About NSERC scholarship for studying in the USA

[charlink]

Hello

Is there any NSERC scholarship for studying a graduate program in the USA. I have got my master of applied science a few years back and have been working for over three years. I am currently thinking about going to USA and study a graduate program. Is there any NSERC scholarship for this? I only find the following one that may be applicable.

http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/CGSForeignStudy-BESCEtudeEtranger_eng.asp

 

But it seems that in order to qualify for the above NSERC scholarship, I need to be enrolled in Canadian University right now and holding one of the CGS(Canada Graduate Scholarship). Because I am working right now and not in school, does it mean that I can not apply for the above scholarship? If not, is there any other NSERC scholarship that is applicable? Thanks

[high_hopes]

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.

[Avenger]

5 hours ago, high_hopes said:

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.

Do you think its better to write the proposal portion of the NSERC off your own idea or your adviser's idea?  How do they evaluate the proposal section of the NSERC application? Do they put more weight on justification of the importance of research topic or the chances that I am qualified and likely to achieved the stated research objectives?

[high_hopes]

7 hours ago, Avenger said:

Do you think its better to write the proposal portion of the NSERC off your own idea or your adviser's idea?  How do they evaluate the proposal section of the NSERC application? Do they put more weight on justification of the importance of research topic or the chances that I am qualified and likely to achieved the stated research objectives?

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. 

[charlink]

On 10/8/2018 at 12:05 AM, high_hopes said:

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.

Yes, thank you for the information. It seems that in order to qualify for the “Michael Smith Foreign study supplement”, I will have to get the "Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral Program (PGS-D)" first.

Because I am not in school right now, I think I can not apply through Canadian Institution. So I have to apply directly to NSERC. But right now I do not have an admission from a school in the USA yet and I do not have a potential supervisor yet (because the application for 2019 Fall admission just begin, and I am still emailing a lot of potential supervisors),  can I still apply right now or do I need to wait for confirmed admission letter from the university in USA?

Thank you.

[high_hopes]

11 minutes ago, charlink said:

Yes, thank you for the information. It seems that in order to qualify for the “Michael Smith Foreign study supplement”, I will have to get the "Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral Program (PGS-D)" first.

Because I am not in school right now, I think I can not apply through Canadian Institution. So I have to apply directly to NSERC. But right now I do not have an admission from a school in the USA yet and I do not have a potential supervisor yet (because the application for 2019 Fall admission just begin, and I am still emailing a lot of potential supervisors),  can I still apply right now or do I need to wait for confirmed admission letter from the university in USA?

Thank you.

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.

[charlink]

36 minutes ago, high_hopes said:

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.

Yes, thank you. I am applying through the NSERC website right now. And it seems that I need to have a research topic and a detailed proposal. Because I am currently in the beginning of the application, I am not sure what exactly I will be working on (I am doing computer science and many research topics are determined by future supervisor). If I choose a topic now and change it next year in September after admission to school in USA, does it affect the NSERC scholarship? 

Thank you

[high_hopes]

11 minutes ago, charlink said:

Yes, thank you. I am applying through the NSERC website right now. And it seems that I need to have a research topic and a detailed proposal. Because I am currently in the beginning of the application, I am not sure what exactly I will be working on (I am doing computer science and many research topics are determined by future supervisor). If I choose a topic now and change it next year in September after admission to school in USA, does it affect the NSERC scholarship? 

Thank you

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!

[charlink]

2 minutes ago, high_hopes said:

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 see. Thank you for the clarification. It makes sense that the research topic may change in the future.

Because it is a competitive selection process, if I am not selected this year, can I keep on applying next year?

Can I ask if the scholarship application takes previous related publication into consideration as deciding factor?

After login to application page "https://ebiz.nserc.ca/nserc_web/nserc_login_e.htm", there is a tab that said "report on applicant" and it requires two referee. Because I am not in school for a while, can I ask if I can use my former colleagues at work as reference instead of former prof? Do you also have the same tab "report on applicant" in SSHRC?

Thank you.

 

[high_hopes]

27 minutes ago, charlink said:

I see. Thank you for the clarification. It makes sense that the research topic may change in the future.

Because it is a competitive selection process, if I am not selected this year, can I keep on applying next year?

Can I ask if the scholarship application takes previous related publication into consideration as deciding factor?

After login to application page "https://ebiz.nserc.ca/nserc_web/nserc_login_e.htm", there is a tab that said "report on applicant" and it requires two referee. Because I am not in school for a while, can I ask if I can use my former colleagues at work as reference instead of former prof? Do you also have the same tab "report on applicant" in SSHRC?

Thank you.

 

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.

[charlink]

47 minutes ago, high_hopes said:

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!

Hello High_Hopes, sorry that I may have one more question. Can I confirm that only NSERC "PGS-D" is applicable when I apply for school in the USA, right? I also see the following program "http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/CGSM-BESCM_eng.asp" (CGS-M), and this is only applicable when applying for a Canadian school, right? 

For the http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/CGSForeignStudy-BESCEtudeEtranger_eng.asp (CGS-MSFFS), it seems that there is no defined period (instead PGS-D is two/three years) for the scholarship. Does it mean that CGS-MSFFS needs be applied every year? 

Thank you.

Edited October 10, 2018 by charlink

[charlink]

5 minutes ago, high_hopes said:

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.

Yes, thank you. I should have started applying two years back to increase the chance to get into the program. I have been working for three years as software engineer and if I applied two years ago and I may still be able to contact my university academic adviser for reference. Right now, I can only try to contact the previous academic adviser and ask if he can fill out the online reference form. Will NSERC ever call my reference? I am not sure if he will pick up the call (usually he is very busy). 

Thank you.