msjd

No idea. I was under the impression that this year students would be finding out first via mail, as all the PhD applicants seemed to. But the department chairs at Western have gotten their hands on the information. Not sure how! I also emailed the grad program admin who's been sending out all the confirmations for other awards and she never replied, and my new advisor at my incoming institution had no info either. My department chair at my current out-going institution was the only helpful person I spoke to.

Hi, SkimLatte. I know of three people at UWO (including myself) who have heard their results back unofficially through their departments for the Master's competition (I made an announcement here a couple of days ago), but a few other people tried contacting their institutions after that and had no luck. Official results are supposed to be announced closer to the end of the month, but it might be worth contacting someone in your program to see if they've received a list of students' results and are willing to share.

Ack, I feel like I've created a lot of false hope! To be clear, my process was to email the chair of my department at my out-going university and ask him if he knew what the results were. He wrote back saying he'd just been notified that day that I was successful for SSHRC. My friend in a different discipline had the same experience - he contacted his chair directly and heard back from that person with the results. I have not been personally contacted by SSHRC or any other administrator at either institution, outgoing or incoming. Masters results being "out by the end of the month" might be referring to official letters? It also might be that I was lucky - I know my department head personally and he probably would have gotten around to sending me the results on his own if I hadn't pre-empted him by asking. My institution (and my friend's) is UWO, if that makes any difference. I don't know if these results were released to all institutions or just some and who in which program would know what. I guess it may depend on who you talk to.

Okay, I just talked to the chair of my department, and he confirmed that I've been awarded the Master's level SSHRC. I have no other details whatsoever and I'm sure it'll be at least another week until the official letter comes. But for all you anxious Master's students out there, it's time to start emailing your department heads!

Someone on my Facebook page just posted a status update saying that he's received SSHRC and unless he's got a degree I don't know about, I'm pretty sure it's a Master's SSHRC. He asked the head of his department (English) and the results were released today. I'm... not actually sure who to ask for my results...

Not to be a total wet blanket, but could you guys maybe start another thread for this meet-up conversation? Like, "SSHRC Victory Party" or something? I'm still relying on this thread for updates about the SSHRC results, and the unrelated updates can be a bit frustrating.

Thanks for all the great advice on grant writing, everyone. I feel fairly confident about my MA SSHRC proposal, but I think I can (and will need to!) do better in the future (especially in my introductory paragraphs). Fortunately I'm interested in doing applied psychology research in a relatively "sexy" field, which lends itself well to concise and practical research proposals. I like the idea of getting the advisor in on it too, RaaR. I wasn't able to ask my advisor for a reference letter, because it was September and I hadn't even applied or been accepted at that institution yet, but I was able to directly connect my research proposal to work that one of his current doctoral students was doing after catching her poster at a summer conference. I was very pleased at the time with that little addition - hopefully it means success! I'm hoping that the Master's results were finalized today, one week after the PhD results were, and that we will start receiving notice by Friday. The suspense is terrible.

Alau & StrangeLight, Any specific suggestions or tips for things you heard that can really turn a committee off an application or make an application shine? Anything that was shared with you that isn't necessarily inuitive, like correct grammar? I've sat through dozens of grant writing workshops now and I'm sure I'll end up going to hundreds more in the years to come, but I'm always looking for more insights. The number one tip that's been pounded into my head is to make sure the material is accessible to a broad range of academics from different disciplines. Thanks!

Questions for clarification: the current discussion regarding letters having been sent out, is this for PhDs only, or PhDs and MAs together?

To my understanding, SSHRC does not email applicants or have a website accessible to applicants with that information, and only mails results to individual applicants snail-mail style, as you indicated. However, it is also my understanding that they do have a secure website where they release applicant statuses to grad studies departments directly. Many grad students last year and in years past were notified directly by their program (admins, advisors, etc.), sometimes without prompting and sometimes in response to requests for information. Once students begin announcing in this thread that they have been notified, it will be a good idea to check in with your department, either incoming or outgoing, to see if you have been successful. The secure website is updated in advance of the official letters being sent out. If you submitted your application to Ottawa directly and not through a university department, it might be possible to contact SSHRC directly once you know other students have begun receiving notice. Not sure if they are allowed to share that information over the phone or through email, but maybe an admin will take pity. Or these applicants may receive earlier notice, just to be fair? Not sure on that score. ETA: Oh, duh, even those applying on their own will still have an incoming department to contact. /brainfart

The benefit is to your program - with OGS, the majority of that 20k is coming from an external source, rather than internal. This allows them to have more funding available for current or additional grad students (or, you know, martinis on the beach). I'm guessing that this department has decided that 20k is enough for a grad student to live on in whatever city you're in without being so destitute as to not be able to focus on actual grad work, and so the top-up is designed to bring you in line with that standard. SSHRC is prestigious enough that I have seen some SSHRC top ups be more generous than OGS ones (not for me personally - I applied mainly out of province and don't have a good SSHRC/OGS comparison to share). And, yeah, the less time teaching is also definitely a benefit! The more time for you to be a student and not an odd-jobber, the better. And don't knock the tuition waiver, if that's what you meant by "paying tuition" - that's a huge chunk of change not to have to pay up front. In my program, I was guaranteed a minimum of 18k no matter what. Either from SSHRC with top-ups (admittedly, this best case scenario would bring me to a bit more than 18k), or from a university-level funding scholarship if I was selected for that, or, in the worst case scenario, out of my advisor's own pocket. But I had to apply for external funding even to be eligible for this kind of internal funding, whether or not I was awarded it. Another program I was accepted to didn't have an advisor for me (god knows why they even accepted me), and wouldn't make any funding promises whatsoever because there was no one to back them up. Regarding OGS results and how they are distributed... I got nothing. I know at least two people in the exact same year, city, and out-going program as me, with very similar academic standing, who haven't heard, but I did on April 14th (and we're not that radically far off alphabetically either!). All my best info is coming from this thread!

Impatient. I got OGS, but I can't use it. The rent is crap and good apartments in short supply where I'm headed, so the more funding the better!

I was successful. My application is for a psychology MA. I almost didn't see it at first because my Status still read "Web App-submitted" and didn't indicate any updates, but then I clicked on the "Check Status" link and there it was. I won't be taking it up though, as my first choice program is not in Ontario (although I don't think I can officially turn it down until I get the letter?). Too bad, and another few weeks of waiting on SSHRC. Good luck to everyone. I hope they roll the rest of the results out shortly.