Doctoral scholarship CRSH/SSHRC 2012

[sarahjane]

Another long-time lurker here... Thought I'd register and weigh in on the madness. Just got my letter. Waitlisted. In Peterborough. Entering first year PhD in English at Queens this fall. 16.2/30. Fuuuuuck. How much more waiting can I take? I need to make some plans one way or another. Like whether I can even do this without the money.

[canukulhead]

Applicant, Status, Score, Subject area

Cancomm, Offered CGS, 18.5, Communications

bedalia, Offered CGS / Will decline (good!), 21.15, ?

Deezkneezm Offered CGS / downgrade to fellowship, 26.6, History of Christianity

CassandraC, Offered fellowship, 25.8, Sociology

electrochoc, Offered CGS, 18.7, Political Science

Andsowego, Not successful, ?, ?

ducon_lajoie, Not successful, ?, ?

soimpossible618, Offered Fellowship, 22.95, English Literature

Blurry, Waitlisted, 18.5, Philosophy

DMMS18, Waitlisted, 16.7, Psychology

Howmuchlonger, Not successful, 16.9, Urban and Region Studies

avsilver, Offered CGS, 27.7, MES in Geography

ZoSo 4, Offered CGS, 21.7, English Lit

Andsowego, Not Successful, ?, ?

mimiuchi, Offered CGS / Downgrade to fellowship, 20.1, Islamic thought

cathaea, Waitlisted, 15.3, English

wippen, Waitlisted, 16.2, English

joechip, Waitlisted, 16.2, Religion

sarahjane, Waitlisted, 16.2, English

Edited May 1, 2012 by canukulhead

[checkeredBlanket]

seems like many are getting waitlisted...this ma sound like a stupid question, but out of the total nr. of applicants this year (don't remember the exact number ) so lets just say 1900, the 950 get accpted, the rest get outright rejections. So where do the waitlisted ppl fit in..under accepted or rejected..how does this work?

[SCY]

Has anybody in the U.S. received notification yet?

I am in Michigan and haven't received my letter yet. The letter that I received from SSHRC informing me that my application was forwarded to the national competition was mailed on Friday, Feb 24th and I recieved it on Thursday, March 1. I have a feeling that U.S. SSHRC hopefuls have a couple more days of waiting...

[SCY]

I am in Michigan and haven't received my letter yet. The letter that I received from SSHRC informing me that my application was forwarded to the national competition was mailed on Friday, Feb 24th and I recieved it on Thursday, March 1. I have a feeling that U.S. SSHRC hopefuls have a couple more days of waiting...

BTW... I am a long time lurker and I wanted to say that I found this forum to be really helpful and made this waiting period (i.e., the past few months) much more tolerable. It is comforting to know that there are others in the same boat.

[Compoe]

Another long-time lurker here... Thought I'd register and weigh in on the madness. Just got my letter. Waitlisted. In Peterborough. Entering first year PhD in English at Queens this fall. 16.2/30. Fuuuuuck. How much more waiting can I take? I need to make some plans one way or another. Like whether I can even do this without the money.

For what it's worth, you're not alone in the uncertainty. There's a lot riding on getting funding, and it's completely absurd that people have to wait until June, July, even August to know whether they can afford to go. :/

Also for what it's worth, there's still no letter for me in Montreal. I've set up a small notification trigger on the mailbox so I'll know if the mail has been delivered. I'll probably call SSHRC later if the letter isn't here after today's delivery.

[monty]

I second that SCY, and thanks for the update! I'm guessing the letter is going to take about 5 days to make its way down to the Lone Star state. Hopefully it'll reach you more quickly in Michigan!

[climbingtree]

Fredericton, NB

Offered CGS

19.9

English

Best of luck to all

[sarahjane]

For what it's worth, you're not alone in the uncertainty. There's a lot riding on getting funding, and it's completely absurd that people have to wait until June, July, even August to know whether they can afford to go. :/

Also for what it's worth, there's still no letter for me in Montreal. I've set up a small notification trigger on the mailbox so I'll know if the mail has been delivered. I'll probably call SSHRC later if the letter isn't here after today's delivery.

Thanks, Compoe. It's really good to know I'm not the only one who thinks this process is outrageous. I've got two young children to think about, and I just can't make big life decisions with so little certainty. I'm hoping I can at least count on OGS to take me to the fall... reapply to SSHRC and hope for the best. I'm currently on a MA SSHRC, so looks like we will have to downsize when and wherever we end up moving. I really can't imagine doing this over and over again...

[joechip]

BTW, does anyone know how SSHRC tells people on the waiting list that they've been given an award? Mail, phone, email...?

[Andsowego]

seems like many are getting waitlisted...this ma sound like a stupid question, but out of the total nr. of applicants this year (don't remember the exact number ) so lets just say 1900, the 950 get accpted, the rest get outright rejections. So where do the waitlisted ppl fit in..under accepted or rejected..how does this work?

Waitlisted = Counted as Rejected in the stats until something changes. So essentially, the total number of Funded applicants never changes, but the rejected number could shrink. I spent the last two years on the waitlist, and this is something I asked about a while back.

[zhanghy]

CGS $35000 for three years

1st year economics phd

toronto

one international coference

87% GPA for MA (very shabby compared to lots of my phd classmates)

I am so thrilled and burst into tears after seeing the result!!!

My score is 17.7/30, which is lower than last year. I was ranked three on the waitlist last year, and almost lost my hope for winning SSHRC.......

[joechip]

Waitlisted = Counted as Rejected in the stats until something changes. So essentially, the total number of Funded applicants never changes, but the rejected number could shrink. I spent the last two years on the waitlist, and this is something I asked about a while back.

I think the [followup] question is: How many people get put on the wait list? Also, are there any stats on how many people on the wait list end up getting funding?

There may be way to find out this info, but what else are we going to do while we wait for SSHRC to (hopefully!) notify us? Live our lives? Work? Psh!

[zhanghy]

by the way, my letter says: " the selection committees adjudicated 1907 applications, and given the funds available to the program, the Council was able to offer 1085 awards"

why others say that there are only 955 awarded?

[Compoe]

by the way, my letter says: " the selection committees adjudicated 1907 applications, and given the funds available to the program, the Council was able to offer 1085 awards"

why others say that there are only 955 awarded?

The 1907/1085 numbers are the EXACT numbers from last year's competition, so I think that someone at SSHRC forgot to update the Word document until a bunch of letters were already printed.

[placebased]

Nothing received in Victoria today. I am waiting with baited breath....I was denied Trudeau and Vanier, SSHRC fellowship is all I have left that has any weight.

[Interferenceviolet]

Hello, all. Well I got the letter this morning, and I was offered a CGS. My score was 22.2, my GPA was 4.0, no publications, a couple of grad conferences, a major national exhibition (falls under artistic contributions, or something), presumably good reference letters. I was doing this kind of weird laugh cry hyperventilate thing when I read the letter. I'm extra pleased because I'm in Fine Arts, which isn't exactly a favourite for funding with our present government.

Anyway, I just wanted to say, especially to the people going into first year who get turned down, chin up. Last year I was waitlisted with a score of 16.7 or something, and I was devastated. But things sometimes work out even better in the long run. So keep the faith, and good luck to all.

[NeedFunds]

Just won a fellowship with a score of 18.1.

Here are my stats at the time of the application:

Psychology

going into second year PhD

1 peer reviewed publication

1 paper under review

2 book chapters

2 articles in professional journals

4 presentations at professional conferences

B+ average BA, A average MA

And, I'm in Kingston

[dis-grad]

Well, I just got my letter in the west end of Toronto. No SSHRC funding for me this year. Best of luck to everyone else and I'll see some of you in next year's SSHRC forum...

[Easy Tiger]

Anybody in Manitoba, Saskatchewan .... Alberta get anything yet?

[bedalia]

Thanks, Compoe. It's really good to know I'm not the only one who thinks this process is outrageous. I've got two young children to think about, and I just can't make big life decisions with so little certainty. I'm hoping I can at least count on OGS to take me to the fall... reapply to SSHRC and hope for the best. I'm currently on a MA SSHRC, so looks like we will have to downsize when and wherever we end up moving. I really can't imagine doing this over and over again...

I had an MA SSHRC, and my application last year (for first year PhD) didn't even make it out of the university. I also have kids so I had to reconsider whether I could afford to go ahead with a PhD. I got OGS, but ended up declining it because with OGS's limits on additional funding, I would have ended up with the same amount as my program's package anyway, and with the limits on the number of years we can receive govt. funding, I wanted to keep three years available for a CGS or Vanier. Meanwhile, I told my program director about my financial concerns, noting that while the program's funding package is pretty generous, it doesn't go as far when you have dependents. It came up more as an observation in a casual discussion, not as part of negotiation, though I don't think there is harm in raising it as a point of negotiation, if necessary. He came back to me later and offered me a research assistant position in one of his projects (we aren't required to RA or TA as part of our funding package, so I could handle it time-wise). I was also nominated for and won some internal awards, which not only helped financially but improved my application profile. It turned out to be for the best that I didn't get SSHRC in my first year, though time and money were tight - I worked hard to improve my applications, and this year I got Vanier (and CGS, which I will decline) - waaaay better for me and my kids. I wouldn't have been able to accept the full three years had I received SSHRC last year.

See what your program can do to get you through the first year, consider whether it is in your best interests to accept OGS (depends on your funding package and other options for supporting yourself this year), and work on a kick-ass application for next year (and do apply for Vanier!). It sucks to have to go through the process again, and the uncertainty is brutal. I really feel your pain. Keep your hopes up and don't give up!

[Required Information]

Nothing yet in Vancouver... Hopefully tomorrow.

[ecoptimist]

Got my SSHRC letter this morning (Toronto). Doctoral CGS! I'll be attending an American university for my PhD however, so what is the process to downgrade to the regular SSHRC? I assume that doing so automatically grants you the 20k for 4 years?

Also, I've heard conflicting reports on whether or not one can get the third installment of the MA CGS if the MA program is only 8 months. Some say if you're going directly into a PhD then you can claim the third installment. Does this only apply for Canadian PhDs, or can I get that third installment even though I'm going to the USA in August/September? Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks, and congrats/good luck to everyone.

[canukulhead]

Thanks, Compoe. It's really good to know I'm not the only one who thinks this process is outrageous. I've got two young children to think about, and I just can't make big life decisions with so little certainty. I'm hoping I can at least count on OGS to take me to the fall... reapply to SSHRC and hope for the best. I'm currently on a MA SSHRC, so looks like we will have to downsize when and wherever we end up moving. I really can't imagine doing this over and over again...

I hear ya. It’s not easy to reconcile passion for scholarship with pragmatics of family life. I think Tri-Council processes are symptomatic of a paternalistic/patronizing attitude in the academy towards students generally, as if we’re all without responsibilities and willing to work for peanuts. I have a well paid job that I’d have to quit if I get SSHRC, but I’m willing to try to live on half as much money because I love research and teaching. But the disrespect one has to endure to make such compromises is a little hard to take sometimes. I especially hate the paternalistic attitude shown by some faculty when they editorialize on my life choices (e.g., I should give up my sessional lecturing position if I get SSHRC “because I’d have lots of money”, or that I should use my scholarship money to go to this or that conference because that what students are supposed to do). Faculty should provide advice, sure, but these are my choices!

In the final analysis, though, I hope we’re all in it because we love what we’re working on, we love ideas and the thought that we contribute, and not because we think that once we have a doctorate we’ll finally be treated with respect. Post-docs and junior faculty are treated like crap too. When I look at it in this way, a SSHRC award would simply mean that I’d leave my jobby job and finish the PhD sooner. Either way, I’ll get there eventually, and do so without compromising the things that are important to me: working on scholarship that I’m passionate about and providing a secure and loving home for my family. It may take me 8-10 years to finish a PhD without compromising these two things. But if so, so be it. The road is long. Enjoy the trip. Good luck.

[SCY]

Got my SSHRC letter this morning (Toronto). Doctoral CGS! I'll be attending an American university for my PhD however, so what is the process to downgrade to the regular SSHRC? I assume that doing so automatically grants you the 20k for 4 years?

Also, I've heard conflicting reports on whether or not one can get the third installment of the MA CGS if the MA program is only 8 months. Some say if you're going directly into a PhD then you can claim the third installment. Does this only apply for Canadian PhDs, or can I get that third installment even though I'm going to the USA in August/September? Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks, and congrats/good luck to everyone.

My wife was awarded the CGS 4 years ago, we came to the U.S. for grad school and she "downgraded" to the SSHRC doctoral fellowship. I believe she just called SSHRC and asked them to "downgrade" her because we were going to the US. Hope that helps.