Vanier CGS 2024-2025 competition launch

The 2024-2025 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS) competition has been launched. This memo is to inform you of program news for this competition.

1. 2024-2025 Vanier CGS Competition Timelines

Key dates are highlighted below:

2. Competition administration

Self-Identified Indigenous (First Nations, Inuk (Inuit) and/or Métis) applicants For Action

Institutions may nominate applicants who self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuk (Inuit) and/or Métis) to the Vanier CGS competition without those nominations being counted towards their quota. Indigenous applicants must agree to their personal information being used for this purpose by making the appropriate selection in the application form. Applicants who wish to self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuk (Inuit), and/or Métis) must complete and submit the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS): Voluntary Self-Identification Form [ PDF (409 KB) ]. This form may be used by Research Administrators to identify self-declared Indigenous applicants.

Should the institution wish to request a quota above and beyond the institutional quota, it is the responsibility of the Research Administrators to submit the list identifying Indigenous (First Nations, Inuk (Inuit), and/or Métis) applications and send it via email to the Vanier-Banting Secretariat (vanier@cihr-irsc.gc.ca) by October 15, 2024.

Institutional Deadlines

• REMINDER: (Optional) The deadline to submit the list identifying Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and/or Métis) applicants from above and beyond the institutional quota is no later than 8:00 p.m. (ET) on October 15, 2024.
  • Create a list to identify Indigenous^{Footnote *} applicants above and beyond the institutional quota, and send via e-mail (Subject line: Nominations beyond institutional quota- Institution Name) to vanier@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
    • Institutions are permitted to recommend an unlimited number of self-identified Indigenous* applicants above their institutional quota. To be considered for this, Indigenous applicants must provide consent within the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS): Voluntary Self-Identification Form [ PDF (409 KB) ] to share this information with their institutions and the tri-agencies.
  • The Vanier CGS program will not accept a modified or updated list (identifying Indigenous (First Nations, Inuk (Inuit), and/or Métis) applicants) after the deadline.
  • Institutions cannot submit all their nominations (including those from self-identified Indigenous^{Footnote *} applicants) until a confirmation has been received that the institutional quota has been increased.
• The competition deadline for Institutions is no later than 8:00 p.m. (EDT) on October 30, 2024, using the Electronic Approval Tool on ResearchNet.
  • Submitting a nomination to the Vanier CGS program using the Electronic Approval Tool is final; this action cannot be undone.

Note: Substitutions for ineligible or rejected nominations will not be permitted.

Internal deadlines at institutions For Action

Nominating institutions should adjust the internal deadline date in ResearchNet as soon as possible for the Vanier CGS competition. Remember to allow enough time for the internal review of nominations. Currently, the internal deadline date is the same as the final submission deadline for the Vanier CGS competition.

Instructions can be found in the Electronic Approval for Research Institutions - Administrator’s Guide, available in the support section in ResearchNet, under the Manage Internal Deadline task.

Institutions are also reminded to update the ResearchNet Electronic Approval Tool Users to avoid any further delays to the submission of nominations. If the Access Administrator (AA) of the Vanier CGS program on ResearchNet has changed since the last competition (2023-2024), please send an email to vanier@cihr-irsc.gc.ca so that we can update our system with the new AA. Please note that it may take up to 5 days to complete the change in the AA.

3. Program News

Transcripts New

College or CEGEP (college of general and professional education) transcripts are no longer required to be submitted with the nomination package.

Transcripts: Student must confirm directly with their institution about their policy on official transcripts and whether or not unofficial transcripts will be accepted as part of their internal review process. For the review process at the Vanier-Banting Secretariat, nominations submitted with unofficial transcripts will not be rejected. Transcripts are a mandatory requirement to demonstrate eligibility. Nominations that do not adhere to these instructions and guidelines may be rejected.

Eligibility: Calculating months of doctoral studies Reminder

Regardless of disciplines, all prior doctoral-level studies that started in Canada or abroad, are considered in the evaluation of eligibility, and are considered to be continuous, full-time, and uninterrupted unless otherwise confirmed by the institution (including the summer months, unless on official leave). The Vanier-Banting Secretariat will count two months of part-time studies as one month of full-time studies.

Number of months of doctoral studies:

• have completed no more than 20 months of full-time study in your doctoral program as of May 1, 2025;
  • The doctoral program would begin after the completion of a master's degree. The months of study completed are calculated from the doctoral enrolment date.
• have completed no more than 32 months of full-time study in your doctoral program (i.e., joint graduate research program, directly from bachelor's, previously enrolled without obtaining master's degree, transferring or withdrew from program), by May 1, 2025 if:
  • enrolled in a joint graduate research program, e.g., MD/PhD, MA/PhD, MS/PhD, DVM/PhD. Applicants in this category have access to the 32-month window whether or not they were previously enrolled in a master's program:
    • The months of study are calculated starting from the date on which an applicant is officially registered in the joint graduate program. (For MA/PhD or MS/PhD, this will be the master's registration date).
  • enrolled directly from a bachelor's to a PhD program (without having been previously enrolled in another graduate program);
    • The months of study completed are calculated from the doctoral enrolment date.
  • previously enrolled in a master's program without obtaining the degree, transferring or withdrawing from the program and subsequently starting a doctoral program.
    • The months of study completed are calculated from the original master's enrolment date.

Personal Leadership Statement Reminder

The Personal Leadership statement has been revised to only include elements of what personal experience have shaped the doctoral research of an applicant. The statement should go beyond a list of accomplishments. Applicants should outline to the committee the ways in which these accomplishments demonstrate their leadership abilities and skills.

Circumstances that may legitimately affect an applicant’s record of research achievement should be written in the Special Circumstance document.

Attach Other applications materials (Option) Reminder

Part-time students

Students must upload information about Part-time studies in this section. If they have been enrolled part-time during your PhD studies, they must specify which semesters. The information must be reflected in the transcripts.

Student registered in joint research graduate program information

Students registered in a joint graduate research program (e.g., MD/PhD), must upload the timeline of their undergraduate/graduate versus doctoral program studies, broken down by semester in this section.

This calculation must be consistent with the transcripts provided. For purposes of this calculation, the undergraduate/graduate portion will not count towards the number of months completed.

Note: In order to maintain equitable application requirements for all nominees, no information other than that outlined above will be forwarded to the committee. Any information that does not conform to the requirements will be removed with no further notification to the applicant.

First-Class average Reminder

The Vanier CGS program will allow institutions to apply the first-class average requirements at their discretion. The following note will be added to the eligibility criteria to apply that states: “…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.”

International Transcripts Reminder

If a nominee has international transcripts: Institutions must provide a 250- word summary explaining the grading system in effect at the Institution concerned. Institution may use the grading scale available at the World Education Services. The summary/grading scale should be a PDF document attached at the beginning of their transcripts. This information is being requested by the selection committee.

San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) Reminder

The three federal granting councils have signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), a global initiative whose purpose is to support the development and promotion of best practices in the assessment of scholarly research. As signatories of DORA, the agencies recognize and value a broad range of contributions and emphasize their quality and impact.

Applicant and peer review guidance has been aligned with DORA recommendations. Applicants can highlight a range of contributions in their applications. Reviewers are asked to assess research excellence broadly (i.e., not just based on publications) and to avoid using journal-based metrics, such as Journal Impact Factors, as a surrogate measure of the quality of individual research publications.

Equity, diversity and inclusion Reminder

The Vanier CGS program encourages equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), as part of the Tri-Agency’s broader commitment to excellence in research and research training in Canada. The EDI page of the Vanier CGS website provides guidelines and resources geared towards applicants, host institutions, referees, and reviewers and readers.

The Secretariat acknowledges that certain circumstances may legitimately affect an applicant's record of research achievement. Applicants are encouraged to explain any personal circumstances in order to allow for a fair assessment of their research achievement in the Special Circumstances attachment of their nomination.

International recruitment Reminder

In keeping with the aim of attracting doctoral students to Canada, we encourage you to continue to strengthen your efforts to recruit new foreign doctoral students to your respective institutions. Your collaboration is essential in achieving the goal of building strong brand recognition for the Vanier CGS program as Canada’s most valuable, prestigious and sought-after doctoral scholarship. By attracting international candidates to Canadian institutions, we will enrich our campuses now and into the future.

Sex- and Gender-based Analysis Plus (SGBA+) Reminder

In order to ensure the research we fund is impactful and relevant to the diversity of the population, we now require applicants to systematically examine how differences in identity factors (such as sex, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age and mental or physical disability) affect the outcomes of research and the impacts of research findings. Applicants are now encouraged to take SGBA+ principles into account in their proposed research (see Application/nomination instruction-Task 10).

Research respectfully involving and engaging Indigenous communities Reminder

The proposed research must be in accordance with the policies and principles outlined in the following three main documents:

• Tri-Council Policy Statement: Chapter 9: Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada
• SSHRC Guidelines for the Merit Review of Indigenous Research
• CIHR’s Research Involving First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada - Webinar

Nominating institutions must describe how collaborations with Indigenous communities have been or will be developed and provide details corroborating information included in the research proposal.

In order to be funded, research involving and engaging with Indigenous communities must fulfill the pillars for respectful research engaging with Indigenous peoples.

Integrity of nominations submitted Reminder

Submission of an application via ResearchNet will serve as a formal attestation that the applicant has provided true, complete, and accurate information in the application and its related documents.

Subject matter eligibility (research area) Reminder

The onus is on the applicant and their supervisor to carefully consider which selection committee should review the application. For more details, please consult the Application/nomination Instruction – Task 6: Identify area of research.

If there is uncertainty, please send an email to vanier@cihr-irsc.gc.ca with a one-page summary of the proposed research, and Vanier staff will provide clarification.

Date modified:

2024-06-19