Lymrance

SSHRC results are in Winnipeg! My grad chair actually found out before I did. Apparently schools have access to a secure online site where they can go to view results. She received an email about an hour ago telling her to check the site and my result was on there. After she told me, my partner checked the mail and the letter was there. So either way I would have found out today. I won the CGS ($35K) SSHRC award. I was one of 2 students in our school to be forwarded and was the only one successful (it's a small uni). Stats for the curious: - First time applying (I'm currently finishing a 1-year MA) - Received SSHRC MA funding - Have no publications - Had no conference history at the time I applied, though I do now (still, only 3-4 by the time I start my PhD) - My score was 21.7/30

Okay, so far people from Ontario, Quebec and the US have received letters. Congrats to you all! (Especially those who get to choose between the two types of SSHRC -- that's awesome. Although, I still think you should be able to take either SSHRC outside of Canada.) Anyways, has anyone received anything from BC to Manitoba? Or in the Maritimes? Post if you you have, please! I wonder if all of the letters went out at exactly the same time...

Totally agree with this suggestion! I did this last year. I contacted a school to which I had not originally applied at the end of August (i.e. 2 weeks before the start of classes) and they admitted me -- almost certainly only because I held an MA SSHRC. Go for it! If you play your cards right, I don't doubt you'll get into one of the schools you wanted.

I'm sorry to hear that, Ludwig. And wow, I'm not sure why your score was lower (though only by a few points, it seems) considering the other factors you mentioned. Do you have any ideas on what might have made the difference...? Sometimes it can help to at least have a reason. That way you know what to change for next year if you decide to apply again, right? Anyways, seeking solace in chocolate sounds like a good plan!

First -- Congratulations to all of you who received the awards! It must be a fantastic feeling to know all of your work and worry have paid off. So far it looks like all of those who have received results so far have been in Toronto and Ottawa, right? If anyone from further (much further, ideally) West receives any SSHRC news, please update the rest of us! I will do the same as soon as I hear anything. Thanks, guys!

Whoops -- just realized this is for your MA degree. If it's for your MA, I would pick U Chicago. Unless you don't want to have to move twice in the span of 1-2 years. If you think you could/would transition from Oxford's MA program into their DPhil program, then you might want to factor that in.

Hi Abraxas, I'm in the exact same boat, trying to decide between McGill (fully funded) and Oxford (no funding). It is such a hard choice to make. All of the profs I've talked to have stated they believe Oxford would be worth attending, regardless of the debt I might incur because it is such a rare opportunity. Also, my advisor studied at Oxford his DPhil and said the opposite -- that it is actually quite difficult to get into UK schools as international applicants. He believed the same as you for a long time -- that they might just be milking us for the international student fees. But he went, had no funding his first year, got funding in his second and third years, and came to realize that this was not the case. Good luck deciding...

Here is the response from SSHRC I received just a few minutes ago (this is a direct copy & paste): Description : FW SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship Results 2011 Dear ___________, We are pleased to inform you that your request has been completed. Resolution: Hi, The Doctoral results will be mailed near the end of April 2011. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Fellowships and Institutional Grants Division, quoting the reference number above. Thank you, Fellowships and Institutional Grants Division Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca

Ok, I decided to email SSHRC this evening, too. I figure duplicates of the same answer will only make us feel better at this point. I'll post when I hear from them.

Too late. I am beyond the point of anxiety and into the stage of frantic nail-biting. Thanks for posting! I think we've seen enough posts by this point to suggest that this year we may indeed find out sooner rather than later. Great user name, btw.

Honestly, my experience was the same as LemonPepper's. When I called my university's award office in March to check on my MA SSHRC application they told me "off the record" that I would certainly be getting one -- and I did. But I think that they must have been basing it off of past success and not necessarily due to any special information from SSHRC. I think they must have had such a strong success rate that they were taking it for granted that I would be approved based on their recommendation. Perhaps other universities don't have as high a success rate...? I've seen a few posts on here from people claiming that if you get an MA SSHRC you are much more likely to get a doctoral SSHRC. Do you think that's true...? Anything to back up the idea...? Obviously I have an invested interest in hoping so.

Speaking of the waitlists, how exactly do those work? Can SSHRC put you on a waitlist after your school has forwarded you? I know that your institution can waitlist you. But I thought once you'd been forwarded to SSHRC for consideration, you were either rejected or accepted. Yes...? No...?

Nice. It would be great to hear by the end of April this year, instead of the end of May like last year. And re. calling again -- Agreed! I will try to remember to call in a week.

Wannabe Dr., Awesome! Good for you for proactively checking the facts by actually calling SSHRC. Thanks for doing so and and for telling us what you found out. Very much appreciated.

Yeah, in Ottawag's defense -- I was talking to some fellow grad students today. One of them applied directly to SSHRC for the doctoral awards (she is not currently affiliated with a university and so she applied as an independent). She said that she called SSHRC last week to ask when to expect the results and was told that they were being sent out by mail after April 15. I am actually starting to wonder if -- miraculously -- they are going to be releasing them in a timelier manner this year... One of us could actually call or email SSHRC and inquire y'know. I might do that tomorrow. I just got back from a conference and need a nap.