SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship/CGS Doctoral Scholarship 2014-2015

[MakeYourself]

This, but also a bit more as there is a ranking system involved. Applicant eligible for CGS and the fellowship are considered for both and then the highest ranking (eligible) CDN applicants are offered CGS (and then if they are planning to take the award outside of Canada they can downgrade to the fellowship), while those who have successful applications but are not as highly ranked are offered the fellowship (eg. you can be a first year PhD CDN student and be awarded a fellowship but not a CGS, even though you are eligible for both). If the applicant is not eligible for CGS (eg. later in their program of study, already enrolled in a US program, etc.) then they will only be considered for the fellowship.

 

I wonder if anyone has ever rejected a 4-year fellowship in hopes of applying again and getting a CGS?

I wouldn't gamble with those odds.

[Nerd_For_Life]

I wonder if anyone has ever rejected a 4-year fellowship in hopes of applying again and getting a CGS?

I wouldn't gamble with those odds.

 

Ooo, interesting question. I would not take those odds either lol

[bentharbour]

I wonder if anyone has ever rejected a 4-year fellowship in hopes of applying again and getting a CGS?

I wouldn't gamble with those odds.

I would NEVER gamble that. I seriously doubt anyone has...pretty tough to turn down 60-80,000.

[Konstantin]

I wonder if anyone has ever rejected a 4-year fellowship in hopes of applying again and getting a CGS?

I wouldn't gamble with those odds.

 

I've seen a successful applicant in 2011 or 2012 contemplate declining his 4x20 fellowship for a chance to compete for the CGS again, but I don't know if he ever went through with it, that would be a risky move!!

[bentharbour]

I think one would be better off to accept and hope to be bumped to a CGS in the summer (I am not quite sure if this even happens...anyone know?).

Edited April 25, 2014 by bentharbour

[Safferz]

I think one would be better off to accept and hope to be bumped to a CGS in the summer (I am not quite sure if this even happens...anyone know?).

 

I'm sure more than a few people win the CGS and tell SSHRC after that they're going to the US or elsewhere for their PhDs, so they end up with the regular doctoral award instead.

[Konstantin]

I think one would be better off to accept and hope to be bumped to a CGS in the summer (I am not quite sure if this even happens...anyone know?).

Yeah, Fellowship recipients have received upgrades to CGS, but they are few and far between. This happens when a CGS gets downgraded to a Fellowship (for whatever reason) and then the extra money goes to someone with a Fellowship that is upgraded to CGS. Someone posted about this in last year's SSHRC thread.

[ImmCrit]

Wait listed. Does anyone know someone who has been wait listed and has ended up receiving an award?

[Nerd_For_Life]

Wait listed. Does anyone know someone who has been wait listed and has ended up receiving an award?

I was wait listed last year and did not get off it, but I know the year before that some people posted in the 2012-13 SSHRC thread that they made it off the wait list. 

[cathaea]

Wait listed. Does anyone know someone who has been wait listed and has ended up receiving an award?

 

I've been waitlisted 3 yrs in a row, never made it off the waitlist. But my scores weren't that close to the cut-off and I know of others who were successful.

[bentharbour]

Surprisingly, I now one person who made it off the wait list a couple years ago...to receive a CGS! (I have no idea how this worked...) So there is still hope. Perhaps take a look at those who have been successful on here and what scores they had. That may be difficult because many have not posted them due to a bolded warning against publicizing the content at the end of the letter.

 

Still, sending positive vibes to you!

Edited April 26, 2014 by bentharbour

[Konstantin]

Wait listed. Does anyone know someone who has been wait listed and has ended up receiving an award?

 

Sorry to hear that! Hang in there, though judging by past SSHRC application cycles, the wait might be long. Last year someone's status was changed to successful in August:

 

 

And the year before, in January (so 8 months after the initial results were out):

 

 

But there is hope, since Vanier, Trudeau, Rhodes etc. recipients will be declining their SSHRC, so it will go to applicants like you! There's a bit of luck involved, since you've got to be pretty high on the waitlist, and your score should tell you that.

[bentharbour]

Sorry to hear that! Hang in there, though judging by past SSHRC application cycles, the wait might be long. Last year someone's status was changed to successful in August:

 

 

And the year before, in January (so 8 months after the initial results were out):

 

 

But there is hope, since Vanier, Trudeau, Rhodes etc. recipients will be declining their SSHRC, so it will go to applicants like you! There's a bit of luck involved, since you've got to be pretty high on the waitlist, and your score should tell you that.

 

And to further my point above, someone on 2013 SSHRC page Konstantin just posted also made it from wait list to CGS! 

 

As I have mentioned, someone posted on twitter that they were unsuccessful at 10.5. We also see here that one person got a CGS with a score of 16/20.

 

Unsuccessful: 10.5/20

Waitlisted: ???

Fellowship: ???

CGS: 16/20

 

If you can fill in some of the blanks there (with your wait listed score, or find a Fellowship score) you can get an idea of where some of the lines have been drawn by SSHRC. Hope that helps!

[Konstantin]

And unfortunately there is not a uniform cut-off score: waitlist cut-off will vary by discipline and by the committee/subcommittee that considered the applications. For some committees, the waitlist cut-off is higher than for others (if I understand the scoring correctly, again judging by past competitions).

Edited April 26, 2014 by Konstantin

[cathaea]

I normally stalk this post but after 3 dejecting years, I actually tried really hard to forget about SSHRC this year. Anyway, I'm reading that the amount of the fellowship has changed has changed from 20K to 25K and that it is now tenable at any point in a 5 year period. Anyone have any confirmation of this? I'm particularly interested in the 5 year change, if that's true. Does that mean candidates going into their 3rd year (as an example) would be offered a 2 year fellowship instead of a 1 year? My anxiety has sky-rocketed about this whole process since tentative confirmation that I might have won this year.

 

Also, is the bolding warning not to post scores/information a new thing? I don't remember that from previous letters but perhaps I've blocked the previous trauma from my memory.

Edited April 26, 2014 by cathaea

[Nerd_For_Life]

And unfortunately there is uniform cut-off score: waitlist cut-off will vary by discipline and by the committee/subcommittee that considered the applications. For some committees, the waitlist cut-off is higher than for others (if I understand the scoring correctly, again judging by past competitions).

 

Yup, this. Last year I was waitlisted with 16.9 (but the scoring wasn't out of 20, it was out of 25 or 30? Can't find my old letter to confirm), but someone with a lower score than I had received a fellowship while I never got off the wait list. It definitely varies by discipline and committee/subcommittee that considers the applications (which is what I think Konstantin meant to write rather than "there is a uniform cut-off score", "there is not a uniform cut-off score"). We should also consider whether the ranking the rankings for CGS will have a different significance than those ranked and awarded the fellowship (ie. a 16/20 in the fellowship competition might not get you a fellowship, but in the context of the CGS competition it might).

[Konstantin]

Yup, this. Last year I was waitlisted with 16.9 (but the scoring wasn't out of 20, it was out of 25 or 30? Can't find my old letter to confirm), but someone with a lower score than I had received a fellowship while I never got off the wait list. It definitely varies by discipline and committee/subcommittee that considers the applications (which is what I think Konstantin meant to write rather than "there is a uniform cut-off score", "there is not a uniform cut-off score"). We should also consider whether the ranking the rankings for CGS will have a different significance than those ranked and awarded the fellowship (ie. a 16/20 in the fellowship competition might not get you a fellowship, but in the context of the CGS competition it might).

 

Thanks for correcting my typo -- that's exactly what I meant (I should really start proofreading my posts more thoroughly, haha)

[Konstantin]

I normally stalk this post but after 3 dejecting years, I actually tried really hard to forget about SSHRC this year. Anyway, I'm reading that the amount of the fellowship has changed has changed from 20K to 25K and that it is now tenable at any point in a 5 year period. Anyone have any confirmation of this? I'm particularly interested in the 5 year change, if that's true. Does that mean candidates going into their 3rd year (as an example) would be offered a 2 year fellowship instead of a 1 year? My anxiety has sky-rocketed about this whole process since tentative confirmation that I might have won this year.

 

Also, is the bolding warning not to post scores/information a new thing? I don't remember that from previous letters but perhaps I've blocked the previous trauma from my memory.

 

According to the info posted on SSHRC's website, those are the proposed changes. I don't know if ALL of them have been implemented yet. But, I'm going into my 3rd year and I got the CGS (because SSHRC expanded its eligibility), whereas last year applicants going into their 3rd year received only a 2 year fellowship.

 

Given that you're going into your 3rd year and If you're successful you should get a CGS (35x3) or a 3x20k.

 

I don't know of anyone who got the 25k deal yet (maybe it's still in the works?).

Edited April 26, 2014 by Konstantin

[bentharbour]

Just to be clear (I am not sure if anyone has mentioned this), but the proposed changes also mean that Fellowships will only be for a maximum of 3 years (not 4, as they are currently). So, while SSHRC promotes this as "providing the flexibility needed" for doctoral students to hold the award at any time during the five year period, the award is actually worth $5,000 less under the proposed changes. This has benefits for some, and drawbacks for others. For example, if you were to win a two year fellowship under the new schema you would get $50,000 as opposed to $40,000 (if the eligibility for the number of years in Ph.D. were to remain the same). Conversely, if you were to win the full fellowship you would qualify for a maximum of $75,000 as opposed to $80,000 under the old schema.

 

These changes are set to be implemented in next year's competition. 

Edited April 26, 2014 by bentharbour

[Nerd_For_Life]

Just to be clear (I am not sure if anyone has mentioned this), but the proposed changes also mean that Fellowships will only be for a maximum of 3 years (not 4, as they are currently). So, while SSHRC promotes this as "providing the flexibility needed" for doctoral students to hold the award at any time during the five year period, the award is actually worth $5,000 less under the proposed changes. This has benefits for some, and drawbacks for others. For example, if you were to win a two year fellowship under the new schema you would get $50,000 as opposed to $40,000 (if the eligibility for the number of years in Ph.D. were to remain the same). Conversely, if you were to win the full fellowship you would qualify for a maximum of $75,000 as opposed to $80,000 under the old schema.

 

These changes are set to be implemented in next year's competition. 

This is my interpretation as well - an overall reduction in funding if you receive it early, but beneficial to those who are successful in later years.

[cathaea]

Sorry for the 20 questions. So the CGS eligibility has been expanded as of this year but the fellowship still remains at 20K and tenable up to 4 yrs, correct? Has the 5 year window been introduced yet?

Edited April 26, 2014 by cathaea

[Nerd_For_Life]

Sorry for the 20 questions. So the CGS eligibility has been expanded as of this year but the value still remains at 20K correct and remain tenable up to 4 yrs, correct?

CGS is the 35k/3 years. The fellowship is 20k/4 years. Next year the fellowship is set to change to 25k/3 years. 

 

Not sure about the eligibility expansion but I think others have already spoken to this.

[bentharbour]

Sorry for the 20 questions. So the CGS eligibility has been expanded as of this year but the value still remains at 20K correct and remain tenable up to 4 yrs, correct?

 

The CGS eligibility has been expanded by 1 year this year - so those, as in Konstantin's case, who are in their second year of Ph.D. studies at the time of application are still eligible for the CGS (3 years x $35,000). The doctoral fellowships are at $20,000 to a maximum of four years.

 

But, in order to be eligible for the full four year fellowship, you must have completed less than five months of doctoral studies at the time of application. That means under the current schema only MA students applying for their Ph.D and first year Ph.D students were eligible for the full four years of funding. So, If I am correct, second year Ph.D's who win the fellowship are only eligible for 3 years of funding ($60,000). This is where we will see one of the proposed changes to the fellowship program. As of next year, it will be more uniform to the CGS (3 years) and you will be able to hold it at any time during a five year period. I think that this means you will be eligible for BOTH CGS and 3-year fellowships up to your second year in a Ph.D (at the time of application), and you can then choose when you would like to hold your fellowship in the five-year period (I think this would come in handy for MA students going into Ph.D who may get great first year funding packages consisting of entrance and recruitment scholarships - they can choose to put the fellowship off until later years).

 

This is how I interpret the changes, anyway!

Edited April 26, 2014 by bentharbour

[Konstantin]

Sorry for the 20 questions. So the CGS eligibility has been expanded as of this year but the fellowship still remains at 20K and tenable up to 4 yrs, correct? Has the 5 year window been introduced yet?

What bentharbour and Nerd_For_Life said, and to answer your question directly, yes the 5 year window is already in effect, as evident by the expanded eligibility to hold the CGS or SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship in years 3, 4, and 5 of the Ph.D.

[Safferz]

Just hanging out in my apartment, waiting for USPS to deliver my letter.