program area
Interdisciplinary Studies
Business
award type
Student research funding
The Canada Graduate Research Scholarships—Doctoral (CGRS D) program is a federal program of scholarships awarded through national competitions by the granting agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
The objectives of the CGRS D program is to reward and retain top-level graduate students at Canadian institutions, to enable a high-quality research training experience for award holders and to foster impacts within and beyond the research environment.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply, an applicant must:
- be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person of Canada, as of the application deadline date;
- have completed no more than 36 months of full-time study in their doctoral program by December 31 of the year of application. The calculation assumes that all studies were uninterrupted except for university approved leaves of absences;
- submit only one doctoral award application (CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC) in a given academic year;
- not have already received a doctoral-level scholarship or fellowship from CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.
In addition to the CGRS D, each agency also offers its own doctoral awards. Refer to the literature for CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC for further details.
Check out these resources to help plan and prepare your application:
- Federal Scholarships Doctoral YouTube Video
- Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral program website
- How to prepare a Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral (CGS D) and Doctoral Fellowship program application BLOG
- Scholarships, Awards, and Bursaries: Playing the Game Pays Off BLOG
- How to Write a Research Proposal PowerPoint
How to apply
Both awards have a single application tailored to each agency. Once you have determined the most suitable agency, referring to science.gc.ca, apply through the relevant portal.
CIHR: ResearchNET (Select application form Doctoral Research Award)
NSERC: On-line System (Select application Form 201)
SSHRC: On-line System (select application Doctoral Awards Program)
Normal Royal Roads University quotas:
SSHRC = 3+
NSERC = 3+
CIHR = 3+
+Institutions may recommend meritorious applications from self-identified Indigenous applicants to the doctoral awards competition beyond their application quota. This includes Indigenous students from outside of Canada but they must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person of Canada.
An RRU committee of researchers will review all applications received, rank them, and submit the recommended applications to the agencies by October 17. The scholarships administrator will then notify applicants of the outcome of the institutional evaluation.
Important Dates | |
August | competition launch |
October 17 | application for nomination deadline |
November 22 | nominations due to agencies |
mid-April | results announced by email |
within six months of the end of the scholarship period |