SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships

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Deadline

Likely in September 2025

Annual Value

$40,000

Citizenship

Canadian

Permanent Resident

International

Degree Level

Doctoral

Important update: As part of a larger harmonization of Tri-Agency graduate and postdoctoral funding programs, the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships program will be folded into the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS D) program effective for the fall 2025 competition. A significant change is that eligibility has been expanded to include international students who are enrolled in a doctoral program of study at an eligible Canadian institution at the time of application.

This page will be updated with further details as they become available in summer 2025. The information below is from the previous competition, provided here for reference.

Eligibility

Note: Both the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships and the Canada Graduate Scholarships—Doctoral Scholarships (CGS D) are offered through one annual national competition. Applicants need to submit only one application to be considered for one or both awards. As each award has notable differences, applicants must read the descriptions for each award carefully to determine if they are eligible to apply and hold each award. Applicants eligible for both the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships and CGS D Scholarships will automatically be considered for both awards.

Eligibility requirements that are specific to the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships:

SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships are tenable at any recognized institution in Canada or abroad. For the fellowship to be held abroad, the award holder must have completed a bachelor’s or master’s degree at a Canadian postsecondary institution. For award holders who do not meet this requirement, the fellowships are tenable only at recognized Canadian postsecondary institutions.
Applicants must have completed no more than 48 months of full-time study in their doctoral program by December 31 of the calendar year of application

Complete eligibility criteria for the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship are available on SSHRC's program webpage.

Note: Some eligibility requirements for the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships differ from those of the CGS-D (e.g., months of study eligibility).

Evaluation Criteria

Complete evaluation criteria are available on SSHRC's funding opportunity page.

Application Procedures

Refer to the Application Procedures on our CGSD webpage for detailed instructions (the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships share application procedures with the CGSD).

Note regarding transcripts: UBC requires the provision of official transcripts as part of each application package. Please refer to the Application Procedures section on our CGSD webpage for detailed information. Applications that do not provide official or allowable transcripts may be deemed ineligible.

Nomination Procedures

Refer to the Nomination Procedures on our CGSD webpage for detailed instructions (the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships share nomination procedures with the CGSD).

Adjudication Procedures

Refer to the Adjudication Procedures on our CGSD webpage for adjudication details (the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships share adjudication procedures with the CGSD).