Toronto94

Anything not used to support my research.

Hi, I received the SSHRC Doctoral CGS in 2019. I read that, for some federal grants and scholarships, unused funds must be returned at the end of the study period. I couldn't find any information on that for the SSHRC Doctoral Scholarships specifically. SSHRC will get back to me about my inquiry within a few days. In the meantime, does anybody know how this works?

You're absolutely right in that I do plan on making a big move eventually. However I imagined it would have been in steps, for instance initially moving to a different part of Toronto or somewhere in the area such as Montreal or Ottawa. That would have prepared me more for moving to another country. Of course there are significant advantages to undertaking the move now, too. Biting the bullet now will making moving in the future a lot easier. Thank you for your balanced take on the matter. It helps that you listed the pros and cons of your own experience. Davis would be so exciting for me and I have a very strong feeling that once I get out there and do this, I'll be okay within a few weeks after having made new social connections. I have thought about the benefits of moving and everything about it is great, other than that uprooting. Which is of course significant for me. I think the first course of action is to see how I like Davis. I'll be visiting in a month anyway, which will give me the chance to see how conductive it is to social life and my other needs. The self-care plan, as you and HopingForMFA have both suggested, is a great idea. If Ottawa takes me I'll carefully weigh the pros and cons of each, after which I'll see if the self-care plan I arrange will be enough to make the Davis move easier. The end date you've laid out is something I'll probably do as well. My focus is on administration, but if academia works out within a few years of graduating (I may give myself 3 years) then it's definitely something to consider. Thanks for your advice and for sharing your experience with me. Best of luck to you in your endeavors.

Thank you very much. Given that I'm right in the middle of the situation, it's difficult for me to determine what kind of reaction is standard and whether or not I'm overthinking things. I'm happy to hear that mine seems to be a pretty standard response to moving. Academia is on the table but I wouldn't be disappointed if that didn't work out, and my focus is on an administrative position. Mostly the PhD is a personal goal for me; above all I am doing this for myself. That is dynamic of course given that these things seem to change as you progress through grad school. The self-care plan is a great suggestion. I'll have to more carefully weigh the pros and cons of both Davis and Ottawa (this is assuming the latter accepts me) and at that point I'll see if the self-care plan will be enough to keep me comfortable at California. I really appreciate your advice, and my best to you, too!

Not sure which section this belongs in. I'm a 22-year-old MA (History) student from Toronto and I've applied to begin my PhD in the same. I'm a dual citizen of America and Canada (it becomes relevant). I've applied to a few universities, but the relevant facts here are as follows. UC Davis has accepted me; it was my first choice, tied with UofT. UofT declined me. I'm still waiting on a reply from uOttawa. Davis is a great opportunity with some amazing supervisors, and from what I've heard funding can be an issue for international students which it won't be for me given my citizenship. The thing is I've lived at home my entire life and wanted to stay here for my PhD so I wouldn't have to uproot my whole life. I did my undergrad and am currently doing my MA at UofT. The consensus seems to be that three degrees from the same university is frowned upon in academia, though it wasn't such a concern for me because I'm not looking to stay in academia after I get my PhD. Anyway, I was really excited and so sure I wanted to do this. I still am. If Toronto accepted me I would've gone through with it in a heartbeat. I'm just scared right now, for the first time in a long time. It's not the workload that's putting me off; I enjoy that for some weird, fucked up reason. It's moving. It won't even be that bad because I can come back to Toronto after 2 years (coursework + comps). I just can't get my head past the idea about physically being 4,000 km from my family and friends. So based on this I have two questions. I'm running the same thing by a couple of my profs, though I would like the grad student perspective, too. I would appreciate your opinions. I. Is it standard to have these sorts of second thoughts about moving? II. If uOttawa accepts me, it's that or Davis. Academically, Davis is better for me as I am a US historian and from what I've been told, it's difficult to get an academic position as a US historian with a Canadian PhD. However I want to do something administrative with my PhD, though still probably in the States. Given this, do there appear to be any downsides to Ottawa assuming funding is similar-ish? Ottawa is a few hours from home, so I would be a lot more comfortable there.