CIHR: Master’s Level (CGSM*)
*Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships”
2013
Dr. Patricia MacKenzie
Associate Professor, School of Social Work
patmack@uvic.ca
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CIHR Funding is for:
all areas of health research, including biomedical, clinical,
health services and policy, and social, cultural,
environmental and population health.
GOAL – The Canada Graduate Scholarships Master's
Awards are intended to provide special recognition and
support to students who are pursuing a Master's degree in
a health related field at a Canadian institution. These
candidates are expected to have an exceptionally high
potential for future research achievement and productivity.
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Changes for 2013
The new “Harmonization” process.
There is now one application for the CGS-M for all three councils:
• Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $7M, enough to fund
approximately 400 awards.
Trainee stipend: $17,500 per annum.
Awards must be held at the university where the offer of award originates. Awards are
not intended to be portable between universities; however exceptions may be made in
extenuating circumstances at the discretion of the host university, according to the
academic and administrative regulations of the host university.
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Which Tri-Council?
General Guidelines for the Eligibility of Subject Matter at SSHRC
Applications to SSHRC as the primary source of research or research training support must meet the following criteria:
The program of research must be primarily in the social sciences and humanities (i.e., aligned with the SSHRC mandate and;
The intended outcome of the research must primarily be to add to our understanding and knowledge of individuals, groups, and societies - what we think, how
we live and how we interact with each other and the world around us.
General Guidelines for the Eligibility of Subject Matter at NSERC
Applications to NSERC as the primary source of research or research training support must meet the following criteria:
The program of research must be primarily in the natural sciences and engineering;
The intended objectives of the research must be, primarily, to advance knowledge in one of the natural sciences or in engineering.
General Guidelines for Eligibility of Subject Matter at CIHR
Applications to CIHR as the primary source of research or research training support must meet the following criterion:
The intended outcomes of the research must, as stated in CIHR’s mandate, primarily improve or have an impact on health and/or produce more effective
health services and products and/or strengthen the Canadian health care system.
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In the past applications could be declined based on
subject matter eligibility if a student applied to the
“wrong” Council;……
In the harmonized system “every complete
application will be reviewed and any questions
about subject matter eligibility will be resolved by
the university”. This means that:
Every application will find a home and the
application will be considered by the relevant
Council.
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Eligibility
To be eligible to apply, you must:
1. be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada;
2. Be enrolled in, or intend to apply for full-time admission* to an eligible graduate program at a
Canadian university with a CGS M allocation;
3.Usually, 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. Other regulations state that
not have previously held a CGS M;
have achieved a first-class average, as determined by the host university, in the last two
completed years of study (full-time equivalent); and
submit a maximum of one CGS M application per year (the Research Portal will allow the
application to be submitted to up to five universities
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Your graduate program must have a significant
research component. A significant research
component is considered to be original, autonomous
research 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 a
requirement for completion of the program.
Master’s programs that are based only on course
work are not eligible since they do not include a
significant research component.
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Application process The application is done electronically through the
Research Portal which is accessed on the NSERC site,
www.nserc.gc.ca
In addition to the application students must complete the
Canada Graduate Scholarship – Masters Canadian
Common CV (CGS-M CCV) which you will be required to
upload as part of your application
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Identifying your Field of Research
Previously, students applied to a specific Tri-Council……
now you will be asked to identify your area of research:
health related, natural sciences and/or engineering, or
social sciences and/or humanities
Additional questions will be triggered based on your
selection.
 For example if you select health research, you will be
prompted to answer related questions e.g. Does the
research involve human research participants?
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Canadian Common CV (CGSM – CCV)
A simplified version of the CCV for Masters Applicants has been
created and instructions for creating it are available through the
NSERC website at:
http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/CGSMBESCM_eng.asp
TIPS
•Before you begin creating your CGSM CCV read through the
instructions; you may also want to print them or have them available
on another tab as you complete the CGSM CCV
•Your CGSM CCV is intended to be a progressive document that you
can add information to as you progress through your education and
into your career.
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The Common CV cont’d
There are sections of the CGS-M CCV that will not relate to
you at this point in your education and career so you will not
need to complete them, but take time to check each section to
be sure there is nothing you need to add
As you work through each section, you will see either a red X,
or a green √ - red X meaning something is missing and green
√ indicating the section is complete
As you complete each section, Add it to your CCV and click
Done (you may need to click Done twice)
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More on the Common CV
When your CGS-M CCV is complete, click Submit the system will create a PDF and an .xml
version of your CGS-M CCV and your confirmation number will be provided onscreen
Click History in the top menu bar, and the Submission History will appear, click the .xml
icon
A download will appear and you will be prompted to Save File, so you can save a copy
of the .xml file on your computer and you may rename it
Take note of the file name of your CGS-M CCV so you can easily retrieve it when
prompted to upload it to your CGS-M Application
CAUTION: Don’t forget your password – waiting for a new temporary password when your may
be under pressure to complete your application is a frustration you want to avoid (also avoided
by applying early)
If you have technical difficulties there is a Help option on the CCV main page, or you may email to webapp@nserc-crsng.gc.ca or call 613-995-4273. Include in your message the e-mail
address and telephone number where you may be contacted.
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Applying for the Canada Graduate Scholarship
Masters (CGS-M)
Students apply through the Research Portal which is accessed via the NSERC website
at http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/CGSM-BESCM_eng.asp
Presentation Standards for the CGS-M application
You will be responsible for submitting an application that conforms the to
following presentation standards (this will be available online):
Text must be single-spaced, with no more than six lines per inch.
•The acceptable font is Times New Roman (regular, minimum 12-pt.) or any
comparable serif font. Condensed type is not acceptable.
•Set margins at a minimum of 2 cm (3/4 of an inch) all around.
•Use a left-justified, standard page layout.
•Include your name in the page header (on every page).
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• For multipage attachments, number the pages
sequentially.
• The maximum number of pages permitted is indicated in
each section of the application. Pages in excess of the
number permitted will be removed.
• If you have supporting documents written in a language
other than English or French, you must provide a
translation of the document in English or French.
• All attachments must be in PDF format before they can
be attached to the electronic application.
NOTE “Incomplete applications will be rejected, and
applications that do not meet presentation standards may
be rejected or at a disadvantage,”
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Provide a Clear Outline of Your Proposed Research
NOTE: The instructions indicate that you have one page
maximum for your research proposal and one page for
citations; don’t be confused by the text on the
application which might seem like you have two pages
for your research proposal
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The details
 follow instructions exactly
 adhere to format guidelines (e.g., font, page
limits)
 applications MUST be completed using the
media specified in the funding opportunity
 use the full page allowances
 familiarize yourself with the Guide for Reviewers
 start several weeks before the deadline – right
now!
Working with your UVic Grantscrafter
• Not a guarantee that you will get the grant!
• Application material, ideas and discussion
will remain confidential
• Positive criticism
• Technicalities not addressed
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Context and Support Matters!
 work on the research proposal and the full application in
collaboration with your supervisor/mentor
 proofread your application … carefully!
 show the complete application to their supervisor/mentor, peers
and other researchers for feedback
 Be prepared to produce multiple drafts
 If you can, set up an internal review system – other students
who have been successful, other applicants, profs, etc.
 Even if not successful you will produce a draft of your thesis
proposal so think positive
 Do not wait to submit until the last minute
Planning for Success
 Grades matter!
 Sponsor Letters are very, very important –
choose wisely
 Emphasize publications, research
experience, professional experience
 A strong training environment where you
will get exposure to research and have
research networking and mentoring
opportunities is essential
The “Narrative”
• A well-laid out proposal says to a committee
“this person knows what they are talking
about and they have taken as much care with
their proposal as we are now doing.”
• Reviewers are busy people and have many
proposals to read. Make yours one they will
want to read!
• Ensure you convey what you are proposing is
relevant, unique, and will benefit the health of
Canadians
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Think about the ‘audience’
• Assessors may have the kind of specialized
knowledge you need, but a committee will
not.
• Provide a rapid introduction for intelligent
non-specialists.
• Provide appropriate (and recent!) references.
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Provide Information Clearly
• Committees are not only not infallible and
tired, they are also starting with imperfect
information about you and your institution.
• Give them the information you know is
essential to your case, straightforwardly and
succinctly.
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Logical and Connected Proposal
• Present research plans coherently, as a set
of problems.
• In a logical and connected order.
• Always state the central problem of your work
and why it is important.
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Critiques
• If you are critiquing existing models or
approaches in the literature,
• do so lucidly, without partisanship, and
• demonstrate clearly why your approach is
better.
• Be precise.
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Adjudication Committees
• Most of these committees are
interdisciplinary; some are not; some have
non-academics on them. They are your
audience – write to them.
• Committees get tired and impatient with
complex obscure language, typos, poorly
laid-out proposals with grammar and
spelling errors, and incomplete information.
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Review Procedures
The Faculty of Graduate Studies (or equivalent) at
each Canadian university is responsible for
coordinating the selection process for the CGS M
applications, and for communicating the results to the
applicants and agencies.
The university selection committees evaluate each
CGS M application.
The UVic allotment is 6.
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Selection Criteria
Academic Achievement -
50%
Research Potential -
30%
Personal Characteristics and
Interpersonal Skills
20%
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Peer ‘preview’
• Ask a friend who is not overly familiar with
your research to read your proposal some
day/evening when he/she is tired and see if
it makes sense.
• Then ask your friend to tell you which bits
are confusing, or that had to be read twice.
• Then sit down again and work on getting rid
of the jargon, or the long sentences, or . . .
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Final Observations
• Grant competitions are still going to be, on
occasion, unfair.
• After one rejection, do not despair. . . or at
least, not for long.
• There will be comments that come with the
decision.
• Take the advice that makes sense to you;
ponder the rest, and then accept or reject it.
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Summary
Five Steps
 Get going on the Common CV
 Find your Referees and get them committed
 Assemble your application
 Submit your application
 Await notification of decision
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Where to now? How do I remember all this
information?
All the information presented today will be available on the Faculty of
Graduate Studies website under External awards and fellowships
 http://www.uvic.ca/graduatestudies/finances/financialaid/externalawar
ds/
Questions about the CGS-M Application or Masters CCV process??
Faculty of Graduate Studies Scholarship Officers:
 Kathy McCarthy fgsaward@uvic.ca
 Yvonne Rondeau scholoff@uvic.ca
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Contact Info
Dr. Patricia MacKenzie
patmack@uvic.ca
250-721-8735
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Thank You
Questions?
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