Graduate Student Scholarship Workshop 2011

1. Graduate Student Scholarship Workshop 2011 Faculty of Graduate Studies and Office of Quality Assurance

2. Scholarship Sessions Fall 2011 • Part 1 - Today • Part 2 - Monday September 19th 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Oak Room “How to prepare a good application”

3. What Scholarships are Available? • Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) • Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR)

4. The Ontario Graduate Scholarship • Designed to encourage excellence in graduate studies at the master’s and doctoral levels. • $5,000 per term (2 or 3 consecutive terms). The province of Ontario contributes two-thirds of this amount and the university provides one-third. • Students may apply for year 1 or 2 of Masters and years 1 to 5 of doctoral study but can only be funded for 4 years in total. • All eligible applications get sent out of the university!

5. What Scholarships are Available? NSERC • Applications to NSERC as the primary source of research or research training support must meet the following criteria: • The program of research must be primarily in the natural sciences and engineering; • The intended objectives of the research must be, primarily, to advance knowledge in one of the natural sciences or in engineering.

6. What Scholarships are Available? SSHRC • Applications to SSHRC as the primary source of research or research training support must meet the following criteria: • The program of research must be primarily in the social sciences and humanities (i.e., aligned with the SSHRC legislated mandate) and; • The intended outcome of the research must primarily be to add to our understanding and knowledge of individuals, groups, and societies - what we think, how we live and how we interact with each other and the world around us.

7. What Scholarships are Available? CIHR • Applications to CIHR as the primary source of research or research training support must meet the following criterion: • The intended outcomes of the research must, as stated in CIHR’s mandate,  primarily improve or have an impact on health and/or produce more effective health services and products and/or strengthen the Canadian health care system.

8. Which agency? A critical decision • Applying to the wrong agency is a fatal error • Get advice from Graduate Studies AND from the program officer at the granting agencies you are considering. • Often you will be asked to send a 1 page summary. Make sure it has all relevant information in it. • Allow time for turnaround.

9. Which agency? A critical decision • If your research is in an area “where boundaries overlap” AND you have received advice from the staff at the agency that it is eligible, you are still advised to state in your proposal WHY your proposal is “appropriate for support by the agency”

10. Health-related Research • Investigators whose proposed research is health-related should consult CIHR’s mandate first to explore eligibility. CIHR has policies and procedures in place to adjudicate the full range of social science and humanities research proposals related to health research. Research eligible under the mandate of CIHR will not be considered by SSHRC. • The use of social science or humanities theories, methodologies and hypotheses is, in and of itself, not sufficient to make a proposal eligible at SSHRC.

11. Ineligible for SSHRC support • socio-economic and cultural determinants of health, including theoretical and empirical research on the social construction of health, sickness and health behaviour; • health promotion (e.g., healthy eating, disease prevention, health and sexual education) • education and psychology research related to health service delivery (e.g., clinical/practical competencies, supervision, curriculum development) • health behaviour (e.g., fitness, psychomotor learning, psychophysiology and kinesiology; addictions, sexual activities, etc. as they affect health status) • clinical research (e.g., treatment, prevention or diagnosis of a condition or disease; testing the impact of medication or medical aids) • therapy (e.g., counselling, psychotherapy, rehabilitation and occupational therapy, validation/testing of diagnostic tools), including the use of performing/visual arts as an element of therapy • see website for complete listing

12. Psychology Research • SSHRC considers eligible applications within the broad areas of social, developmental, personality and educational psychology. SSHRC also considers eligible proposals related to theory and methods in these areas. SSHRC does not support clinically oriented research with a health intent, or research involving clinical trials. • NSERC considers eligible applications that relate to fundamental psychological processes, their underlying neural mechanisms, their development within individuals, and their evolutionary and ecological context. Fundamental processes are understood to include: • sensation and perception; • sensorimotor integration; • motivation, emotion and reward; • learning and memory; • cognition and language; • sleep, arousal and the chrono-biological modulation of behaviour; and • statistical methods for analysis of psychological data.

13. Eligibility for Application ** can’t apply for scholarship for same degree from another agency

14. You may only submit one application per year to NSERC or CIHR or SSHRC.

15. OGS Ranking Grades are very heavily weighted for OGS • must have an A- average in last 20 courses or based on all grad courses if you are in 3rd year of grad school or beyond • 2 references - asked to rate you in top 2%, 5%, 10%, 20% etc. • Plan of study (will be enrolled in doctoral) /Statement of interest (Masters level while holding the award) • List of significant academic accomplishments (GAs, refereed/non-refereed publication/ presentation record, etc.) – may include special circumstances (100 words) • Scholarships/awards

16. UNIVERSITY OF WINDSOR UNIFORM PERCENTAGE CONVERSION SCALE ( Passed by Senate March 17, 2004)

17. Plan of study/ Statement of interest • OGS says “The statement of interest should include your reasons for pursuing a graduate program in your chosen field” • but how much you focus on that completely depends on your level of study • all of you will go (far) beyond that • be specific, and good to include key/critical references, but keep them to a minimum - citations must also be shown in the space provided.

18. NSERC (CGS and PGS awards) Masters (maximum one year) • CGS (Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship) $17,500 • PGS (Post-graduate Scholarship) $17,300 Doctoral (min 2 yrs, max 3 yrs) • CGS (Alexander Graham Bell) $35,000 for min 2 yrs, max 3 yrs • PGS (Post-graduate Scholarship) $21,000 Note: applying for one is an application for both

19. NSERC (CGS and PGS awards) ** Clinical psychology programs are not normally eligible for NSERC support – to be eligible your supervisor must be funded by NSERC and you must be doing basic research ** For all students – you must be supervised by a faculty member whose own research program is in a field that NSERC supports

20. NSERC Selection criteria • Academic excellence: (Masters 50% / PHD 30%) • As evidenced in academic record, scholarships and awards held, and duration of previous studies. • Research ability or potential: (30% / 50%) • As evidenced by the quality of your contributions to research and development, relevance of experience and training to field of proposed research, significance, feasibility, and merit of proposed research, ability to think critically and to apply skills and knowledge, have good judgement, originality, initiative and autonomy, and enthusiasm for research, and determination and ability to complete projects in a timely manner. • Communication skills/ Interpersonal and leadership abilities: (20% / 20%) • Seen in your ability or potential to communicate scientific concepts clearly and logically in written and oral formats and your professional and relevant extracurricular interactions and collaborations.

21. SSHRC Graduate Awards Masters Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships • Valued at $17,500 for one year (non-renewable). • Students in their 1st year M.A. (or 4th year undergrads) are eligible to apply. Doctoral Fellowship • Valued at $20,000 per year for up to 4 yrs. • Students in Years 1 to 4 of doctoral study (post-Masters). Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships • Valued at $35,000 per year for 3 yrs. • Students in Years 1 to 3 or Years 2 to 4 of doctoral study (Masters). By completing the SSHRC doctoral awards application, you are automatically considered for both doctoral-level awards.

22. SSHRC • Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement ($6000) for 3–6 months • Sports Participation supplement ($10000) for 1 year • For disciplines where a MA thesis is not normally completed, proposal must include a significant research training component (defined on web site)

23. Masters Evaluation Criteria • Academic Excellence (60%) • As evidenced in academic record, scholarships and awards held, and duration of previous studies. • Research Potential (30%) • As demonstrated in description of program of study, work experience, letters of appraisal, and departmental appraisal. • Communication Skills (10%) • As demonstrated in quality of presentation of application, letters of appraisal, departmental appraisal, and relevant work experience and community involvement, if applicable.

24. Doctoral Evaluation Criteria Selection committees evaluate doctoral fellowship applicants solely on academic merit, measured by: 1. Past academic results, demonstrated by transcripts, awards and distinctions 2. Program of study & potential contribution to advancement of knowledge 3. Relevant professional and academic experience & research training (papers presented at conferences; publication record) 4. Two written referrals/evaluations 5. Departmental rankings of applicants

25. CIHR CGS and PGS Masters • Frederick Banting and Charles Best ($17,500) for a maximum of 1 year. Doctoral • Frederick Banting and Charles Best CGS Doctoral and Doctoral Foreign Study Award (DFSA)$30,000 + 5,000 research allowance for up to 3 years. The research for which support is being sought must be under the supervision of a researcher who holds research funds obtained through a recognized competitive peer review process. (This applies to both CIHR Master's and Doctoral Awards.)

26. CIHR Priority Announcments • General focus on health related fields • Additional monies (specific to Masters or PhD) for ‘priority areas’, e.g., child cancer, HIV/AIDS, nutrition etc • Make sure you look at these priority areas and if your research fits, identify the area and submit an extra page “relevance description”

27. CIHR online forms and procedures are very complicated Please start early ……….

28. Masters Evaluation Criteria • Achievements and Activities(40%) • Research Experience and Achievement (15%) • Academic Performance (25%) • Characteristics and Abilities of Candidate (40%) • Critical thinking, independence, perseverance, originality, organizational skills, interest in discovery, communication skills. • Research Training Environment (20%) • Training program for the candidate Gets converted to score between 0-4.9 – Only applications rated 3.5 or higher are eligible for funding

29. Doctoral Evaluation Criteria • Achievements and Activities(35%) • Publication Activity (10%) • Other Research Activity ( 10%) • Academic Performance (15%) • Characteristics and Abilities of Candidate (40%) • Critical thinking, independence, perseverance, originality, organizational skills, interest in discovery, communication skills. • Research Training Environment (25%) • Training program for the candidate (10%) • Scientific Activity (5%) • Research Resources (5%) • Training Record (5%)

30. Vanier Doctoral scholarships • Awarded by tri-councils • $50,000/year • Uwindsor has limited quota for nominations from each funding council. “Realistically, the calibre of candidate that should be forwarded for consideration will have ALL of the following: exceptional grades, exceptional research publications in peer reviewed journals (or creative equivalent), innovative proposals, and outstanding letters of reference. Students who stand mid-tier in departmental rankings should not be forwarded.” (Grad Studies, 2010) • Student must apply to Department to be nominated. • Special emphasis on leadership. • See www.vanier.gc.ca for more info.

31. Comparison of Weighting Criteria

32. Differences in Application Process • NSERC – complete application on-line; identify your referees, as well as the person who will upload your transcripts. “Submit” on-line, but print off a paper copy and submit to your department • OGS – complete application on-line; print off a paper copy and submit to your department, along with all supporting documents (official transcripts, plan of study, etc.) • SSHRC – complete application on-line; “submit” on-line, but print off a paper copy and submit to your department along with all supporting documents • CIHR (Doctoral) – complete application and submit everything on-line through ResearchNet directly to CIHR. Signature required from the Office of Research Services (ORS deadline October 11) • CIHR (Master’s) – complete application on-line through ResearchNet. Upload all documents and “submit” so that your application can be viewed on-line.

33. How to Apply? • Enter application process from Grad Studies website • Register for login and password • Order official transcripts for each award

34. Who Will Write Your Reference? Pick someone who knows you • may have to explain anomalies in your transcript or publication record • should have time to meet with you and write an assessment of your abilities with examples • give reference your resume, transcript, proposal, scholarship criteria and proposal before meeting Pick someone who can/will make your case • reference letter speaks for you at committees • give them time to do a good job Follow agency rules (e.g. former supervisor)

35. When are the Applications Due? *** Check with graduate coordinator or graduate secretary for Departmental deadlines Faculty of Graduate Studies deadlines: • Vanier Doctoral September 30, 2011 • NSERC (Masters & Doctoral) October 7, 2011 • CIHR Doctoral Direct to CIHR by Oct.14 (signature required from ORS by Oct 11) • OGS October 28, 2011 • SSHRC (Masters & Doctoral) November 25, 2011 • CIHR Masters January 6, 2012

36. Good luck! Any questions?