The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS) program is designed to attract and retain world-class doctoral students by supporting students who demonstrate both leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health-related fields. The Vanier CGS is valued at $50,000 per year for up to three years.

Eligibility

Confirm that you and your nominating institution meet all the criteria below before you apply for a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS).

Nominations that do not meet all of the eligibility criteria will be deemed ineligible.

Candidate eligibility

Citizenship

Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada and foreign citizens are eligible to be nominated for a Vanier CGS.

Eligibility to apply for a Vanier CGS

To be considered for a Vanier CGS, you must:

• be nominated by only one Canadian institution, which must have received a Vanier CGS quota^Footnote1;
• be pursuing your first doctoral degree (including joint program such as MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, or JD/PhD – if it has a demonstrated and significant research component);
• intend to pursue, in the summer semester or the academic year following the announcement of results, full-time doctoral (or a joint graduate research program such as MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD) studies and research at the nominating institution;
• have completed no more than 20 months of full-time study in your doctoral program as of May 1, 2023;
  • The doctoral program would begin after the completion of a Master’s degree. The months of study completed are calculated from the doctoral enrolment date.
• have completed no more than 32 months of full-time study in your doctoral program (i.e., joint graduate research program, accelerated, previously enrolled without obtaining Master’s degree), by May 1, 2023 if:
  • enrolled in a joint graduate research program, e.g., MD/PhD, MA/PhD, DVM/PhD. Applicants in this category have access to the 32-month window whether or not they were previously enrolled in a Master’s program:
    • The months of study are calculated starting from the date on which an applicant is officially registered in the joint program (including the Master’s portion of the program).
  • enrolled directly from a Bachelor’s to a PhD (not previously enrolled in a Master’s program);
    • The months of study completed are calculated from the doctoral enrolment date.
  • Previously enrolled in a Master’s program without obtaining the degree.
    • The months of study completed are calculated from the original Master’s enrolment date.
• have achieved a first-class average, as determined by your institution, in each of the last two years of full-time study or equivalent. Candidates are encouraged to contact the institution for its definition of a first-class average; and
• must not hold, or have held, a doctoral-level scholarship or fellowship from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC to undertake or complete a doctoral program.

Please note that only the PhD portion of a joint program is eligible for funding.

Eligibility of program of study

• An eligible doctoral program must include a significant research component that leads 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 requirement for a completion of the program.
• Joint graduate research programs with a professional degree (e.g., MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/PhD) as well as clinically-oriented programs of study, including clinical psychology, are also eligible programs if they have a significant autonomous research component, as described above.

Number of months of doctoral studies

Regardless of disciplines, all prior doctoral-level studies that started in Canada or abroad, are considered in the evaluation of eligibility, and are considered to be continuous, full-time, and uninterrupted unless otherwise confirmed by the institution (including the summer months, unless on official leave). The Vanier-Banting Secretariat (the Secretariat) will count two months of part-time study as one month of full-time study.

Students who studied on a part-time basis must outline their part-time study in the Special Circumstances attachment. The information must be reflected in the transcripts.

Nominating institution

The nominating institution must have received a Vanier CGS quota.

Eligibility to hold a Vanier CGS

Without exception, the Vanier CGS is tenable only at the eligible Canadian institution that submitted the nomination.

To hold the Vanier CGS, the candidate must:

• be registered^Footnote2 in a full-time doctoral program (or joint graduate research program MA/PhD, MSc/PhD, or MD/PhD) at the nominating Canadian institution; and
• not hold a faculty appointment concurrently with a Vanier Scholarship unless they arrange for a leave of absence from the appointment
• remain enrolled and demonstrate continued satisfactory progress in their doctoral program.
• not hold, or have held, a doctoral-level scholarship from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC to undertake or complete a doctoral program.
• not be concurrently holding any other SSHRC, NSERC or CIHR training award (note: Michael Smith Foreign Studies Supplement excepted).
• begin their award within 12 months of the earliest possible start date and start on May 1, September 1, or January 1 following the offer of award.

Part-time studies

A Vanier CGS may be held by students who are registered part-time due to disability, parental or medical reasons, or family-related responsibilities. For eligible part-time students, the Vanier CGS will be equivalent to full-time funding spread over a longer period of time.

Canadian federal government employees

Canadian federal government employees are eligible to hold a scholarship only if an unpaid leave of absence is taken (no salary or special allowances permitted).

Multiple applications

Eligible candidates may apply to both the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship program and other agency-specific doctoral-level scholarship/fellowships programs (whether to the same or a different federal granting agency) in the same academic year, provided that the research proposed in each application falls within the mandate of the federal granting agency to which the application is submitted. For more information, please refer to Identify area of research.

Note: since eligibility, evaluation criteria and competition deadlines are different; applications submitted to Vanier CGS are not considered in agency-specific doctoral award competitions. You must apply to each program individually.

Candidates who are successful in both competitions will have to choose which award to accept.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Nominees will be evaluated and selected based on the following three criteria, which will be weighted equally by the selection committees:

• Academic Excellence
• Research Potential
• Leadership (Potental and Demonstrated Ability)

Please see the Vanier CGS website for complete selection criteria.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

UBC Vanier applicants will complete their Vanier application using ResearchNet, an online application system. Applicants to UBC must submit their complete Vanier application package via ResearchNet by 12 noon PT on Thursday, 1 September 2022.  Late applications will not be accepted.

Applicants should refer to the Vanier CGS website for step-by-step application instructions.

To apply, applicants must do the following by the deadline noted above:

1. Notify their chosen UBC graduate program that they intend to apply for the Vanier CGS.  
   • This is an important step as your UBC graduate program should be aware of your intention to apply for the Vanier as they must support (nominate) your application in order for it to reach the university-wide stage of the award competition.
2. Provide official, up to date transcripts to their UBC graduate program for all post-secondary studies (including studies that did not lead to a degree, e.g., exchange / transfer course grades) up to 31 August 2022.
   • UBC transcripts:
     • The “Academic History” document (provided by graduate program – not available on SSC) is acceptable.  Official UBC transcript is also acceptable.
     • For applicants registered at UBC in the 2022W1 (Fall 2022) term, the UBC transcript (or SISC Academic History) must list the student’s 2022W1 (Fall 2022) registration.
     • Must include UBC transcript key. The current version is available here.
   • Other transcripts:
     • Only official transcripts will be accepted by Vanier.
     • Acceptable:
       • Official transcripts from UBC admission application (evision system): Scanned copies of official transcripts, accessed by the UBC graduate program from evision, that were validated and uploaded by G+PS (i.e., transcripts listed as “Transcripts & Diplomas – Official” under ‘Document Type’ in evision)
       • “Certified true” copies of official transcripts from the UBC graduate program’s own files.
       • Official transcripts sent directly from the issuing institution to the UBC graduate program.
     • Not acceptable:
       • Unofficial transcripts (no water mark or registrar’s signature or registrar’s stamp and/or may note ”unofficial” on each page and/or copied from institution student account)
       • Transcripts uploaded by the applicant for UBC admission (ie. transcripts in evision system that are not verified by G+PS)
       • Applicant’s personal copies of official transcripts
     • Official transcripts: Typically include a watermark from the institution and/or a registrar’s signature and/or stamp.
     • Up to date transcripts: Dated or issued in the summer session (summer 2022) (if currently registered) or after the last term completed (if not currently registered).
     • International transcripts: For students including foreign transcripts, if the transcripts are not presented in one of Canada’s two official languages (English or French), a certified translation must be provided, in addition to the official transcripts in its original language.
     • Include one copy of marking key / legend (usually on back of transcript) for each institution.
   • The graduate program may have some of the applicant’s transcripts on file already; if so, well in advance of the application deadline, the applicant must confirm with the graduate program which transcripts the program has on file and will provide to support the Vanier CGS application, and which transcripts the applicant must still provide to the graduate program.
   • If the applicant needs to provide any transcripts in support of their Vanier CGS application, the graduate program must receive the original, official transcripts from the issuing institution.
   • Note: “transcripts for post-secondary studies” includes transcripts from transfer credit courses and exchange or study abroad terms.
     • Example: UBC transcript lists study abroad terms at “Sciences Po” institute in Paris. The courses are listed as transfer credit on the UBC transcript, but the grades are not listed. The official Sciences Po transcript must be provided.
   • Questions about transcript requirements should be directed to the graduate program; the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies does not provide transcripts for Vanier applications
   • It is the applicant’s responsibility to confirm that their graduate program has all of their required transcripts for their Vanier application
   • Transcripts are not attached to the Vanier application by the application deadline.  The nominating institution will attach the official transcripts later, should the application be nominated to the Vanier CGS national competition.
3. Request letters of support from four referees:
   • two letters from referees assessing the applicant’s academic excellence, research potential and demonstrated and potential leadership ability are submitted electronically through ResearchNet by the referee
   • two leadership reference letters; two PDFs are provided to the applicant, who uploads the letters to his or her electronic application file
   • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI): Referees are encouraged to review Vanier’s EDI resources to incorporate EDI considerations in their reference letters.
   • See further information regarding referee assessments.
4. Create a “Vanier-Banting Academic” CV
5. Prepare the other required documents (Research Contributions, Personal Leadership Statement, Special Circumstances [if applicable], Research Proposal, Project References, and Voluntary Self-Identification Form for Indigenous Applicants [optional]).  The presentation standards and page limits set by Vanier must be followed.
6. Submit a completed Vanier CGS application via ResearchNet

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI): Applicants are encouraged to review Vanier’s EDI resources to incorporate EDI considerations in their application package.

Please see the Vanier CGS website for detailed application/nomination instructions.

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