Should I apply for SSHRC?

[gs24]

Hello,

 

Since it seems like almost everyone has heard from SSHRC by now, I thought it would be an appropriate time to ask this question to you all SSHRC experts. I wanted to ask if I should apply for the SSHRC doctoral fellowship this fall. I have just completed my MA, and I discovered that I have received two B+. I have received higher grades for all my other courses. I also graduated with summa cum laude in my undergrad (I have never gone below A in undergrad). I heard that SSHRC is pretty stringent with academic records, but nowhere on their website do they specify what they expect from applicants (in terms of grades). So I was wondering, should I apply for SSHRC this fall? Or would it be a waste of time (because of the two B+)?

[Pol]

Apply.

 

I personally have a quite miserable undergraduate gpa and still got a cgs-m two years ago and a cgs-d a few weeks ago.

[abreak]

Definitely apply. Even if you don't get get it your first year for whatever reason, you can always reapply the next year and you'll already have 80-90% of the work done for you. All you'll have to do is update a few things here and there and perhaps tweak your proposal if necessary.

 

Also, I vaguely remember my graduate advisor saying that there is a GPA cutoff at 3.7 (out of 4.3). I'm not sure if this is a hard or a soft rule, nor if it is simply our institutional practice or some sort of official SSHRC cutoff.

Edited May 14, 2015 by abreak

[TakeruK]

Also, I vaguely remember my graduate advisor saying that there is a GPA cutoff at 3.7 (out of 4.3). I'm not sure if this is a hard or a soft rule, nor if it is simply our institutional practice or some sort of official SSHRC cutoff.

 

I've heard this over in NSERC fields too. It's not a hard SSHRC/NSERC rule though--you won't find it in the instructions/eligibility information for SSHRC/NSERC applications. 

 

However, it might be a hard University rule. All applications are judged by the University first, before being forwarded to the national committees, so the school might not recommend any application below 3.7.

 

It might also be a soft rule. At my last Canadian school, it used to be that everyone was required to apply to NSERC/SSHRC in order to be eligible for internal fellowships (i.e. they wanted to make everyone try to get outside money first). People brought up the fact that this is a waste of time and effort (for both students and LOR writers) so they amended the rule to only people above GPA=3.7 (A-). 

 

Note: I don't have experience applying to SSHRC myself, but my last institution treated NSERC/SSHRC/CIHR grad fellowships all the same way and they went through the same initial pipeline. I've limited my comments here to only issues that I believe were in the common pipeline and affected both NSERC and SSHRC the same way!

[surefire]

I would advise you to apply as well.

 

You don't mention if you'll be IN a department next term when you apply (i.e. whether you're an external or internal applicant), but I would reiterate TakeruK's point about maybe being REQUIRED to apply by your program. This is still the hard and fast rule in my department: You are required to apply for both OGS and SSHRC before you're eligible for internal funding - everything from your fellowship to conference reimbursement.

 

It's also worth considering that, if you're planning to go the academic route career-wise, you're looking at a long professional life of trying to appeal to funding agencies like SSHRC, it's not the worst prospect to try and get a grip on the formula now.

 

Finally: I remember signing up for a SSHRC-hosted "webinar" before I applied, which gave people the opportunity to ask about the measures and balances that SSHRC alludes to but doesn't specify. That might be worth looking into, check the SSHRC site for anything like that that might be forthcoming!

 

Good luck!

[gs24]

Thank you for the replies!

 

I have applied for SSHRC this year, and my application was forwarded to Ottawa (It was my first try; in the end, I didn't get it). At the time of the application, however, most of my MA grades were still pending, meaning that I didn't have to worry about my GPA back then. Because I have been accepted into a non-Canadian institution, I will be applying independently this fall. I wonder how much they'll care about my GPA then. My GPA for MA is slightly below 3.7 (A-). 

[TakeruK]

NSERC publishes its distribution of "factors they care about". For us, at the doctoral award levels, it is 50% research experience/potential, 30% academic success and 20% community/service/leadership. Maybe SSHRC publishes their criteria somewhere too, or perhaps they use something similar?

 

Note: For Masters level awards, it is 50% academic, 30% research, 20% service. So, for those who have a lower GPA and was not successful at the Masters, you might have a better chance at the Doctoral level awards!