SSHRC

[jferreir]

I'm becoming neurotic thanks to SSHRC...

I've been checking the mailbox so frequently, my neighbours must think I have OCD! And for some reason, I catch myself checking the mailbox even after the mail has arrived. You know, just in case the letter ended up at the wrong address and someone was kind enough to drop it off...

God, what's wrong with me?

[dramanda]

Masters level... please tell me you know something... I've spent the past three hours doing nothing but SSHRCing

For masters level, it is NOT 100%, but very close. I only have access to the University of Toronto stats from a SSHRC writing session. About 90-95% of forwarded applicants get the award at the masters level in any given year from my university. It might vary a bit by institution (especially those schools that only forward 5 applications...small sample size). York is large, so I assume their success rate is similar to Toronto.

[virdisun]

Are you applying for master's or doctoral level SSHRC?

dramanda,

if you know anything about the odds for either masters or doctoral awards that would be great too (my sister is applying)

[virdisun]

For masters level, it is NOT 100%, but very close. I only have access to the University of Toronto stats from a SSHRC writing session. About 90-95% of forwarded applicants get the award at the masters level in any given year from my university. It might vary a bit by institution (especially those schools that only forward 5 applications...small sample size). York is large, so I assume their success rate is similar to Toronto.

I think it would REALLY SUCK to be in the 5% that loses... York's success rate is really high it's been around 100% for a while with the exception of recommendations made for non A-class students

[dramanda]

dramanda,

if you know anything about the odds for either masters or doctoral awards that would be great too (my sister is applying)

http://www.sshrc.ca/site/winning-recher ... s_2008.xls

Look at tab 1, which divides the applicants by university AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION. There's a column with "success rate"....this is the number of people who got SSHRC doctoral from the A-list. There isn't a "success rate" column for masters SSHRC, so I can only extrapolate from the numbers I got from UofT.

[jferreir]

For masters level, it is NOT 100%, but very close. I only have access to the University of Toronto stats from a SSHRC writing session. About 90-95% of forwarded applicants get the award at the masters level in any given year from my university. It might vary a bit by institution (especially those schools that only forward 5 applications...small sample size). York is large, so I assume their success rate is similar to Toronto.

I have a somewhat related question...

I indicated in my proposal that I would be pursuing graduate studies at either UBC or UofT, while on my actual (online) application, I indicated that UBC would be the administering institution. If I'm lucky enough to secure SSHRC funding, would switching my school from UBC to UofT negatively affect my application in any way? In terms of research, both institutions are on similar footing.

If it matters, this is for the CGS Masters. Thanks!

[monkeybrain]

For masters level, it is NOT 100%, but very close. I only have access to the University of Toronto stats from a SSHRC writing session. About 90-95% of forwarded applicants get the award at the masters level in any given year from my university. It might vary a bit by institution (especially those schools that only forward 5 applications...small sample size). York is large, so I assume their success rate is similar to Toronto.

Also, keep in mind that the 5-10% who do not receive SSHRCs most likely have turned them down (because, for example, MA SSHRCs cannot travel outside of Canada, and the student may have decided to attend university in the states).

If you applied for an MA SSHRC and your application made it to Ottawa, AND you do not have any errors with your application (missing transcripts etc), rest assured that you will be awarded one.

[monkeybrain]

I have a somewhat related question...

I indicated in my proposal that I would be pursuing graduate studies at either UBC or UofT, while on my actual (online) application, I indicated that UBC would be the administering institution. If I'm lucky enough to secure SSHRC funding, would switching my school from UBC to UofT negatively affect my application in any way? In terms of research, both institutions are on similar footing.

If it matters, this is for the CGS Masters. Thanks!

No, SSHRC does not care about switching schools.

[dramanda]

I indicated in my proposal that I would be pursuing graduate studies at either UBC or UofT, while on my actual (online) application, I indicated that UBC would be the administering institution. If I'm lucky enough to secure SSHRC funding, would switching my school from UBC to UofT negatively affect my application in any way? In terms of research, both institutions are on similar footing.

If it matters, this is for the CGS Masters. Thanks!

It doesn't matter at all.

[virdisun]

http://www.sshrc.ca/site/winning-recher ... s_2008.xls

Look at tab 1, which divides the applicants by university AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION. There's a column with "success rate"....this is the number of people who got SSHRC doctoral from the A-list. There isn't a "success rate" column for masters SSHRC, so I can only extrapolate from the numbers I got from UofT.

Awesome thanks! My sister is at U of T so she has a 60% success rate, as much as I want it, I almost want her to get it more than me!

[virdisun]

You're right, they don't break down the Masters stats that way between A & B list succes rates.

[dramanda]

Also, keep in mind that the 5-10% who do not receive SSHRCs most likely have turned them down (because, for example, MA SSHRCs cannot travel outside of Canada, and the student may have decided to attend university in the states).

If you applied for an MA SSHRC and your application made it to Ottawa, AND you do not have any errors with your application (missing transcripts etc), rest assured that you will be awarded one.

As far as I know, this is not true. I'm not trying to be a downer, but just passing along the information I was provided with by the UofT SSHRC session.

89 masters level SSHRC proposals were forwarded by UofT to SSHRC last year

84 of them got it

That's just under a 95% success rate

Of course, that's still awesome and I'd kill for the success rate to be the same in the doctoral competition. BUT, I think people should know that it's not 100%.

I highly doubt that incomplete applications got through 2 levels of assessment at UofT, so the most likely scenario is that there are just a handful of applications at the masters level that are not funded.

[Snasser]

The doctoral success rate is roughly 50-60%. Our university grants crafter suggested this in the fall. The quota of applications that each university can forward to SSHRC is based on the previous year's success rate. So the more successful applications they forwarded the year before means a highter quota for the next. The success rate for each discipline varies quite a bit, I believe, simply because it is a lot easier to make a Sociology or IR application sound relevant than one proposing research in early-medieval Flemish pre-socratic philosophy (for anyone about to point out the anachronisms and impossibilities in this statement, my tongue is planted firmly in cheek). Our grants crafter also mentioned that since major funding cuts in the 90s, SSHRC has felt greater pressure to support research that seems relevant to the general public so that they can more easily approach the government with hat in hand. This all being said, relevant is a nebulous term that applies to many disciplines and even to early-medieval Flemish pre-socratic philosophy.

[canadiangirl78]

What does the column "lists A&B" mean in the spreadsheet?

[jferreir]

What does the column "lists A&B" mean in the spreadsheet?

I haven't looked at the spreadsheet, but I assume it stands for the total amount of forwarded applicants. A-list applicants are those recommended for the award, while B-list applicants are those who are deemed "alternates" for the award.

[monkeybrain]

As far as I know, this is not true. I'm not trying to be a downer, but just passing along the information I was provided with by the UofT SSHRC session.

89 masters level SSHRC proposals were forwarded by UofT to SSHRC last year

84 of them got it

That's just under a 95% success rate

I went to the same information session as you. 89 MA-level SSHRC proposals were forwarded. Many would have come from students in the fourth year of the undergrads, who are coming from U of T (and not necessarily continuing at U of T -- because you must apply within the school you are currently attending). Of those 89, 84 received and accepted SSHRC awards.

The five that were not awarded SSHRC could very well have been offered them and turned them down, either because they decided to not go to a Canadian university, or because they decided to take a year off, or something of that nature. Ask Peter Grav -- he'll tell you that, in all previous years, if your MA SSHRC application made it to Ottawa, you'd be offered an award.

[jferreir]

I went to the same information session as you. 89 MA-level SSHRC proposals were forwarded. Many would have come from students in the fourth year of the undergrads, who are coming from U of T (and not necessarily continuing at U of T -- because you must apply within the school you are currently attending). Of those 89, 84 received and accepted SSHRC awards.

The five that were not awarded SSHRC could very well have been offered them and turned them down, either because they decided to not go to a Canadian university, or because they decided to take a year off, or something of that nature. Ask Peter Grav -- he'll tell you that, in all previous years, if your MA SSHRC application made it to Ottawa, you'd be offered an award.

Then why is it taking so long to release the MA results? Argh, I'm going crazy!

[canadiangirl78]

I haven't looked at the spreadsheet, but I assume it stands for the total amount of forwarded applicants. A-list applicants are those recommended for the award, while B-list applicants are those who are deemed "alternates" for the award.

Hmmm.. doesn't sound right to me.. I know that Queen's forwarded 63 applications this year to SSHRC, which is more comparable with the figure that says List A.. Why would SSHRC list the applications that weren't forwarded by the university as well (total of A& was 189..

[dramanda]

I went to the same information session as you. 89 MA-level SSHRC proposals were forwarded. Many would have come from students in the fourth year of the undergrads, who are coming from U of T (and not necessarily continuing at U of T -- because you must apply within the school you are currently attending). Of those 89, 84 received and accepted SSHRC awards.

The five that were not awarded SSHRC could very well have been offered them and turned them down, either because they decided to not go to a Canadian university, or because they decided to take a year off, or something of that nature. Ask Peter Grav -- he'll tell you that, in all previous years, if your MA SSHRC application made it to Ottawa, you'd be offered an award.

Hm...ok, I agree with you. The "84" isn't clear....could be how many people accepted SSHRC. I may have just misread the data and assumed that 84 was the number of people who received SSHRC. Either way, my info is from Peter Grav as well, so if you heard it straight from the horse's mouth, I can't argue

[dramanda]

Why would SSHRC list the applications that weren't forwarded by the university as well (total of A& was 189..

I think just for the sake of record keeping. This way, you can figure out what your odds are of getting the award before you know if you're List A or not.

[jferreir]

Hmmm.. doesn't sound right to me.. I know that Queen's forwarded 63 applications this year to SSHRC, which is more comparable with the figure that says List A.. Why would SSHRC list the applications that weren't forwarded by the university as well (total of A& was 189..

Judging by your figures, my assumption is probably incorrect. That said, I do know that SSHRC receives "alternate" candidates forwarded by universities.

I come from a medium-sized university where 50+ applications were received. Of those 50+ applications, 23 were forwarded to SSHRC as recommendations, while 5 were forwarded to SSHRC as alternates.

[jasper.milvain]

SSHRC has felt greater pressure to support research that seems relevant to the general public so that they can more easily approach the government with hat in hand.

This is so true. I don't know if anyone followed the brouhaha in the National Post last year, where Robert Fulford blasted SSHRC for funding a project with the title "Lex Luthor Hearts Superman" about homoeroticism in Smallville. Never mind that the student writing about Smallville ended up getting the Governor General's Award for best graduating humanities PhD student from his school, got a postdoc at CUNY, and just got a TT job. Clearly, it's all just random in the arts.

Did anyone else put together a Vanier application? That half-page summary "in language the public can understand" that they require is clearly direct fall out from this kind of arts bashing. It would be horrifying for someone to apply their specialized education to producing a complex piece of research using specialized language. And lord knows we can't trust experts to accurately evaluate their own field.

[none]

does SGS usually tell people when their applications are forwarded to SSHRC as "alternates"? when SGS contacted me, they just told me that my application was passed on to ottawa (both this year and last year).

i don't know what the success rate is this year, but i remember doing an overall calculation last year. of all applicants, about 1/5 get awards. and of the applicants who make it to ottawa (assuming that all of them are A-listed), only about 50% get awards...

[jferreir]

does SGS usually tell people when their applications are forwarded to SSHRC as "alternates"? when SGS contacted me, they just told me that my application was passed on to ottawa (both this year and last year).

i don't know what the success rate is this year, but i remember doing an overall calculation last year. of all applicants, about 1/5 get awards. and of the applicants who make it to ottawa (assuming that all of them are A-listed), only about 50% get awards...

When I applied for the CGS Masters, I was told that my application was being forwarded on the "A-list". If you were on the B-list, I'm sure the school would have told you (at least they should have). Perhaps you should follow up with graduate studies?

In terms of success rate, that depends on which award you applied for. Generally speaking, applications for doctoral awards have a success rate of about 50%.

[dramanda]

General SSHRC question for the masses:

My dad is always dumbfounded when he hears me say that I can take SSHRC with me to a US school. Although I'm happy that they do allow this, why? What's in it for SSHRC/the Canadian gov't? There's no guarantee that we'll return to Canada eventually.....Thoughts?