high_hopes

If you are in Germany then I want to qualify my response. I have heard in a few different contexts that in Germany in particular PhDs are often needed for certain public sector jobs. This is much less common in Canada and the USA.

I worked full-time for eight years before coming back to school for my PhD. I am now a few years into my PhD and in my early 30s. One sometimes demoralizing aspect about being in grad school is the lack of immediate rewards or sense of accomplishment. For example, now that I'm done my coursework, there are very few markers of success, and often there are long periods of waiting for feedback on articles or comprehensive exams. If you are used to getting quick gratification from things at work, this can be different. Furthermore, it is possible to get lost in the shuffle in grad school. Advisors can be slow in getting back to you or somewhat disinterested in your work, and projects can take much longer than expected. I have a fantastic relationship with my supervisor, so I have avoided this specific issue, but I others in my program struggle with this. With that said, I am so glad to be back at school. There are stressful times and I miss some of the structure of my old job (I never thought I would say that!) but the ability to study topics that fascinate me and read and research full-time is a real joy. However, I have had to change my spending habits. Make sure you enter a program where you really know what your funding will be like, and have a good sense of how quickly people complete the program.

Hi Simone, for your second question. I'm not sure which country you are in, but in most countries PhDs are not required to get good jobs with the government or private institutions. If you are not interested in working as a professor, then perhaps a PhD isn't necessary and might end up just causing more stress, time, and money than necessary.

Good to know! Thanks for posting!

I think you could also just provide them with the unofficial copy or screenshot of your scores and indicate that if they want the original results you can send them. I didn't have to take it so I'm not completely familiar with how it works.

There's a nice post on scatterplot, a sociology blog, about applying to grad schools including tips on letters of recommendation, GRE results, choosing a program, and writing a statement of purpose. It's worth reading! https://scatter.wordpress.com/2018/11/02/tips-on-grad-school-applications/

In most programs, U of T guarantees funding to all students admitted into PhD programs which includes a limited number of spots for international students. Whether the minimum guaranteed funding amounts are sufficient to live comfortably in Toronto is up for debate. Recently, U of T reduced tuition for international students to be in line with the tuition Canadian students pay, but I believe there are still limits on the number of international students offered admission. https://www.utoronto.ca/news/international-phd-students-u-t-pay-domestic-tuition-fees

Which department are you applying to?

If you want, you could ask your advisor, the graduate program or department chair, or the administrators in the program to put you in contact with other students in the program.

If they said the end of the month, yes, it is best to wait patiently until then. Beyond that, it really depends on how things work at your specific university. There are no general rules about this. Some additional context on the program you are taking and the university that you will be at, if you are willing to share, would also make it easier to answer your question. It does make sense to be concerned about sources and reliability of funding. I would be skeptical of starting the program without some guarantees about this. It might be helpful to talk to some students currently in the program or the administrator in the program about details as they may have a stronger idea of how things work than your advisor.

???

I'm also surprised. I started my PhD after a few years of work experience and felt it was really valued by the faculty in my department who appreciated my "real-world" experience. I don't think you should take what this individual professor said as evidence of a broad consensus.

Some would say it is more about broadly understanding social processes, social institutions and also social inequality. I hope that studying those topics will benefit disadvantaged groups, but I don't think all sociological research need to be focused specifically on helping disadvantaged groups.

I recommend thinking who your reference letter writers will be and booking meetings with them to see what they think is feasible for you to pursue. If they are professors you have lost connection with, showing up again will be helpful. Also, drafting a SoP will help you focus on what your research interests are, and you can meet with your referees and discuss it with them. Sociology of law and criminology are areas that are receiving increasing prominence and the job market for criminology professors in particular is quite good.

SSHRC doesn't follow up on whether we do the study we proposed. They just check with the university if we are still enrolled before making next year's payments.

If it is like SSHRC they never ask you about the research you are doing. You can change your topic without any penalty.

People often apply year after year as they hope to get in. You certainly can. In the social sciences previous publications are incredibly important. I think you need to ensure you have at least one academic reference. It would be helpful if you could talk to someone who has received a fellowship from NSERC to confirm all this advice I am giving you. Because the guidelines for appropriate referees may be different in computer science from the social sciences. The referee should speak to your ability to do research well. I am applied through the Canadian university I am currently studying at, so my process was somewhat different and my referees sent their references directly to the graduate administrator in my program.

As a disclaimer, I'm speaking from my experience with SSHRC again, and it could possibly be different with NSERC. There is no compliance requirement where they check what your topic is. If you're successful in applying to SSHRC/NSERC/CIHR, no one asks if you are actually researching what you've proposed. The application process ensures that you are able to identify and describe what good and compelling research would be, but it doesn't mandate any type of compliance afterwards. I think that the funding agencies know that grad students will change their minds about what they study as they learn more and as new or different opportunities come up. If the faculty who are writing your reference letters are familiar with the process, they may ask to see your detailed proposal so they can comment on how feasible it is. Good luck!

I believe you can apply now. For SSHRC it is possible to apply before you begin the program, but I'm not 100% certain for NSERC as I am less familiar with it.

Your personal statement should demonstrate that you know some of the research that has been completed on your topic of interest and can propose a research project that would add to this knowledge. Universities in North America generally have limited numbers of funded spots for international students. They are highly competitive and require that you have a good fit with the research strengths of the department. Universities that provide funding generally consider you for funding if you apply at the normal application deadline. Your own country may have some funding opportunities available as well from some type of national funding agency which you could investigate. Ask the professors who will be writing your letters of recommendation if they know of anything.

I'm not sure. I'm in the social sciences and applied to (and received) a SSHRC Doctoral fellowship based on my own research proposal. My research aligns with my advisor's research, but we don't have a lab set-up common in the natural sciences. I think that just as important as your planned research is your ability to do good work as demonstrated in your transcripts, previous work and possibly publications, and reference letters.

What type of graduate program are you considering? If it is a PhD, you can apply to the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral Program and NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships-Doctoral Program. http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/BellandPostgrad-BelletSuperieures_eng.asp#apply The Michael Smith Foreign Study supplement you provided a link to is for people who hold the doctoral fellowship I've mentioned above.

Fantastic!

It's true. If your volunteer/service work is relevant to your research you can mention it in your program of study. Otherwise, it isn't relevant to how you are evaluated (see http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/fellowships/doctoral-doctorat-eng.aspx#a6) so I guess they don't ask for it.

Wow! If I'm a top poster that means there aren't many people active on this site! ??