misswan

How did you find out this breakdown please?

Happy for you, but yes it's hard to swallow. I have lots of publications (literary) and am in a creative-research project. This year, after working the application to make it much better, I received a much lower score than last year. It's really just ridiculous. Perhaps I had a not so good reference letter from my (now former...) supervisor. Who knows. Very disappointing as I'm studying in the UK and the cost of living here are double my Canadian funds.

No SSHRC for me. I'm baffled by the selection process. I wrote a much better application this year, and had more conferences and publications (non peer-reviewed) but my score was even lower than that 11.2 I received last year (from which I was not wait listed). I think this is my final year to apply as I'm entering my 'writing up year' at a UK institution and my final submission date is September 2018. Does anyone know if one can apply for the November competition (direct applicant) despite completing their program in 2018? Congrats to you all who received an award.

I did in fact go through my uni's SSHRC course when I was an MA (in Montreal), but am now in the UK so I'm on my own! Thanks for responding, I hope my non peer review items make a bigger splash this year. I also added quite a few conferences. Congratulations again, good luck with your degree work.

Hi Briabot, Would you mind sharing what you did to improve your application from an 8 to a 15.3? I've gotten roughly a score of 11 the past two years and have had little idea how to improve it other than to continue publishing in my genre (creative publication). Thanks!

Congrats JW! Would you mind sharing what publications (ie. writing, art making etc) or conferences or the like you included in your application? My research-creation project is in poetry and poetics and I've never seen one of those receive an award before...

That's a great score, congratulations! Would you mind sharing if you had many publications, conferences or the like?

Ah good. When I won the MA SSHRC I received a big manila envelope with many papers and notification letters and such. When denied the CGS, twice now, I received a small white envelope akin to all my tiny disappointments.

Is it still the case that you get a big brown envelope if you win and a smaller white letter envelope if you're unsuccessful or wait-listed?

Thanks for the beacon, I'll take it. It's my final year to apply as I'll be entering my last PhD year (writing-up year in the UK) for 2017-18. I applied for the graduate SSHRC the last two years but although was brought forward to the national competition nothing came of either year. I rewrote and structured the proposal completely differently this year. Who knows what it is they're looking for in the end. I was successful with an MA SSHRC so that's at least something I can take away if I'm denied yet again!

Trying not to lay much hope on the possibility. I applied under a 'creative-reserach' project and it seems very few of these get through. Good luck to you

I'm in the UK. The waiting is a kind of oppression.

Anyone received a letter yet? (I'm studying overseas so I might expect mine a few days later than everyone else.) Thanks all

I received the letter to notify me of their forwarding my app to the national competition yesterday, and I'm studying in the UK - in case anyone is waiting by the postbox the letters should be arriving this week.

Received my letter yesterday (Feb. 20). I'm in the UK studying abroad. Good luck everyone

Hi all. Awaiting a letter myself as I had to apply directly (am studying outside of North America). Last year I wasn't passed on to the national competition, but the year before I was. Hoping for best out of three. I'd won an MA SSHRC but that's not any indication of being eligible for a PhD SSHRC, apparently. The strength of the application remains a mystery to me. This year I totally overhauled it, from formatting to content. I'm always so worried that one glaring error will stand out and ruin the whole application. Saw a couple of smaller errors two days after I'd mailed it... The email I received in November after I'd applied was just a notification of having received my application, posting it here if anyone needs confirmation of what they might receive: "The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council acknowledges receipt of your application to the Doctoral Awards.Your application number is: xxx-xxxx-xxxx. Please use it in all communications with SSHRC.Please DO NOT direct questions or concerns regarding your application to this email address.Instead, if you have any questions or require any further information, please contact us at fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca.The result of this competition will be sent by mail to the correspondence address provided in your application. Please provide us with any changes to your address by sending an email to fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca.Note: There is no document attached to this message. Depending on your software, it may appear as though there is an attachment. If so, please ignore the message." Good luck everyone

Terrible. As you say, updates are needed! Any tips on what company ships letters overseas within one week?

Hi everyone - hoping someone might be able to answer this one for me. I'm studying overseas in Britain and my MA supervisor from Quebec needs to provide a reference for the Doctoral Award. Do I still need to have a letter of appraisal in a sealed envelope and signed at the back? Or is there a new option for supervisors to upload reference letters? Thanks!

Thanks P33. Makes a difference, that "you're not alone"! Today was my find-others-in-the-cupboard-day (who may also want to switch out), and I did. I had no idea other people were also feeling frustrated, put aside. There are some curious benefits and adventures to be had living overseas, and one might consider this "training" of sorts. And so. I've sent a small storm of emails the past few days in hopes of revving up my program and lining up training, so perhaps something will come of this; maybe I'll be granted funding for project specific professional development. TK, thanks for the advice. I do feel very fortunate to have been the one international student selected across my school for their scholarship, and I don't take that for granted. It seems I will have to pave my own way professionally, as this is very much accepted as 'forward thinking' over here. I guess I'd expected things to be a little like the North American academic system. It's really quite a shock. This has me thinking; I'd love to see a discussion on GradCafe about UK vs US degrees and their exchangeability (teaching, research...).

Hello everyone. I'm a North American student who moved to the UK to partake in what I thought was a prestigious Humanities PhD program - oldest one of its kind, with praise from afar. Upon arriving I found that not only had the program been suffocating due to lack of applicants (as well as my second advisor having no interest in my project (the director of my program)), but it had all but been given up on, with absolutely no meet-ups, intellectual gatherings, seminars, etc. I have just finished one complete year, and have struggled with the decision to stay or to go, having very little production over what was quite a blue summer; but there is very little to keep me in the program: no training in my research area, no teaching in my research area, no connections internationally or even locally in my research area to foster further connections and provide experience in the field. I know a PhD is a taking on of responsible, individual work, but this seems extreme. I have been working very hard to make this degree "valuable." My decision has been further complicated: I have a scholarship that is unique to this school and administered by it, and as an international student I'm uncertain if any funding is available if I apply to another UK program (I'd contacted a few schools and the prospect seemed grim). I'm also quite stuck; if I continue with this semester, surely I can't abandon the program in year two and expect to take up another offer (if one would even be given). But if I don't enrol, I lose the scholarship funds to pay basic living expenses. I have finances to survive on my own 3 months at best. I want to study in the same subject area, but cutting ties may not be ideal. My main advisor and I get along, but he seems to have little interest in my project. Within the first 6 weeks of starting, he had me change my research project to something he was interested in. After 3 months I was able to stand up and take back the project I'd applied with. This seems to have set a precedent for no one in the school knowing how to advise me. Perhaps I should stick it out? I'm very unhappy, however, and this is affecting my work (non-work). I'd thought of moving away from the small town to a larger area and commuting when I'm needed on campus; I could find work elsewhere and teach in my subject area. But this too strikes of loneliness and a bit extreme. I'm an older student (40), and was prepared for a certain amount of isolation. I just wasn't expecting a void program without student activity or support. Has anyone else experienced a similar situation and found a solution in transferring to a new school with international funding availability, or run through some solutions with friends or colleagues? I'd appreciate some input. I've gone to the school therapist but have been encouraged to stay, which may be slightly suggestive. Thanks for reading.

Hi Forum, Posted here before regarding SSHRC, but this time I have a pressing question regarding a letter from the AFE (Quebec student loans). They've requested a letter from me due to a discrepancy in my application a few months earlier and my recent tax submission. Has anyone else received this and might be able to clarify what they're looking for? The letter states: Kindly submit the following documents so we can make the required corrections to your file... you need to clearly identify the source of all income reported on line 154. Upload documents: -a letter explaining the differneces that were found -prov and fed tax slips issued to you by employers, gov ministries and other bodies, institutions etc -your fed and prov assessments Thank you to those who can shed some light.