Win SSHRC/OGS - How does your department use it???

[jameswhitby]

Hello, my department gives a yearly $20,000 (CAD) stipend for Ph.D. students. I'm thinking of applying for a OGS or SSHRC (currently in my second year). The OGS is $15,000 and SSHRC is $20,000 if I remember correctly. But whatever the amounts are, if I win any of them, my department only gives me a "top-up" of $5,000 to $25,000. Is this legal?

I'm a Ph.D. student, so I should get the $20,000 stipend. But if I apply for and win an external award of say $15,000, I should get a total of $35,000, no? The department says that if I win the OGS (or SSHRC), the $15,000 becomes part of my funding package, but with a few additional thousands of dollars "in recognition of my success".

How does your department work? If that's the standard, I'm not sure if getting transcripts and letters is worth the hassle. For an *extra* $15,000 (or $20,000), yes, but for a mere bonus of $5,000???

Thoughts?

James

[mariokrat]

I'm a Ph.D. student, so I should get the $20,000 stipend. But if I apply for and win an external award of say $15,000, I should get a total of $35,000, no? The department says that if I win the OGS (or SSHRC), the $15,000 becomes part of my funding package, but with a few additional thousands of dollars "in recognition of my success".

At my university (U of T) or at least in my department, it's treated the same way. After tuition and fees, SSHRC winners end up with less money than they would have had under the internal funding package, and are given a top-up to balance things out, with a bit extra, although the extra is not guaranteed from what I understand. It might only apply for one year. The only financial benefit to a SSHRC is that you don't need to TA to get that level. Without a SSHRC, part of your funding comes from an TAship, which means you end up working for a large portion of what you get.

[kent shakespeare]

I'm pretty sure mine (Trent) does that, too.

[Canofbeans]

Most universities do, and this is actually done in order to balance out funding so that students who didn't get an OGS or SSHRC get a (somewhat) equal amount of funding from the department. Different universities have different policies about how much they will retract from funding if an external scholarship is received.

[SVV]

It works about the same way at UVic. Those with SSHRC's no longer get the university fellowship they were awarded, whatever that amount is (this varies between students, they offer you whatever they think your research is worth). Those with SSHRC doctoral awards get a top up from the school, those with SSHRC CGS awards don't, because the amount of the CGS is higher than the regular fellowship anyway. You're right about the amount for SSHRC doctoral, but if you win a SSHRC CGS it's $35,000/year. Also, students with external awards don't generally get TA work.

I think part of the reason for putting in all the work to apply for OGS/SSHRC has to do with recognition/prestige. Even if you don't end up making very much more money (although to be honest, for me, an extra $5000 IS rather a lot of money), it looks great on your CV to list a major award. Also, a lot of schools make it quasi-mandatory for students to apply.

[thepoorstockinger]

God, how rich are you that $5000 isn't worth ordering a set of transcripts and asking for two reference letters?