You’ve always wanted to know what the Vanier Canada graduate scholarships are all about, you have come to the right page. This article contains up-to-date, fully-detailed information about the scholarship including how to apply and win it too.
There are over a hundred scholarships available in Canada provided by schools, organizations, individuals or the government for domestic and international students to study in Canada without having to worry about finance as the scholarships may help in funding tuition fees or provide for other students’ needs.
These scholarships are awarded to Canadian citizens or domestic students, foreign citizens or international students and permanent Canadian residents. While some scholarships are provided annually some last for a few years and some just come once and never comes again.
Students are awarded scholarships for so many reasons but the main reasons are based on need and merit and sometimes both, let me explain them properly.
- Merit-based scholarships: These are scholarships awarded to recognize a student’s outstanding academic performance and leadership skills. So students who have always shown excellence through their academics and even through extracurricular activities can get scholarships of this type.
- Need-based scholarships: These type of scholarships are awarded to students from a poor background, thriving economies, war-torn countries or have shown to be facing financial issues.
However, you should know that some scholarships are awarded based on one of these needs while some are awarded based on both needs and some schools have their own special assessment of awarding scholarships.
Every provided scholarship must always fall under two categories which are;
- Fully-funded scholarships; this is a scholarship that covers the total cost of the student’s education until they graduate. It covers tuition fees, accommodation, living expenses and for international students, it goes on to cover flight tickets and health insurance.
The Canadian government offers dozens of fully-funded scholarships annually and we have a recently updated article where we listed out the 13 best fully-funded Canadian government scholarships and their details.
- Partially-funded scholarships; this type of scholarship covers half of the student’s educational funding, it may cover about one or more of the student’s needs. It may cover for only tuition fees or just accommodation, or provide for only educational equipment for a given number of years the student is meant to be in the school.
There are also other forms of financial aid offered by universities and there’s a helpful material on the universities in Canada that offer financial aid to international students
All in all, the scholarships will still help to finance your education in one way or another and it is non-refundable, you won’t payback.
Canada As A Place Of Study
Canada is one of the most popular study destinations in the world the country itself has received global recognition for that status and this is because of how educators and students are being addressed.
Canada is home to thousands of international students, the country is known to throw its doors wide open to everyone from all corners of the earth to partake in its university’s world-class education, research and enjoy its cities.
As a place with one of the lowest crime rates in the world and great weather too, it equally makes it a safe and convenient learning environment for students.
Canada is also known to offer generous amounts of scholarships annually to students on all levels and fields of study such as undergraduate scholarships, postgraduate and graduate scholarships. Due to how generous these scholarships are, they attract students from all parts of the world to be able to afford quality education.
The Vanier Canada graduate scholarship is just one of the many scholarships sponsored by the Canadian government and that is what this article is all about.
The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship
The Vanier Canada graduate scholarships (Vanier CGS) program was launched in 2008 by the Canadian government, it was named after the first francophone governor-general of Canada, Major-General Georges P. Vanier.
The scholarship was launched to attract and retain world-class doctoral students in Canada thus establishing the country as an international centre of excellence in research and higher learning.
Vanier CGS is a scholarship offered annually to 166 Canadian graduate students, it is worth $50,000 per year for three years during doctoral studies and it was established to help Canadian institutions attract highly qualified doctoral students.
The Vanier Canada graduate scholarships are government-funded, administered by Canada’s three federal research granting agencies namely;
- The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
- The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
- The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
The Vanier CGS is worth a lot and is highly sought for by students all over the world, yes, it is open for application for all graduate students both international and domestic students.
Selection Criteria for Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships
There are three selection criteria that applicants must possess to be selected for the Vanier Canada graduate scholarships, they are;
- Academic Excellence
- Research Potential
- Leadership
There are very important details applicants need to know about each of the selection criteria listed above.
- Academic Excellence: This shows the applicants’ research history and the impact of their academic activities to date in their areas of expertise and in the communities associated with their research are important indicators of their potentials as research leaders of tomorrow
The applicant’s academic excellence will be proven through four documents, university transcripts, institutional nomination letter, a common CV and a personal leadership statement showing past academic results, university comments, awards and duration of previous studies.
2. Research Potential: This demonstrates the candidate’s proposed research and its potential contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the field and any anticipated outcomes. The source of a candidate’ research potential will be shown through the following documents;
- Common CV
- Personal leadership statement
- Referee assessments
- Research contributions
- Research proposal
- Nomination letter
The above documents will indicate very vital information concerning the candidate like academic training and relevant work experience (co-op included), candidate’s contribution to research and development, the candidate’s enthusiasm for research, critical thinking abilities, knowledge application, judgment, initiative, autonomy and originality.
Leadership: This a candidate’s impactful involvement and achievement in extracurricular and political activities such as the leader of the student government, sports committee member, supervisory experience etc.
All of these are necessary to be selected for the Vanier Canada graduate scholarship.
Eligibility Criteria for Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships
After you must have passed the above selection criteria, there are certain eligibility criteria that you need to know about before applying for the Vanier Canada graduate scholarship and you must equally pass all of the eligibility criteria for your nomination to be accepted.
Candidates must adhere to the following criteria;
Nominating Institution
To begin with, the candidate must have become a full-time registered graduate student of an accredited Canadian institution and that institution must have received a Vanier CGS quota submitted by the candidate.
Citizenship
The following citizens/students are eligible to be nominated for a Vanier Canada graduate scholarship;
- Canadian citizens
- Permanent residents of Canada
- Foreign citizens
The above can also be translated as international and domestic students.
Areas of Research
To be eligible all applicants must fall under the three research areas which are;
- Health research
- Natural sciences and/or engineering research
- Social sciences and humanities research
Only people whose field of study is based on the above areas of research are required and can continue with the Vanier CGS application.
Who Can Apply for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship?
The following are individuals who can apply for a Vanier CGS;
- Applicants must be nominated by only one Canadian institution which must have received a Vanier CGS quota.
- Be a registered full-time student at the nominating Canadian institution and be pursuing your first doctoral degree or combined MA/PhD, MSc/PhD, or MD/PhD.
- Remain enrolled in your doctoral program and continue to show excellent academic performance.
- You must not have completed more than 20 months of doctoral studies as of May 1, 2020
- You must have achieved a first-class average, as determined by your institution, in each of the last two years of full-time study or equivalent.
- Applicants must not hold a faculty appointment concurrently with a Vanier scholarship unless they arrange a leave of absence from the appointment.
- Individuals who currently hold or have held a doctoral-level scholarship or fellowship from any of the three federal research granting agencies, CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC, are no longer eligible to apply for the Vanier CGS.
How Do I Apply For a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship?
After you must have passed all of the above criteria, candidates must be nominated by the institution they want to study as candidates cannot apply directly to the Vanier Canada scholarships program also your institution must know that you are applying for this scholarship.
Applicants must have the following documents in their possession which will be used for the Vanier CGS nomination, the complete packages are;
- A ResearchNet application form which will include two letters of reference, each with three sections.
- A Canadian common CV (CCV)
- A 2-page personal leadership statement
- A 2-page leadership letters of reference
- A 2-page research proposal
- 5-page project reference
Create a ResearchNet account and submit all of the above documents in the right fields and fill up other required blank spaces correctly. Your school will receive your data along with that of many others and make a selection.
After your school must have selected the candidates, the data of these nominated candidates will then be sent by the institution to the final Vanier CGS selection committee to make the final selection.
Finally, the winners will be sent an email to know they have been selected for the Vanier Canada graduate scholarship.
This brings an end to this article on how to apply and win the Vanier Canada graduate scholarships, every important detail has been provided to help you get this scholarship.
To know more about Canadian scholarships see this article on the 27 top universities in Canada with scholarships these schools have scholarships for international and domestic students on all levels of study.
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