Dear graduate students,
Welcome to a new year of your graduate degree at the University of Toronto!
As you know, most graduate departments at the University of Toronto require that doctoral students apply for grants from either the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Council (CIHR), or from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). These granting councils are funded by the Canadian government, with SSHRC grants reserved for research in the humanities and social sciences (literature, history, education, philosophy, music, art history, etc.); CIHR grants reserved for research in the health sciences (health care, health systems, health outcomes, etc.); and NSERC grants reserved for research in the natural and physical sciences (engineering and material sciences, biomedical sciences, molecular medicine, computer science, astronomy, mathematics, environmental sciences, etc.).
Deadlines to submit applications to your department for these doctoral awards come up at the beginning of the academic year, in mid- to late-September, and it is worth devoting some time to crafting your proposal before the busyness of September sets in. Note that both domestic and international students are eligible to apply for the grants. Master’s students planning to move onto doctoral studies in Canada in September 2027 may also apply for these doctoral grants.
If you will be applying for a SSHRC, CIHR, or NSERC doctoral grant this September, the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication (GCAC) offers three free, non-credit courses in August called Writing SSHRC Proposals, Writing CIHR Proposals and Writing NSERC Proposals to help you craft the most effective research proposal. Since grants are awarded according to type of research, and students may apply only to the one funding council that aligns with their research focus, please only choose the course that most closely aligns with your discipline and research project.
Each three-day course offers online instruction as well as one-on-one appointments where you can receive individual feedback on your proposal drafts (dates and times to be scheduled).
Writing SSHRC Proposals: August 11 – 13, 2pm – 4pm, online;
Writing CIHR Proposals: August 4 – 6, 10am – 12noon, online;
Writing NSERC Proposals: August 18 – 20, 10am – 12noon, online.
Register now for the course that best suits your research. You will need your issued UTORid and password to register. If you require help with registration, please contact our administrator at sgs.gcacreg@utoronto.ca.
And finally, keep us in mind as you continue through your degree. The GCAC is a service from the School of Graduate Studies, with the purpose to help graduate students develop proficiency in research communication from the start to completion of your degree. Starting in September we offer a range of courses and workshops to help you get oriented to the norms and genres of writing and speaking at the graduate level. Registration for September courses will open in mid-August.
Once again, welcome!