online application.

January 30, 2015 Units submit Nominations to GPS via GPSO-FAD

April 01, 2015 Offers are made to students. Students have 3 weeks to accept

April 21, 2015 2nd round of offers to all declined offers. Ongoing until all quota is depleted

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What to submit to GPS by 30 January 201430 January 2014

• Via GPS FAD list of ranked recommended and non recommended applicants

• GPS no longer requires copies of applications

CGS-Master’s : Unit Quotas

Eligible Master’s enrolment per Unit

SSHRC NSERC CIHR

Less than 20 2 2 2

21-40 4 4 3

41-60 6 6 4

61 and more 8 8 6

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• Academic Units with eligible undergraduate feeder programs, but no eligible graduate program have a quota of 2.

• Academic Units who admit to PhD1 from BSc can use PhD1 and 2 enrolment for determining the quota.

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CGS-Master’s : Helpful Resources

• NSERC Website: http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/NSERC-CRSNG/Index_eng.asp

• NSERC Website: Frequently Asked Questions for University

• GPS Funding Info Page: http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/funding/fac-staff

Technical Support:

• Check how to use the Research Portal

• Review the instructions available in the application

• Online Services Helpdesk:

webapp@nserc-crsng.gc.ca or 613-995-4273. Include your e-mail address and telephone number.

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Helpful Resources (continued)

GPS Contact:

Graduatefunding.GPS@mcgill.ca

GPS Home Pagewww.mcgill.ca/gps - Resource for current graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and university departments

GPS Current Students www.mcgill.ca/gps/students-Detailed information centre andresource directory for current graduate students and postdoctoral fellows

GPS Future Students www.mcgill.ca/gradapplic

ants- Primary site for

prospective graduate students

-Centralized and consolidated listing of all

graduate programs - Instructions, support, and tips on admissions and funding processes

GPS Newly Admitted Graduate Students www.mcgill.ca/gradwelcome

- Dedicated resource for accepted students to facilitate their transition to

McGill and to Montreal

JOIN GPS ONLINE!

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