CGS M

Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master's (CGS M)

The CGS-M program supports students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies.

Tri-Agency Update

The Tri-agencies have announced increased award values for all current and new master’s and doctoral student scholarships effective September 1, 2024, and have begun to release details regarding the increase in funding.

The Graduate Award Office within the Faculty of Graduate Studies will provide updates to impacted students as they are available. Once final details are released, we will communicate to impacted students, supervisors and programs directly.

There will be no changes to the value or duration of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships or the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships. The Vanier and Banting programs will continue under their current parameters, $50,000 and $70,000 per year respectively, until they are replaced by a new, streamlined talent program.

For more information, please refer to the  press release from the Government of Canada.

If you have questions regarding this update, please contact the Graduate Award Office.

Federal funding is made up of three granting agencies (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) that provide research funding for high-calibre master’s and doctoral students.

At a glance

Value

$17,500 for 12 months, non renewable

Citizenship

Canadian or Permanent Resident

Deadline

December 1 before 6pm MT (8pm ET)

**including references**

If the deadline falls on a weekend, applications must be submitted by the following business day before 6pm MT (8pm ET)

Submit through the Research portal

Degree

All research based master's and some course-based master's programs are eligible. Please check with your program.

Preparing your application

You are encouraged to apply for awards when you have submitted your admissions application and received your University of Calgary student number (UCID). You are not required to meet the eligibility requirements in the terms of reference of an award when you apply, but if successful, you must meet the eligibility requirements at the time the award is paid.

Please ensure that you have completed the following two steps before submitting your application:

Read the terms of reference

Awards are based on merit. It is important to read and understand the award terms of reference listed on this page and/or on the agency, or donor website.

Know your eligibility

Read our guide to discover the polices and regulations that determines a student's award eligibility at the University of Calgary.

Award Guide: Eligibility

Terms of reference


Eligibility

To be eligible for the Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s Program (CGS M) students must have achieved a first-class average, as determined by the university issuing the transcripts, in the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent). At the University of Calgary, a student must have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher in the last 2 years of study. Each institution has their own definition of first-class average. The University of Calgary does not convert scales.

CGS-M application eligibility requirements


Tri-agency Recipient Eligibility

The Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide governs eligibility for CGS-M, CGS-D, PGS-D, and Vanier funding offered through CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC.

If you are a recipient of Tri-agency funding, you must review this guide prior to making any changes to your registration, employment etc. Contact gsaward@ucalgary.ca to inform the Faculty of Graduate Studies of any potential changes that may impact your funding.

Committee

The CGS M committee members will be drawn from the Graduate Scholarship Committee. The committee will be interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary in nature. 

Selection process

Each CGS M application will be reviewed by three committee members and assessed according to the Selection Criteria. Committee members will be assigned to applications based on field of research (health, natural sciences and engineering and social sciences and humanities).

Indigenous students who apply to this competition and self-identify as Canadian Indigenous (FNMI) and provide consent in their application will also be considered for the Canadian Graduate Scholarships-Master's (CGS M) - Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements

Black student researchers who apply to this competition and self-identify as Black and provide consent in their application will also be considered for the support for Black student researchers

See selection criteria

Conflict of Interest

Committee members will declare a conflict of interest if their relationship with the student is other than an academic one; if they supervise or have provided a letter of reference for the applicant; or if they have a direct or indirect financial interest in the application being reviewed.

Note: An administrator in the student’s program or on the student’s supervisory committee (excluding the supervisor) is not considered a conflict unless they have provided a letter of reference for the applicant.


Application

Research Portal opens September 1. Applications are submitted electronically through the Research Portal.

The Tri-agency portal list of programs available at the University of Calgary includes research units and administrative offices as well as graduate programs. To ensure correct processing of your application, choose a graduate program available at the University of Calgary. If you need assistance, please contact us at gsaward@ucalgary.ca


Transcripts

You are required to include official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions that you have attended, including the University of Calgary, even if no grades were assigned or you did not complete the degree.

  • If you are not currently registered as a master's student at the University of Calgary, university transcripts must be requested from the registrar.
  • If you are currently registered as an undergraduate or master's student at the University of Calgary, and you are not applying for this award at other universities, you may request copies of your transcripts from the University Designate (gsaward@ucalgary.ca).
    • Complete the Transcript Request form and submit to gsaward@ucalgary.ca no later than end of day November 4.
    • The Graduate Scholarship Office will compile all your listed transcripts from your UCalgary Student File and format them into one file as required by the CGS-M portal.

Student responsibility

We will email the PDF file to you by November 25, and you will have to upload it to your application by the December 1st application deadline according to the application instructions.

It is your responsibility to ensure the transcripts provided to you are correct, complete, legible once uploaded and in the correct format. Review the final version of your online application before it is submitted.

If you have not received your transcripts 
We are unable to respond to any emails requesting updates on the status of your request prior to November 25, as this delays the overall process. If there are any concerns with your transcripts, you will be contacted. If you have not received your transcripts as of November 26, contact gsaward@ucalgary.ca

 

Transcript Criteria

All Official transcripts must be uploaded to the application (printed by issuing institution in either electronic or hard copy format). If printed as a hard copy, you must attach a high-quality scan of the document. Watermark security features are expected and allowed.

  1. If transfer credits are issued, they must either
    1. Have their own transcript uploaded to the application 
      or
    2. Be clearly indicated on the degree granting transcript.
  2. Copies of transcripts provided by the UCalgary program in which you are registered or the UCalgary Record of Grades (as provided by the program or Grad Award Office) are accepted.
  3. Screenshots, Printouts from the Student Centre, and/or missing transcripts are not accepted and the application is automatically Ineligible. 

Attend a workshop

Set yourself up for success and attend one of our workshops

CGS-Masters workshop

CGS – Master's Workshop 
Oct 18, 2024 | 10 am - 12 pm

The GLC Q&A sessions are supported by a series of informational videos available on the UCalgary Grad Studies YouTube channel. These videos are intended to completely replace the presentation portion of CGS-M sessions.

** This is a Q&A style session. please ensure you review the informational videos prior to attending this session.**

Register

Tri-Agency online workshop

CGSM Q&A sessions are supported by a series of informational videos available on the NSERC YouTube channel. 

Watch these videos in advance and come to the Q&A session with specific questions in mind in order to engage in an in-depth and detailed Q&A session:  (English and French)

 

CIHR Strategic Master’s Award program

Workshop Details (English)

2024 Details TBD

Session #1 English
Nov 7, 2023 | 1pm - 3pm (Eastern Time)
CIHR and SSHRC staff joining
Join Session 

Session #2 English
Nov 14 , 2023 | 1 pm - 3 pm (Eastern Time)
CIHR staff joining
Join Session

Session #3 English
Nov 23 , 2023 | 10 am - 12 noon (Eastern Time) 
CIHR staff joining
Join Session 

Workshop Details (French)

2024 Details TBD

Session #1 French
Nov 9 , 2023 | 10 am - 12 noon (Eastern Time) 
Join Session 

Session #2 French
Nov 21 , 2023 | 1 pm - 3 pm (Eastern Time
SSHRC staff joining
Join Session 


One-on-one mentoring

The Graduate Leaders Circle (GLC) is hosting scholarship cafes, dedicated one-on-one mentoring sessions for students applying for Tri-agency master's scholarships.  Scheduled sessions are available.

If you have eligibility questions or you experience difficulties with the portal, please contact the Faculty of Graduate Studies office (gsaward@ucalgary.ca) or contact the research portal directly.

GLC scholarship cafes

Students will be able to register for one 30 minute mentoring session. Signing up for more than one time slot reduces the number of spaces available for students

CGS-M Cafe #1:
Nov 2, 2023 | 1 pm - 3 pm
Register

CGS-M Cafe #2:
Nov 14, 2023 | 10 am -12:00 noon
Register

 

GLC scholarship drop-in

CGS-M Drop In #1:
Nov 21, 2023 | 1 pm - 2:30 pm
Register

CGS-M Drop In #2:
Nov 24, 2023 | 10 am -11:30 am
Register

CGS-M Drop In #3:
Nov 29, 2023 | 1 pm - 2:30 pm
Register