SSHRC DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP WORKSHOP
1.
Eligibility
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2.
Application Procedures
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3.
only Canadian citizens or permanent residents can apply
must be working in the humanities or the social sciences
cannot have held previously an NSERC (or CIHR) doctoral award
can only apply to one agency at a time
must be in final year of MA or in years 1 - 3 of PhD to apply
“fast-tracked” BA (Hons) may also apply
you cannot apply if
 you are working on a second PhD
 you have completed more than three years (full-time) doctoral work here
or elsewhere
 you are also applying for a Canada Graduate Scholarship - Masters Level
 for a CGS - PhD Level if you already hold a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship
 if your research falls under a health related category (clinical) please
verify with SSHRC or CIHR as to where you should send your application
complete application on line
 www.sshrc.gc.ca
you may complete the application in either English or French
print a hard copy of your completed application
submit printed copy to your graduate administrator by 19 October, 2012
 attach all official university transcripts
 have letters of recommendation sent directly to graduate administrator
Application Form
Page 1 - Identification
 make sure to supply your e-mail address for use by SSHRC and Carleton
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Page 2 - Addresses
 your permanent address must be in Canada
Page 3 - Application Profile
 Supplement or “special initiatives” are relevant only if your research concerns
participation in sport in Canada, forestry, or Sociology students studying poverty
 “Current status” should be “currently registered” if you are taking courses in any
capacity at Carleton or are on an official leave of absence
 if you are not currently registered at Carleton, you should submit your completed
application directly to SSHRC before 07 November, 2012
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your “current position” is “student” (not TA)
your “degree sought” is “PhD” or doctorate
for “preferred selection committee”, see instructions (p. 6) for options
select area you are going into, not current area (if you are changing disciplines)
“start date” is usually September but can be May or in rare cases January 2011
the total number of months of doctoral study completed by “start date” cannot be
more than 40
you must include time spent in previous PhD programs as well as current one
you must include time spent taking courses credited to your PhD which you took
before entering that program
calculate two months of part-time study as equivalent of one month full-time and
specify the duration and reason for part-time study on the “special circumstances”
page
make sure you sign at the bottom of this page
Page 4 - Academic Background
 list academic degree programs you have been registered in reverse chronological
order starting with current program
 “awarded date” = date BA or MA thesis was accepted, not date degree was conferred
 do not submit cv or exceed space provided
Page 5 - Work Experience
 list academic positions such as TAships and relevant or significant non-academic
positions in reverse chronological order
 do not submit cv or exceed the space provided
Page 6 - Credentials
 use only space provided
 list up to six post-secondary academic prizes and awards most relevant to your work
 indicate source (international, federal, provincial, university, private sector), year,
value and duration of awards
 include university medals, scholarships, external awards such as OGS and CGS, book
prizes and departmental awards
 check list at bottom of your Carleton transcript for other awards you may have
received
 do not list high school or non-academic awards or TAships
Page 6 - Research Contributions
 use space provided and one additional page (if needed), but do not repeat the same
items in both places
 list by the following categories:
1) refereed books, articles and chapters
 include items published or accepted for publication but not those submitted or
in preparation
 put “R” before each item
 give date of publication, volume and pagination
Example - book:
Last name, initials. Participatory Research and Action: A Guide to
Becoming a Researcher for Social Change. Ottawa: Canadian Institute for
the Advancement of Women, 2002, 150 pg.
Example - article:
Last name, initials. “Lenin and Armand: New Evidence on an Old
Affair”, Canadian Slavonic Papers, XLIII, 1 (March 2001), 49-66.
2) conference presentations, invited talks and poster sessions
 give title of paper as well as name of conference and date
 list only those to be given before the end of 2009
Example: Last name, initials. “Revisiting the Global Dominance
Phenomenon Outside the Focus of Attention”. Meeting of the
Psychonomics Society, Honolulu, November 2002
3) non-refereed publications
 book reviews, research reports, policy papers, published conference
proceedings, abstracts
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4) literary and artistic works
 including published creative work, exhibits, catalogues, sound recordings,
videos, etc.
do not list unpublished theses, letters to the editor, class presentations
give a copy of page 6 to your referees
Pages 7 and 8 - Areas of Study
 this information is for the SSHRC data base - it is not important for adjudication
Page 8 - Languages
 be sure to complete if your thesis requires a knowledge of a foreign language(s)
Page 9 - Referees
 provide names of two referees only
 one should be your current supervisor; if in a PhD program, SSHRC likes your other
to be your MA supervisor
 if this is your first year at Carleton, one must be from your previous university; the
other may be from that university (i.e., not your new supervisor)
 this page also asks you to list the names of all universities you have attended and
from which transcripts are attached
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Carleton transcripts should be up-to-date originals (not audits or Banner
grades) though “issued to student” transcripts are acceptable
 other transcripts should also be originals
 “certified as true copies of originals” from departmental files are only
acceptable if war or revolution has made contact with the foreign university
impossible
 if you attended a university that does not issue transcripts, you should obtain
an “official certificate of success which outlines the program in which you
were registered, the date of initial registration and the degree obtained or
sought”
 originals must be submitted to SSHRC in early January; in the meantime, the
Carleton Selection Committee will accept “certified” copies from your
graduate files.
4.
Letters of Appraisal
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Departmental Appraisal
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fill in your name, etc.
submit with completed application to your graduate secretary
Checklist
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7.
fill in your name and address
give to each referee with copies of your Program of Study and Research
Contributions
ask referee to return completed form to graduate secretary (not to you) by 16 October
ignore item 6
“special circumstances page” (allowable inclusions)
 limited to a half-page
 use only if family or health-related problems have seriously interrupted your
academic progress or to explain duration and nature of part-time studies
Attachments
1)
Program of Study
This is the most important aspect of your application and one over which you
have the most control. For your guidance, two sample “programs of study” have
been appended to this guide: one from an master’s student in English and the
other by a first-year PhD student in Psychology. Both were successful in winning
Canada Graduate Scholarships at the PhD Level. The following should be borne
in mind when drafting your own “program”.
Presentation
 submit no more than two pages single-spaced, on one side of the paper,
using 12-point font with 3/4" margins, and put your name in the upper right
corner
 use essay format rather than headings or sub-titles
 write in a clear, straightforward manner free of disciplinary jargon.
Remember that this is going to be read by interdisciplinary committees at the
University and the SSHRC levels and is going to be seen as a sample of both
your reasoning and your writing skills. Errors in spelling, grammar and fact
as well as omitted words will create a poor impression.
Content
 note that SSHRC provides different guidelines for students completing their
MA program or just starting a PhD, and those in the second or third year of a
doctoral program. Even students early in their program are expected to have
some idea about the future lines of their research, and should not spend the
entire statement rehashing their MA thesis. Advanced students are expected
to supply much more detail about their dissertation research, its relevance to
other work in the field, and the current state of its completion.
 identify the degree program you wish to pursue and provide an explanation for
this decision
 provide a clear description of the research to be undertaken, its aims, its
objectives, methodology, and how you think it contributes to scholarship. Are
you addressing an important topic in a new way? Is it feasible?
 discuss briefly how this work builds on your previous research and training as
well as how it relates to your longer-term research or career objectives
 if your project requires special archival material, research equipment or
subjects to be interviewed, note how these are going to be obtained
 an explanation should be given for why you have chosen to study at a
particular university and the appropriateness of your supervisor for the topic
you are studying. Be modest in your praise of Carleton programs and faculty,
if you are planning on staying here. If you are applying elsewhere, limit the
choices as much as possible and show that you know something about their
programs. If you are offered a SSHRC scholarship, you are not committed to
studying at the university mentioned in your application.
 if you are a “fast-tracked” BA student proceeding directly into a PhD
program, make sure you justify this acceleration noting if the institution to
which you are applying recommends or requires this approach. Prior
consultation with a potential supervisor in these programs is advisable.
 students in Psychology should justify why they are submitting their
application to SSHRC rather than NSERC or CIHR
 if you are uncertain as to which agency you should send your application,
send an excerpt of your program of study to SSHRC and ask if it falls under
their mandate
Revision
 show a draft of your program of study to your supervisor at least ten days in
advance of submission and ask for his or her comments and suggested
improvements
 consider jointly critiquing proposals with other applicants in your department
2)
Bibliography and Citations
 attach a list of citations for material cited in your program of study and/or a
select bibliography of works relevant to your research
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make sure to use proper bibliographical form for all items listed
avoid use of numbered endnotes
see bibliographies appended to the attached programs of study for appropriate
entries
Review of Completed Applications
Carleton’s A-list of applications to be sent to SSHRC will be determined in early
December. These applications will then be vetted by a member of the internal Selection
Committee in an attempt to identify errors in presentation which might be corrected
before final submission. It is therefore very important that we be able to contact you in
early December and that you are in a position to get the corrected portions back to FGPA
in early January.
9.
Notification of Results
All applicants will be informed if they are on Carleton’s A or B-lists in January 2012.
Those on the A-list will be notified by SSHRC during May 2010 concerning final results
of the competition.