Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS)

Start your study abroad adventure in 2024. Good news! Here’s a fantastic scholarship on offer to international students who wish to pursue their academic studies in Canada. Applications for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship are currently open to excellent domestic and international postgraduate students across the globe.

The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS) was created to attract and retain world-class doctoral students and to establish Canada as a global center of excellence in research and higher learning. The scholarships are towards a doctoral degree (or combined MA/ Ph.D. or MD/ Ph.D.).

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship Program is a fully funded scholarship for international students. This scholarship is offered for Ph.D. studies. The scholarship is valued at $50,000 annually for three years during doctoral studies. Vanier CGS also considers three equally weighted selection criteria; Academic excellence, Research potential, and Leadership. However, continue reading to learn more about this exciting scholarship program.

Meanwhile, in this article, we will explain everything you need to know about the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships. From the eligibility requirements to the scholarship benefits, how to apply, and any other important information you need to know about the scholarship program.

About the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship

The Government of Canada launched the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS) program in 2008. The program is designed to attract and retain world-class doctoral students by offering them a significant financial award to assist them during their studies at Canadian universities.

Moreover, Vanier scholars demonstrate leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, or health-related fields. Scholarship recipients receive $50,000 each year for three years. However, once fully implemented, the program will support up to 166 scholars annually.

Furthermore, the Vanier CGS program helps Canada’s universities attract excellent doctoral students from across Canada and worldwide. These promising scholars help create a dynamic and innovative environment on Canadian university campuses. Moreover, the Vanier scholarship is referred to as the Rhodes scholarship of Canada.

Scholarship Summary

Moreover, here’s an overview of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

Scholarship sponsor(s):

Canadian government

Host Institution(s):

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

Scholarship Type:

Full funding

Study Level:

Postgraduate (doctoral)

Field(s) of Study:

Ph.D. programs (or combined MA/ Ph.D. or MD/ Ph.D.) in health research; natural sciences and/or engineering research; and social sciences and/or humanities research

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 a requirement for completion of the program.

Joint graduate research programs with a professional degree (e.g., MD/ Ph.D., DVM/ Ph.D., JD/ Ph.D.) as well as clinically-oriented programs of study, including clinical psychology, are also eligible programs if they have significant autonomous research components, as described above.

Scholarship Value:

See the scholarship benefits section below for details

Number of Awards:

Up to 166 scholarships are awarded annually

Eligible Nationalities:

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

Duration:

Three years

Deadline:

1st November (annual)

Scholarship Benefits

Furthermore, the Canadian government will provide the Vanier CGS recipients with the following inclusions.

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship is valued at $50,000 per year for three years during doctoral studies.

Eligibility Requirements for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship

Moreover, applicants must meet the following criteria below to be eligible to apply for the scholarship program.

To be considered for a Vanier CGS, you must:

• be nominated by only one Canadian institution, which must have received a Vanier CGS quota;
• be pursuing your first doctoral degree (including joint undergraduate/graduate research program such as MD/ Ph.D., DVM/ Ph.D., JD/ Ph.D. – if it has a demonstrated and significant research component). Note that only the Ph.D. portion of a combined degree is eligible for funding;
• intend to pursue, in the summer semester or the academic year following the announcement of results, full-time doctoral (or a joint graduate program such as MD/ Ph.D., DVM/ Ph.D., JD/ Ph.D.) studies and research at the nominating institution; Note that only the Ph.D. portion of a combined degree is eligible for funding;
• have completed no more than 20 months of doctoral studies as of 1 May 2024
• have completed no more than 32 months of full-time study in their doctoral program, by 1 May 2024 if:
  • enrolled in a joint graduate research program, e.g., MD/ Ph.D., MA/ Ph.D., DVM/ Ph.D. Applicants that fall into this category have access to the 32-month window whether or not they were previously enrolled in a Master’s program,
  • accelerated directly from a Bachelor’s to a Ph.D. (no time spent in a Master’s program), or
  • accelerated from a Master’s degree into a Doctoral program without obtaining the Master’s degree.
•  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 degree.

How to Apply

Meanwhile, interested applicants can follow the step-by-step guide below to apply for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

To begin with, candidates must be nominated by a Canadian Institution with a quota at which they want to study. Candidates cannot apply directly to the Vanier CGS program.

Applications are initiated in one of two ways. Either the student informs the faculty of graduate studies at the selected institution of their intent to apply to the Vanier CGS program OR the institution initiates the nomination process by contacting the desired candidate.

Applications are prepared by the student and submitted to the nominating institution by their internal deadline using the ResearchNet application system. The nominating institution then forwards recommended nominations to the Vanier-Banting Secretariat (the Secretariat) by 1 November 2023.

Official Website

In conclusion, please refer to the official website of the scholarship provider using the link below for more detailed information on the eligibility requirements and application instructions for the Vanier CGS.

Official Website