External Funding Opportunities

On this page: Vanier Scholarship Program | Trudeau Foundation Scholarship | Master's Harmonized Tri-Council Awards - CIHR, NSERC, & SSHRC | Doctoral Harmonized Tri-Council Awards-CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC | Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz Child Psychology Graduate Student Fellowship | APA Student Travel Award | Mellon Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiative (ISCEI) Student Travel Award | CERIC Graduate Student Engagement Program Award | Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada (SWAAC) | Mastercard Foundation Scholarship


IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL COMPETITIONS:

  • Applications submitted past the deadlines stipulated below will NOT be reviewed by the ECP Fellowships Committee. Make appropriate arrangements with Referees to ensure timely submission of all letters of reference. Ensure you adhere to timelines for ordering all required original transcripts.
  • Incomplete applications will be considered null and void and will NOT be reviewed by the ECP Fellowships Committee.
  • Should you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact your supervisor who is supporting your application for their assistance.
  • If you need help with matters relating to the submission of your file, please contact the Department at studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca

APA Student Travel Award

The purpose of this award program is to help psychology graduate students travel to the annual APA convention to present their research. The current program provides students up to $500 each to support their travel to the APA convention, to be held in Washington, D.C. in 2020. A handful of students who apply for a travel award will receive an Ungerleider/Zimbardo Travel Scholarship from the American Psychological Foundation.

How to apply: Departmental application deadline: Not yet set for current year (previously mid-march)

  • Carefully review all eligibility requirements on the APA website.  
  • Submit the following documents in ONE PDF (File Name: LASTNAME, Firstname_APA Student Travel Award.pdf), in the following order, via studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca (email):
    • One-page statement of research interests and career plans;
    • Research abstract of the research to be presented at the APA convention;
    • Curriculum Vitae (CV);
    • Copy of notification of APA convention paper or poster acceptance from sponsoring APA division;
    • Copy of APA student affiliate membership confirmation, if you are not already a member. If you are a member, provide your APA membership confirmation;

The Department is permitted to endorse no more than three students per year for the travel award. Note that if nominated by the department, a final decision on whether you are awarded the grant will be made directly by the granting agency in mid-late May.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to let us know by sending an email to studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca


Mellon Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiative (ISCEI) Student Travel Award

The Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiative (ISCEI) is supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is designed to build and expand on existing Indigenous initiatives on and off campus; to help provide a nexus for Indigenous scholarship and community-building; to generate new cross-University synergies and community partnerships; and to add to strategic capacity building in areas where McGill University can have the greatest impact.

How to apply:

Applications for student travel awards should be submitted as PDFs to Prof. Jessica Coon (Director, Indigenous Studies and Community Engagement Initiative) via iscei [at] mcgill.ca (email).

Eligibility:

  • Designed to support off-campus travel which contributes to Indigenous research and community engagement––either by:
    • Supporting travel for McGill students who self-identify as Indigenous to events which will further their professional development or
    • Supporting travel for McGill students (Indigenous and not) to advance Indigenous studies and community engagement research, projects, and initiatives.
  • Full-time registered McGill students only (undergraduate or graduate level); must be registered as full-time McGill student at the times of application, award payment, and travel
  • To support travel for research, community engagement, conference or workshop attendance, and collaborative research outside of the university

Deadlines:

TBD

For more info, please contact Prof. Jessica Coon (iscei [at] mcgill.ca)


CERIC Graduate Student Engagement Program Award

As a charitable organization that advances education and research in career counselling and career development, CERIC encourages the engagement of Canada’s full-time graduate students whose academic focus is in career development and/or related fields through the Graduate Student Engagement Program (GSEP).

Full-time Master’s or PhD students studying in career counselling/career development research areas such as Education, Sociology, Social Work, Counselling Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Business with a focus on Human Resources or Organizational Behaviour are strongly encouraged to apply.

Through this program, graduate students will be introduced to CERIC and given a chance to:

Students interested in getting involved must complete and submit the GSEP application form. A one-page article on a career development-related topic of choice (including a 50-word bio) must also be submitted to gsep [at] ceric.ca for those interested in competing for the GSEP Award. Guidelines for writing the article.

Applications and articles must be submitted by TBD (previously end of March).

For more info, please contact gsep [at] ceric.ca (Marilyn Van Norman) and visit the CERIC website.


Vanier Scholarship Program

*Department Deadline August 23, 2023 at 9 a.m.*

The Vanier Scholarship Program was launched by the Government of Canada to attract and retain world class doctoral students. Complete details regarding the Vanier program can be found on the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships website. Please consult Vanier CGS for eligibility criteria and the nomination process, as well as the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) Vanier webpage. 

Considered the most prestigious graduate awards at the federal level, this funding opportunity encourages students to pursue their doctoral studies at institutions different from those where they completed a previous degree in order to broaden research horizons and seek new challenges. Candidates nominated by a university at which they have completed a previous degree will be asked to provide a compelling rationale as to why they have chosen to remain or return.

Value and Duration of Award: $50,000 per year for three years

The Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology (ECP) is eligible to nominate up to four students per Federal Granting agency (CIHR, SSHRC) to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) for this award. Note that you can only be nominated by one Canadian University, and are not eligible if you have received a doctoral-level scholarship or fellowship for CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC to complete a doctoral degree.

Deadlines:

July 11, 2023 Please notify the department of your INTENT to apply. You do not have to submit any documentation at this stage. Simply send an studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca (email) with your full name, ID number (if applicable) and Program (that you are registered in, will begin IN , or intend to apply to), subject of email header: “Intention to apply-Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship Program”. Please ensure you review the extensive application requirements as well as selection criteria to establish the supporting documentation that you will be required to submit should you be nominated by the Department.

August 23, 2023, at 9 a.m. Deadline to submit application to the Department for evaluation by the ECP Fellowships Committee. Please submit ONE clear PDF copy of online ResearchNet application, including all supporting documents, to the Department via studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca (email) in the following order (ensure your PDF is named as follows: “LASTNAME, Firstname_VANIER CGS competition.pdf"):

Ensure you adhere to the Presentation Standards for Attached Documents as outlined on the GPS Vanier page.

September 10, 2023 at 8 p.m.UNIVERSITY APPLICATION SUBMISSION: Deadline to submit final online application via ResearchNet. BE SURE TO CLICK SUBMIT!!

Note: GPS has numerous resources available to you, including a Vanier CGS Student Workshop Presentation and a Pre-Selection Checklist for Applicants, on their Vanier page in the “How to Apply” section (click on the plus sign to expand the section). We strongly recommend you view the Student Workshop presentation, when it becomes available.

Candidates selected for nomination to GPS by the ECP Fellowships committee will be notified mid-September.

GPS will notify successful candidates in the University wide competition directly.


Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral (CGS-D): Harmonized Tri-Council Awards-CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC

The Canada Graduate Scholarships – Doctoral (CGS-D) program is a federal program of scholarships awarded through national competitions by Canada's three top granting agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

All information about the CGS-D program, including eligibility, application process, and selection process, will be posted on the Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral webpage. Please note that the online deadline set by McGill is October 1 (8:00pm) however the ECP Application deadline is Sunday, September 17, 2023 (11:59pm EST).  

Note: September 17th is a hard deadline to allow time for staff to prepare files and for faculty to review them. Even if you have not hit “Submit” on the online application to finalize it, all documentation submitted to the Department must be the final documents that will be submitted by October 1st at 8pm.

Be sure to finalize your online application (i.e. click submit) by October 1st!

No exceptions will be made.

Application Process

Complete the online application, save it as ONE PDF and submit your complete application to the Department via studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca (email) by September 17, 2023 (11:59pm EST). We also require all supporting documentation so be sure to ask your referees to save a pdf copy of the letters they submit online and submit it to the Department directly via studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca (email) by September 17, 2023 (11:59pm EST). 

NOTE: We do not require hard copies of applications or other supporting documents for this competition.

SUBJECT OF EMAIL: AGENCY-PHD-LASTNAME-2023 e.g. SSHRC-PHD-SMITH-2023

Please label your PDF as follows: AGENCY-PHD-LASTNAME-2023.PDF e.g.: SSHRC-PHD-SMITH-2023.PDF

It is your responsibility to ensure you review requirements and complete your documentation accurately. Incomplete or incorrect applications are not acceptable and will not be forwarded to the ECP Fellowships Committee for adjudication.

Note: GPS Deadline of October 1 (8:00pm) for online application. Be sure to finalize your online application (i.e. click submit) by this date!

Updated information can also be found on the GPS website. Note that GPS has Additional Resources listed in the How to Apply section of their website, for your reference. GPS also offers a workshop on Thursday, September 1, 2023 at 4:00pm (registration required).  Students should have their application ready before the workshop and use the workshop as a final check (rather than a starting point).

Adjudication process

All Academic units are provided with a quota to nominate to GPS for the University-wide competition. The ECP Fellowships Committee, compromising of one faculty member per program area, will jointly review all the applications as follows:

  1. Each applicant file is reviewed by two people, ensuring that no one is reviewing their own students’ files.
  2. Scores out of 10 are assigned to each of the SSHRC selection criteria:
                 - Research Ability and Potential* (50% weight)
                 - Relevant experience and achievement obtained within and beyond academia (50% weight)
  3. For each student, scores from both reviewers are compared and discrepancies in scores are discussed amongst the reviewers and the Fellowships Committee Chair.
  4. The scores are then used to rank all applications to determine which will be nominated as per the quota.

Candidates selected for nomination to GPS by the ECP Fellowships Committee will be notified the week of October 11, 2023.

After the University competition, GPS will notify all candidates of the outcome of the competition towards the end of November. 

Applicants forwarded by the University to the CGS competition are expected to be notified of results by the agency in April, 2023. The agencies will publish the names (and other basic award information) of scholarship recipients on their respective websites.

Should you have specific questions, please contact studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca (ECP Student Award Applications). (Note: Any questions regarding your research proposal should be directed to your research supervisor).

 


Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz Child Psychology Graduate Student Fellowship

The Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz Fellowship program, offered through the American Psychological Foundation (APF), supports graduate research projects and scholarships in child psychology.

2022 ECP Application Deadline: November 9th, 2022 (11:59PM EST)

For details on Program Goals, Funding Specifics and Eligibility criteria please visit the APA website

Note: The Agency accepts only one application per institution per year. Therefore, we will be holding a departmental competition to determine who our nominee will be. Applications will be forwarded to the ECP Fellowships Committee for review and all applications will be assessed base on the evaluation criteria listed on the organizations website. The nominee will then have until November 15th to complete the online application. 

How to apply:

If you are a Doctoral candidate** who meets the Program Goals and Eligibility Criteria outlined on the APF website, please submit the following in ONE PDF via studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca (email) in early fall :

 1. Single PDF document (Not to exceed five (5) pages, one-inch margins, 11-point Times New Roman/Garamond Font, single space) that consists of the following:

  • Goals, relevant background/literature review.
  • Methods (must be detailed enough so that the design, assessments, and procedures can be evaluated).
  • Anticipated outcomes, significance, and impact.
  • Project timeline (not to exceed one (1) page; typically, APF grants are for one (1) year).
  • Detailed budget and justification (not to exceed one (1) page).
  • Abbreviated CV (not to exceed five (5) pages).

Subject of Email: Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz Child Psychology Graduate Student Fellowship

Please label your PDF as follows: APF-Munsterberg Koppitz-LASTNAME-2020.pdf

2. Letters of Recommendation

  • Please ask your Graduate supervisor to send their letter to studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca by the ECP Application Deadline listed above.
  • Note: should your application be nominated by the ECP Fellowships Committee, we will solicit the recommendation letter from the Department Chair or GPD.

**NOTE: Only Doctoral candidates are eligible (i.e., students who have completed the comprehensive exam).

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca (ECP Student Award Applications).


Trudeau Foundation Scholarships

The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (PETF) Doctoral Scholarships in the humanities and social sciences is the only one of its scope and stature in the country. The PETF Scholarship offers a three-year leadership program designed to train Engaged Leaders, equipping doctoral candidates with the skills to translate their ideas into action, for the betterment of their communities, Canada, and the world. At least 12 Scholars will be selected for the leadership program, in addition to receiving generous funding for their studies.

Applications are to be submitted directly to the Foundation, via the Foundation’s application portal. Universities are no longer be required to nominate candidates. All candidates who submit completed applications by the deadline will be reviewed and assessed by the Foundation.

Eligibility criteria:

  • Be accepted or currently registered into year one or two of a full-time doctoral program, and expected to complete your doctoral studies in 2025 or later. 
  • The field of study must be broadly related to the humanities or human sciences of direct relevance to the future of Canada; (please refer to the FAQ for more details).
  • The doctoral research must relate to at least one of the Foundation’s four themes:
  1. Human Rights and Dignity
  2. Responsible Citizenships
  3. Canada and the World
  4. People and their Natural Environment
  • Be a Canadian Citizen studying at a foreign institution, or a non-Canadian (permanent resident or foreign national) enrolled in a doctoral program at a Canadian institution

Value and Duration:

  • Up to $40,000 per year for three years to cover tuition and reasonable living expenses
  • Up to $20,000 per year for three years for research, networking and travel allowance

Candidates are invited to join the Foundation for virtual information sessions on Wednesday, November 10th, 2021.

Application deadline: December 21, 2021 at 5:00 PM 

Application to be submitted on Foundation’s application portal registration required.

For more information please visit Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation or Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies


Master's Harmonized Tri-Council Awards - CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC

The Canada Graduate Scholarships – Masters (CGS-M) program is a federal program of scholarships awarded by Canada’s three top granting agencies:

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) – Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) – Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships
  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships

All information about the CGS-M program, including eligibility, application process, and selection process, is posted on the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s program webpage. It is your responsibility to ensure you review requirements and complete your documentation accurately. Incomplete or incorrect applications are not acceptable and will not be forwarded to the ECP Fellowships Committee for adjudication.

Additional information can also be found on the GPS website. Additional Resources can be found on the Maximize my Chances page. 

Value

$17,500 (one year non-renewable)

Student Deadline: December 1 - Submission of online application to Research Portal.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, you must:

  • 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. An eligible graduate program must have a significant research component. *Note: Applicants who are not currently enrolled in their intended graduate program must submit an application for admission at McGill University by the deadline set for their intended graduate program.
  • have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application, between zero and 12 months of full-time studies (or full-time equivalent) in:
    • the master’s program for which you are requesting funding; or
    • the doctoral program for which you are requesting funding if you were admitted into a doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program (you were never registered in a master’s program, or you are registered in a combined Master’s-PhD program); or
    • 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); and
  • not have previously held a CGS M;
  • achieved a first-class grade point average (3.70 for CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC-Humanities, as determined by McGill) in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent); 
  • submit a maximum of ONE CGS M application per year (the Research Portal will allow the application to be submitted to up to three universities).

Interdisciplinary Research

Students seeking support for interdisciplinary research in areas covered by more than one of the granting agencies NSERC, CIHR and SSHRC (for example, research in Biomedical Engineering) should refer to “ Selecting the Appropriate Federal Granting Agency”

How to Apply

Online application via “Research Portal” hosted on NSERC website.

Instructions

Students should only apply through universities where they are currently enrolled or where they anticipate submitting an application for admission. Please consult the tri-agency CGSM harmonization site for more details.

Required Documents

Full application form on the Research Portal. Verify the following:

  • Field of Research is appropriate
  • McGill is indicated as one of the Proposed Host Organizations with correct Faculty and Academic Unit/Division name
  • Research Proposal is uploaded
    • one (1) page proposal
    • one (1) page bibliography/citations
      Note: the proposal and bibliography may NOT extend one page each. Be SURE to adhere to ALL specified formatting instructions, especially with respect to the number of pages permitted per document or document section. Non conforming formatting will render the application inadmissible.
  • ALL official UP-TO-DATE university transcripts (must indicate CURRENT FALL registration, even if no grades appear), including all official transcripts* to support transfer credits, are uploaded
  • Two Reference Assessments - A tutorial video for Canada Graduate Scholarships Master’s Instructions for Completing a Reference Assessment Form is now available. Please share this with your referee!
  • Canadian Common CV -This must be validated for the correct funding agency.

It is your responsibility to ensure you review requirements and complete your documentation accurately. Incomplete or incorrect applications are not acceptable and will not be forwarded to the ECP Fellowships Committee for adjudication.

Adjudication process:

All Academic units are provided with a quota to nominate to GPS for the University-wide competition. The ECP Fellowships Committee, compromising of one Faculty per program area, will jointly rank all the applications as follows:

  1. Each applicant file is assigned to two people for review, ensuring that no one is reviewing their own students’ files.
  2. Scores are given by each reviewer using the CGSM selection criteria:
       - Academic Excellence (50%)
       - Research Potential (30%)
       - Personal Characteristics and Interpersonal Skills (20%)
  3. The committee chair synthesizes scores from reviews. For files with a discrepancy greater than 20%, the chair reads and discusses the file with the reviewers.
  4. Final rankings are determined by consensus across reviews. The final nomination list includes applications with rankings within the quota provided by GPS. All committee members endorse the list before submitting to GPS.

Candidates selected for nomination to GPS by the ECP Fellowships Committee will be notified by the end of February.

Offers of awards will be available in the research portal as of April 1. Offers to alternate applicants may be made up until January 31 of the next calendar year. It is the responsibility of the applicant to regularly check the research portal between April 1 and January 31 for results of the competition.

Additional Resources

 

GPS CGS-M website
Workshops and information sessions
Tri-agency CGS harmonization site

 

Should you have specific questions, please contact studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca (ECP Student Award Applications). (Note: Any questions regarding your research proposal should be directed to your research supervisor).


Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada (SWAAC)

The Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada (SWAAC) are pleased to offer the following two award opportunities for women. Please click on the plus (+) sign for eligibility criteria. 

1. (SWAAC) Graduate Student Award of Merit ($3,500)

Awarded to a woman university student registered in a Master's or PhD program. Each university in Quebec may nominate one candidate to this year's competition. A total of four awards are available province-wide.

Criteria:

  • Outstanding academic performance
  • Evidence of leadership, including but not limited to such things as:
    • executive positions in student organizations
    • participation on committees (student committees and university committees)
    • organization of special events, conferences, etc.
    • involvement in advocacy groups
    • involvement in volunteer organizations, within the campus setting and/or in the general community.

2. SWAAC Student Award in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ($3500)

Awarded to a woman university or college student * who advances equity, diversity and inclusion within and/or outside their institution through outstanding dedication and excellence or community outreach and activism.

Criteria:

  • Outstanding academic performance
  • Evidence of leadership, including but not limited to such things as:
    • Involvement in student organizations
    • Participation on committees (student committees and university committees)
    • Organization of special events, conferences, etc.
    • Involvement in advocacy groups
    • Involvement in volunteer organizations, within the campus setting and/or in the general community

*Diversity Statement: SWAAC is committed to prioritizing equity in the application process. Applications/nominations from students who identify as LGBTQ+, racialized, indigenous and/or students with disabilities are encouraged to apply for this award.

How to Apply:

Interested ECP students must submit an application via studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca (email) by TBD (Previously early January). Academic units are invited to submit one nomination per award to GPS.

Nomination package for each award must include:

  • biographical data - biographical information usually includes information about former and current studies, areas of interest, research, publications, other awards, interests outside the university, and community or volunteer work. It's usually in a narrative form, about 1-2 pages in length, and is an opportunity for the nominee to tell the adjudication committee some things about herself, and to explain at greater length her background/interests/passions/ambitions/volunteer work.
  • curriculum vitae
  • academic records
  • three letters of reference (to be submitted by referees directly to studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca

Each nomination package is to be submitted in one pdf file format by email to studentapplication.ecp [at] mcgill.ca. Please use the following file naming format: SWAAC 2021_Applicant last name-name of award-ECP

Additional Information can be found on the GPS website. 


Mastercard Foundation Scholarship

The Mastercard Foundation provides academically talented young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa with access to a world-class university education. The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at McGill will welcome Scholars from Sub-Saharan Africa, including some at the Master’s level. Learn more about the program on McGill's MCF website

Please note that Fall 2021 was the final incoming class of Mastercard Foundation Scholars at McGill University.

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