SSHRC 2011

[dramanda]

Thanks for the info. That makes things very difficult then. Difficulty is just a part of the long hard academic road.

For what it's worth, I was able to negotiate with schools to not provide a response until I heard back from SSHRC.

[aselfmadewinter]

I think that's what I'm going to have to do. Hopefully, I won't be just taking up someone else's spot until I know for sure, but it would be impossible to commit without being financially secure. I'll wait until I hear about internal funding first, but... well, I know that the school I'm thinking of offers very few substantial funding packages.

[DrDodgyBird]

I think that's what I'm going to have to do. Hopefully, I won't be just taking up someone else's spot until I know for sure, but it would be impossible to commit without being financially secure. I'll wait until I hear about internal funding first, but... well, I know that the school I'm thinking of offers very few substantial funding packages.

The advice I got when I was in your position was "accept everything," and this was from my department head who knew I had competitive offers. No one will hold it against you if you say yes and then later change your mind. (I said yes to my own department but later said no and went somewhere else - by far the best choice for me.) So you might want to say yes to everyone, until you hear about SSHRC -- and last year that was the first week of May. Also, make sure you know what both schools will do if you win an external award. Most schools, I gather, will claw back internal funding if you win one.

[lemonpepper]

In terms of evaluation, I had always been under the impression that SSHRC places 60 percent of the evaluation on grades, 30 percent on proposal, and 10 percent on communication skills. That's what my school's SSHRC facilitator said anyway. But recently, the graduate advisor at my prospective school told me that that is the formula for the Master's SSHRC. She said that the Ph.D. is reversed--that they place most emphasis on the proposal. Does anyone know for sure?

[brokenfall]

Anyone applying directly to SSHRC (i.e. not currently in University) for PhD? Hear anything yet?

Not hopeful....

[StrangeLight]

Anyone applying directly to SSHRC (i.e. not currently in University) for PhD? Hear anything yet?

Not hopeful....

i applied directly for Phd. someone said earlier in the thread (or in the 2010 thread?) that we wouldn't hear if we're A class or B class until the middle or end of march. so if that's true, don't worry. and if it's not, then i'm no longer hopeful either.

[dramanda]

Anyone applying directly to SSHRC (i.e. not currently in University) for PhD? Hear anything yet?

Not hopeful....

Last year I got a letter at the beginning of March, indicating that I'd made it to the second round of the competition. They will send a letter in March either way, so we'll all hear something soon.

[Ziz]

I applied directly to SSHRC and haven't heard anything either way yet either so I wouldn't worry too much just yet.

[brokenfall]

Last year, a friend who applied directly to sshrc for Phd received a rejection letter dated Feb 23. But that timeline may be irrelevant this year..... It's immanent, anyhow.

[Amuna]

Good luck everyone.

Edited February 22, 2011 by Amuna

[Epyion]

I received an email from SSHRC today - it was an acknowledgement of receiving my application.

This is what it looked like:

----

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council acknowledges receipt of your application to the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master's.

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.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.ca.

----

Is this purely just a receipt of application?

I was sent to SSHRC as an alternate, would this acknowledgement perhaps imply that I am no longer an alternate, or has my alternate status remained unchanged?

Edited February 22, 2011 by Epyion

[mickied]

I received an email from SSHRC today - it was an acknowledgement of receiving my application.

This is what it looked like:

----

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council acknowledges receipt of your application to the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master's.

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.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.ca.

----

Is this purely just a receipt of application?

I was sent to SSHRC as an alternate, would this acknowledgement perhaps imply that I am no longer an alternate, or has my alternate status remained unchanged?

Following this post, I received a letter about two weeks ago from my university (York) telling me I was forwarded for the MA sshrc. However, I have not received anything from SSHRC confirming they received my application. Does SSHRC normally send out notifications to MA level applicants?

[lewin]

Is it weird that my app got forwarded from the university for SSHRC but not OGS? I suspect that might have something to do with eligibility, but... man, who knows. I think it's weird. About a third of the SSHRC apps from U of Toronto got forwarded, so I'll just count my blessings.

One year I received both OGS and SSHRC. The next year I received SSHRC Doctoral but was rejected from OGS. So strange--it's not like my application got worse in a year. Sometimes it happens. There is a lot of measurement error in the rating process.

This might be a silly question, but can our prospective universities see if we have applied for tricouncil (SSHRC/NSERC/CIHR) funding?

For example, if there are 50 applicants, will they be able to verify (aside from if they ask on the application) which of the 50 have applied for external funding and which have not?

I was just wondering if it might sway an admissions committee to see that a student will potentially be funded.

Notification is not automatic, you need to tell them. When I applied for graduate schools I put it in my statement of purpose. I described the project as my intended research for my MA and included something like, "This project formed the basis of my application to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; the university has forwarded my application to the national competition."

The advice I got when I was in your position was "accept everything," and this was from my department head who knew I had competitive offers. No one will hold it against you if you say yes and then later change your mind. (I said yes to my own department but later said no and went somewhere else - by far the best choice for me.) So you might want to say yes to everyone, until you hear about SSHRC -- and last year that was the first week of May. Also, make sure you know what both schools will do if you win an external award. Most schools, I gather, will claw back internal funding if you win one.

I sure hope your "accept" is informal and includes the caveat "...but I'm depending on funding." Or even better, ask to defer the decision until after you hear from SSHRC. It's really poor form to officially accept at multiple places and then withdraw.

[DrDodgyBird]

I apologise if I didn't express this course of events accurately, but I stand behind my earlier post. Perhaps it's better to phrase this as, don't say no to anything until all the cards are on the table. As I said, this advice came from the department head - the person who made me an offer. By saying yes to all offers, the point is to negotiate the best possible outcome. When the schools know that a candidate has multiple offers, they will compete for that student and often top up the initial offer. And of course, no one knows about SSHRC until some time after initial offers go out, so schools expect this kind of shuffling around until the SSHRC results are released. I'm sorry if I represented myself as heartlessly misleading a bunch of schools, while other students were waiting to get in; that's not my style. I'm not at all suggesting that you wait until August 31 to decline. But I think it's fair to say that candidates and schools are both dancing around the offer(s) for a good amount of time.

I sure hope your "accept" is informal and includes the caveat "...but I'm depending on funding." Or even better, ask to defer the decision until after you hear from SSHRC. It's really poor form to officially accept at multiple places and then withdraw.

[Poppet]

Following this post, I received a letter about two weeks ago from my university (York) telling me I was forwarded for the MA sshrc. However, I have not received anything from SSHRC confirming they received my application. Does SSHRC normally send out notifications to MA level applicants?

I'm an MA applicant. I was put on the A-list by my university and received a formal letter from them, and following that I was sent the above email from SSHRC. So you should get an email from SSHRC, yes.

Epyion, I do not have a definitive answer, but my suspicion is that this is merely a confirmation of receipt. My understanding is that both lists are sent by the university to the committee, so it makes sense that they would send the same email to everyone irrespective of their ranking.

[Ziz]

Got a letter from SSHRC today that my application was not forwarded on to the national competition (I applied directly to SSHRC). Sucks for me but might give a good idea of timelines to those who are still waiting...

[lewin]

I apologise if I didn't express this course of events accurately, but I stand behind my earlier post. Perhaps it's better to phrase this as, don't say no to anything until all the cards are on the table. As I said, this advice came from the department head - the person who made me an offer. By saying yes to all offers, the point is to negotiate the best possible outcome. When the schools know that a candidate has multiple offers, they will compete for that student and often top up the initial offer. And of course, no one knows about SSHRC until some time after initial offers go out, so schools expect this kind of shuffling around until the SSHRC results are released. I'm sorry if I represented myself as heartlessly misleading a bunch of schools, while other students were waiting to get in; that's not my style. I'm not at all suggesting that you wait until August 31 to decline. But I think it's fair to say that candidates and schools are both dancing around the offer(s) for a good amount of time.

We might just be using different terminology. If you mean "don't say no" then I agree completely. What I meant was: Don't give a formal acceptance of an offer (i.e., checking the "yes" box on the form and sending it in) or tell somebody "Yes, I'll be there in September," and then decline later. Certainly, having multiple offers helps you negotiate, so dancing around until April 15 is fine. Vague phrases like, "I'm excited about the possibility of attending your program," are your friend.

[tigerlily104]

Hi, fellow hopefuls! Can someone please clarify the SSHRC/OGS terms regarding outside employment? I've heard a few conflicting things.

The common perception seems to be that you must only work 10 hrs a week and that those hours are usually taken up by TA/RA-ships. The OGS conditions are certainly phrased in these terms -- must be a maximum of 10 hrs. On the other hand, the SSHRC award holder's guide is less definitive:

"SSHRC expects award holders to devote the majority of their time to the timely completion of their degree programs. As a guideline in this context, the Council strongly suggests that award holders limit the number of hours of employment per 12-month period to 450. Universities may, however, set their own guidelines. Please contact your university for further information."

A hypothetical, then: If you were fortunate enough to get a SSHRC/OGS, but absolutely had to supplement your stipend for family reasons, and were likewise fortunate enough to have an accommodating and reasonably well-paying job (home office, set your own hours), would the "other employment/sources of income" clause prevent you from working part-time in addition to TA-ing?

[quatchi]

Following this post, I received a letter about two weeks ago from my university (York) telling me I was forwarded for the MA sshrc. However, I have not received anything from SSHRC confirming they received my application. Does SSHRC normally send out notifications to MA level applicants?

I'm a York student in the same position... a letter from the school but no email from SSHRC. Maybe it's just a York thing?

[StrangeLight]

so you want the fellowship, a TAship, AND another job? unless you keep the other job off the books, it would probably disqualify you from holding the award, because that's dedicating way too much time to things other than your degree. i think they want to cap (unofficially) the number of hours you work, at ANY job, in addition to the fellowship. i can't imagine holding a TAship and another job would keep you under the hypothetical cap. my suggestion would be that if you end up in that hypothetical position, keep the other parttime job under the table.

in other news, i just received a letter today saying that my SSHRC was forwarded onto the national competition! i applied directly to the SSHRC for a PhD award. i'm currently in a masters program in the US (in pennsylvania, for anyone wondering about how far the letter had to travel from ottawa) that, if all goes smoothly and according to normal procedure, will admit me to their PhD program in the fall. (technically, the MA and PhD are two distinct programs, but you can't get a terminal MA, so i am and am not already in a PhD program).

the letter said that 832 applications were reviewed and 233 were passed onto the national committees.

yay!

edit: oh and the letter was dated for february 22, 2011.

Edited March 1, 2011 by StrangeLight

[thepoorstockinger]

I hate to be the person to ask this but:

Anyone have hear anything about when SSHRC claims it might be sending out decisions this year?

[StrangeLight]

the letter i got said they would notify me on the results in april.

[Lymrance]

Hi, fellow hopefuls! Can someone please clarify the SSHRC/OGS terms regarding outside employment? I've heard a few conflicting things.

The common perception seems to be that you must only work 10 hrs a week and that those hours are usually taken up by TA/RA-ships. The OGS conditions are certainly phrased in these terms -- must be a maximum of 10 hrs. On the other hand, the SSHRC award holder's guide is less definitive:

"SSHRC expects award holders to devote the majority of their time to the timely completion of their degree programs. As a guideline in this context, the Council strongly suggests that award holders limit the number of hours of employment per 12-month period to 450. Universities may, however, set their own guidelines. Please contact your university for further information."

A hypothetical, then: If you were fortunate enough to get a SSHRC/OGS, but absolutely had to supplement your stipend for family reasons, and were likewise fortunate enough to have an accommodating and reasonably well-paying job (home office, set your own hours), would the "other employment/sources of income" clause prevent you from working part-time in addition to TA-ing?

Tigerlily,

I am holding an MA SSHRC, an RA-ship, and have outside employment. I've had no issues doing this at all. Once you sign off on the initial forms, no one comes back to you with more questions. It really is between you and your university. And in this case, my university has been totally unconcerned as my other employment has not affected my performance or my RA-work.

Good luck!

[Andsowego]

I hate to be the person to ask this but:

Anyone have hear anything about when SSHRC claims it might be sending out decisions this year?

In the e-mail I received from my university that informed me my application had been forwarded (Jan. 19th/11): "SSHRC will announce the results early in the spring and will contact you directly with the results."

And in the e-mail I received directly from SSHRC (Jan. 18th) there was nothing specified other than: "The result of this competition will be sent by mail to the correspondence address provided in your application."

On the SSHRC website, it states that results will be announced in Spring 2011. It doesn't specify April, May, or otherwise.

Happy waiting!

[thepoorstockinger]

In the e-mail I received from my university that informed me my application had been forwarded (Jan. 19th/11): "SSHRC will announce the results early in the spring and will contact you directly with the results."

And in the e-mail I received directly from SSHRC (Jan. 18th) there was nothing specified other than: "The result of this competition will be sent by mail to the correspondence address provided in your application."

On the SSHRC website, it states that results will be announced in Spring 2011. It doesn't specify April, May, or otherwise.

Happy waiting!

Yeah, it's why I asked. I double checked at the e-mail I got from Grad studies at my program (3 and a half weeks after hearing from SSHRC and 3 weeks after I asked them for confirmation that I was forwarded with recommendation to receive a SSHRC) says "around mid-May 2011," but the person who sent it to me is not known for her reliability. Basically I am going with "whenever SSHRC officially says it will be out plus three to five weeks."

Tiger Lily,

I know people who have had graduate programs threaten to pull funding after discovering they were working over ten hours a week. This is definitely something that varies department to department and school to school so I would ask around your department and see what things are like in your specific situation.