• Objective
• Description
• Eligibility
• Program of study
• Application procedures
• Application deadlines
• Selection process
• Priority funding areas
• Joint initiatives and supplements
• Equity, diversity and inclusion
• Indigenous student researchers and Indigenous research
• Black student researchers
• San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment
• Selection criteria
• Notification of results
• Conditions of the award
• Official languages
• Contact

The Canada Graduate Research Scholarship — Doctoral (CGRS D) program recognizes and supports the next generation of outstanding innovators, knowledge workers, creative thinkers and researchers. By providing support for a high-quality research training experience to awardees, the program strives to foster impacts within and beyond the research environment.

The CGRS D is a scholarship in the Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS) administered by 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 (SSHRC). The CRTAS aims to support the next generation of innovators by providing funding and high-quality research training, cultivating research skills, fostering creativity and empowering awardees to make significant contributions to Canada’s research ecosystem, economy and prosperity.

The CGRS D program supports and promotes research excellence in a wide variety of disciplines and broad fields of health, natural sciences and engineering and social sciences and humanities, including interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research. This support allows scholars to concentrate on their doctoral studies more fully, to seek out the best research mentors in their chosen fields and to contribute to the Canadian research ecosystem during and beyond the tenure of their awards. Doctoral scholarships are awarded through a selection process and administered by the three granting agencies.

To be eligible to apply, you must have completed no more than 36 months of full-time equivalent study in the doctoral program, the PhD portion of the joint professional undergraduate/PhD program (such as MD/PhD, JD/PhD, DVM/PhD) or the joint program (such as MA/PhD, MSc/PhD, MBA/PhD) for which you are requesting funding by December 31 of the calendar year of your application.

Note: If you are eligible to apply to the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship—Master’s (CGRS M) program, you may be able to maximize your potential period of funding by applying to the CGRS M program for your first year of doctoral funding instead of the CGRS D program. You are responsible for choosing the award program to which you apply. See Other restrictions below for more information.

Eligibility for CGRS D is based on the number of months of full-time study, including summer months, you completed by December 31 of the calendar year of your application toward the degree for which you are requesting funding. Two terms of part-time study count as one term of full-time study.

The agencies count all studies toward the doctoral degree for which funding is requested, whether or not they were completed in the same program or at the same institution.

• Fast-track programs: If you were enrolled in a master’s program and subsequently transferred to a doctoral program (fast-track), the months of study completed are calculated starting from the date on which you transferred into the doctoral program.
• Joint programs: If you are enrolled in a joint program and will obtain a master’s degree as part of the program (for example, MA/PhD, MSc/PhD, MBA/PhD), the months of study are calculated starting from the date on which you officially enrolled in either portion of the joint program (including the master’s portion of the program).
• Joint professional undergraduate/PhD programs: If you are enrolled in a joint professional undergraduate/PhD program (such as MD/PhD, JD/PhD, DVM/PhD), only the months of study in the PhD portion will be counted.

If you are not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada or protected person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), you must be enrolled in your doctoral program of study at an eligible Canadian institution by the application deadline. Up to 15% of awards will be available to international applicants.

You may take up your CGRS D at any eligible Canadian degree-granting institution (or eligible CIHR institution paid). To be eligible to hold your award at an international degree-granting institution, you must:

• be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada or protected person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) as of the application deadline; and
• have completed at least one previous undergraduate or graduate degree at a Canadian institution.

Up to 20% of all doctoral awards will be available to be held abroad.

When considering locations of tenure outside of Canada, and to help you plan for safe travels and to safeguard your research abroad, you are encouraged to consult the Government of Canada’s resources related to travel and research security. These include the following pages:

• Travel advice and advisories by destination
• Travel health notices
• Registration of Canadians abroad
• Emergency assistance outside Canada
• Safeguarding Your Research portal, which includes resources such as a Travel security guide for university researchers and staff, a series of self-directed research security training courses, and Canada’s list of Named Research Organizations
• Safeguarding Science Initiative, which offers virtual training modules including on the protection of your research while travelling abroad

Please note that the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy) does not apply to scholarship and fellowship programs, such as the Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS). However, all Canadian researchers are encouraged to consult the Tri-agency Guidance on Research Security and associated resources in order to exercise due diligence when managing their research.

• You can submit a maximum of one Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master's (CGRS M), Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS D), or Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) application per academic year to either CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC. If you submit more than one application, only the eligible application submitted first will be retained.
• You can apply a maximum of three times to the CGRS D.
• You cannot have already received a doctoral-level scholarship from CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC (including a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship).
• You cannot hold a tenure or tenure-track appointment or be on leave from such an appointment concurrently with your CGRS D award (some exceptions apply; see the Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide for details).

An eligible doctoral program must be predominantly research oriented, leading 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 completing the program.

Joint programs with a professional degree (for example, MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD, MBA/PhD), as well as clinically oriented programs of study, including clinical psychology, are eligible if they have a significant autonomous research component as described above.

Apply to the agency best aligned with your research subject matter to ensure your application will be reviewed by experts in disciplines closest to your field(s) of study. For more information, see Selecting the Appropriate Federal Granting Agency.

If you are applying to CIHR, consider the information on CIHR’s website.

If you are applying to NSERC, see the Addendum to the guidelines for the eligibility of applications related to health, which has additional information and specific examples relating to subject matter.

If you are applying to SSHRC, see the information on SSHRC's Subject Matter Eligibility web page.

If you are still unsure after consulting these resources, contact the relevant agencies.

It is your responsibility to select the funding agency that best suits your application. Applications submitted to the incorrect agency may be removed from the competition.

To complete the application process, see the appropriate agency’s website and instructions:

• CIHR: ResearchNET and instructions
• NSERC: Online system and instructions
• SSHRC: Registration and login and instructions

Your application must be complete to be considered in the competition.

You must submit your application electronically through the relevant agency’s platform.

If you need help while preparing your application, write to the appropriate program contact well before the application deadline.

You must apply either through a Canadian institution or directly to the appropriate agency, depending on your registration status on the application deadline date and/or your registration status during the calendar year of application. Where you intend to hold the award has no impact on the channel through which you must apply. If you fail to submit your application through the correct channel, your application will not be considered.

To determine the correct channel:

• determine your registration status for the calendar year of application
• determine if that institution has a quota  for your selected agency
• refer to the tables below

Note: If you are on an approved leave of absence from an institution you are considered to be registered at that institution.

If you are unsure of your registration status in the calendar year of application, contact your faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent).

The term “quota” refers to the maximum number of applications an institution can forward to each agency. Institutions receive separate quotas from each agency (CIHR , NSERC and SSHRC).

As the application deadline approaches, the high volume of users accessing the online application systems may cause delays that prevent you from submitting your application on time. It is your responsibility to strictly follow the instructions for completing an application by the deadline. Late applications will not be accepted.

With the exception of personal contact information, you cannot make any changes or updates to your submitted application either before or after the deadline. You may update your personal contact information by sending an email to the relevant agency

If you are applying through an institution, you must submit your application by the deadline set by the institution, which may be well in advance of the agency deadline.

For more information about institutional deadlines, contact your faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent).

If you are eligible to apply directly to one of the agencies, you must submit your application using the appropriate agency application portal before 8:00 pm (ET) on October 17. If the deadline falls on a weekend, applications can be submitted the following business day before 8:00 pm (ET).

The faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at each Canadian institution is responsible for coordinating an institutional evaluation of CGRS D applications. Institutions then submit applications according to their quotas to each agency for consideration.

Agency-specific review committees evaluate applications (whether sent directly to the agencies or via the institutions).

Awards may be reserved to support federal or agency-specific research priority areas. These research priorities will reflect aspects of contributing sectors and research areas across all three agency mandates. The agencies will communicate further information to applicants when research areas are identified.

The three agencies may offer supplementary funding to award holders, some of which is offered through joint initiatives (collaborations with organizations from across the not-for-profit, private and public sectors to support and promote training, research and connection activities). Joint initiatives and supplements are designed to reflect the strategic objectives and mandates of each respective agency, inform decision-makers and, in certain cases, address specific needs of their partners. See the agency websites (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) for more information on related opportunities.

The three agencies are acting on evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-Agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and is aligned with the objectives of the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan.

Self-identification data and consent provided with applications may be used to determine eligibility for additional awards or priority funding opportunities designated for specific underrepresented groups.

The three agencies have implemented measures to support Indigenous research and First Nations, Inuit and Métis graduate students.

These measures include:

• an opportunity for self-identified Canadian Indigenous doctoral applicants to have their application considered for submission beyond their institution’s quota—self-identified Indigenous student researchers must agree to their personal information being used for this purpose by making the appropriate selection in the application form;
• a checkbox in the application form to identify a proposed program of study as Indigenous research, such that the Guidelines for the Merit Review of Indigenous Research will apply (CIHR and SSHRC only);
• instructions for members of the doctoral review committees to take into account special circumstances that may have had an impact on the academic or career paths of Indigenous applicants; and
• concerted efforts by the three agencies to include Indigenous members and experts in Indigenous research on review committees.

The Government of Canada has provided additional funds to increase direct support for Black student researchers. CGRS D applicants who self-identify as Black and provide consent to be considered for funds designated for specific groups may be selected to receive this funding. Each agency has up to 10 additional CGRS D awards reserved for Black student researchers.

CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, along with other Canadian research funding agencies, are signatories of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). The agencies are committed to meaningful assessment of excellence in research funding and to ensuring that a wide range of research results and outcomes are considered and valued as part of the assessment process. The agencies will continue to work to ensure that their strategies, policies and guidance align with DORA.

The evaluation of CGRS D applications, whether by institutions or the agencies, is based on the following criteria:

You will be notified of the results by April 30.

If you accept an award, the relevant agency will publish your name (and other basic award information) on its website.

For more information, see the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.

Award holders must comply with the policies and guidelines set out in the Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide and in any other documents related to scholarship applications and awards.

The agencies reserve the right to interpret and enforce the policies and guidelines for their funding opportunities set out in their published materials.

Award holders may be eligible to hold their awards part time. See the Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide for further information.

You may submit your application in either of Canada’s official languages, English or French. If you have supporting documents written in a language other than English or French, you must submit a certified translation of these documents.

Institutions must have mechanisms in place to review applications in the official language in which they were submitted. For more information about the review of applications in Canada’s two official languages, applicants and institutions may contact the funding agencies.

For more information, contact the agency closest to your field of study:

CIHR contact centre
support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

NSERC
nsercscholarships-boursesCRSNG@NSERC-CRSNG.GC.CA

SSHRC
fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca