Search UNB

NSERC Doctoral Scholarships

Conditions:

What kind of support do these scholarships provide?

Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral (CGS D) and NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships-Doctoral (PGS D) provide financial support to high calibre scholars who are engaged in a doctoral program in the natural sciences or engineering. The CGS D will be offered to the top-ranked applicants and the next tier of meritorious applicants will be offered an NSERC PGS D. This support allows these scholars to fully concentrate on their studies and seek out the best research mentors in their chosen fields. NSERC encourages interested and qualified Aboriginal students to apply.

Since total NSERC scholarship support is limited to a maximum of four years full-time equivalence, scholars are encouraged to complete their studies in an expeditious manner.

Are you eligible for scholarship support?

To be considered eligible for support, as of the application deadline date, you must:
be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada;
hold, or expect to hold (at the time you take up the award), a degree in science or engineering from a university whose standing is recognized by NSERC (if you have a degree in a field other than science or engineering, NSERC may accept your application at its discretion);
intend to pursue, in the following year, full-time graduate studies and research at the doctoral level in an eligible program (see Eligibility Criteria) in one of the areas of the natural sciences and engineering supported by NSERC; and
have obtained a first-class average (a grade of "A-") in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent).

You are not eligible to receive scholarship support while you are in a qualifying year of study.

For degree programs you have completed, provide the date on which all the requirements of your degree were met, including the successful defence and submission of the corrected copy of your thesis (in accordance with your university's regulations). It is not the conferred or convocation date indicated on your transcript. The Scholarship Liaison Officer may be asked to confirm the date the degree requirements were met.

Note: You may submit only one application per year to one granting agency (NSERC or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [CIHR] or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council [SSHRC]).

What categories of scholarships are available?

There are two types of scholarships: CGS D and PGS D.

Note: If you entered your doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s degree and have completed between four and 12 months of studies in the doctoral program, you may be eligible to apply for a Canada Graduate Scholarship-Master’s (CGS M) or for a PGS D. Applying for a CGS M, if you are eligible, will maximize your potential period of funding. You are responsible for choosing the type of award for which you apply.

To be eligible to apply:
you must have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application, between zero and 24 months of studies (full-time equivalent) in the doctoral program for which you are requesting funding; or
if you were admitted into a doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program (you were never registered in a master’s program), you must have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application, between four and 36 months of studies (full-time equivalent) in the doctoral program for which you are requesting funding;
you must not have previously taken up an NSERC PGS B, PGS D, CGS D, IPS 2,* or a Vanier CGS; and
you must not hold, or have held, a CGS D or Vanier CGS from either CIHR or SSHRC.

In the evaluation of your eligibility, NSERC will consider all studies counted toward the graduate degree for which funding is requested, whether completed at the degree-granting institution or not. NSERC will count two sessions of part-time study as one session of full-time study.

If you registered in a master’s degree and subsequently transferred to a doctoral degree, the months in the doctoral degree will be calculated starting from the date on which you were officially registered in your PhD program.

You will be eligible for only a two-year CGS D/PGS D, if:
you previously held a two-year PGS A or IPS 1*;
you previously held a one-year CGS M or PGS M plus a PGS M Extension; or
you have completed more than the full-time equivalent of 12 months of your doctoral program (24 months if you were admitted to the doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program) as of December 31 of the year that you apply for the CGS D/PGS D.

To hold these awards, you must:
be registered full-time in a doctoral program at an eligible university;
take up the award in May following the announcement of the results if, as of December 31 of the year of application, you completed 24 months of studies in the program for which support was requested (36 months if you were admitted to the doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program).

Note: CGS D/PGS D support will not extend beyond the 52nd month of your doctoral program (64th month if you were admitted to the doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program).

For more information, please visit the website.
Also, please contact the Awards Officer at the School of Graduate Studies - information sessions will be held each Fall regarding the NSERC program (sgsaward@unb.ca).

 

Check with the School of Graduate Studies regarding the deadline.

Back to awards listings

Back to department awards listings