Chances of getting OGS after completing 3-year CGS

[Ludwig2015]

Hey there, I have received a 3-year CGS. After completing the three years of CGS, I am in my 4th year of my PhD. I have applied for OGS for my 5th year, but I was not offered the scholarship. Is it unusual that one does not receive an OGS after receiving a CGS?

Edited July 2, 2015 by Ludwig2015

[sarah-bellum]

I'm not sure how long your program usually is, but the OGS page on my school's website says this regarding 5th year funding:

 

 

In order to be eligible for an OGS/QEII-GSST, Applicants seeking Doctoral Support for:

• A four year (12 term) Doctoral program must be in term 9 or less as of January 1st
• A direct-entry (15 term) or a master’s to doctoral transfer (15 term) Doctoral program must be interm 12 or less as of January 1st

 

 

So if you're in a 12-term program then that's probably why you didn't get it. Otherwise I'm not sure how common this is.

[Ludwig2015]

My doctoral program is 5 years long. The university provides funding for all 5 years.in case no scholarships are rewarded to grad students externally. Wondering if it is an assessment of my profile or if the university wants to give the scholarships to other candidates who never received funding or in an earlier stage of their program, since I have been receiving awards externally since my first year down to my fourth year.

[TakeruK]

I think this is a question best answered by your University. 

 

In general though, the OGS will only be awarded to students with less than 4 years of total OGS, SSHRC, CIHR, or NSERC support. So if your only other national/provincial support was the 3 year CGS, then you would still be eligible for one additional OGS year. However, if you had another award prior to that CGS, then you would no longer be eligible for the OGS.

 

Note that NSERC (and I think SSHRC and CIHR?) also have 4 year maximum support limits. However, OGS awards do not count against NSERC limits, but NSERC awards do count against OGS limits.

 

I do think the number of years of previous awards is a factor in the decision (but I don't know if it's a factor that just determines eligibility, or like you said, OGS will favour earlier stage students). It might depend on the the OGS committee whether or not they tend to prefer to grant awards to those with really high potential or if they prefer to grant them to senior students with demonstrated talent. In general, I would consider the OGS an "early" award meant for new(er) students though, but that's just me. I don't have stats to demonstrate either way because most people I know with a NSERC CGS-D3 also won the NSERC CGS-M so they would have exhausted all 4 years of funding before needing to apply to a OGS.

[clem5]

In general though, the OGS will only be awarded to students with less than 4 years of total OGS, SSHRC, CIHR, or NSERC support. So if your only other national/provincial support was the 3 year CGS, then you would still be eligible for one additional OGS year. However, if you had another award prior to that CGS, then you would no longer be eligible for the OGS.

 

I thought a student could have up to six years of OGS/CGS, etc. funding? Is that not right, or am I just misunderstanding what you mean here?

[Ludwig2015]

Yes that's what I thought - you could have up to 6 years of funding. That's why I applied for my fifth year of the PhD. But got really surprised that I was rejected even after previously receiving a CGS - doctoral. Any thoughts on why rejected? Does OGS prefer younger grad students and funding grad students early during their career?

[TakeruK]

Yes that's what I thought - you could have up to 6 years of funding. That's why I applied for my fifth year of the PhD. But got really surprised that I was rejected even after previously receiving a CGS - doctoral. Any thoughts on why rejected? Does OGS prefer younger grad students and funding grad students early during their career?

 

Ah this must have been a recent change. I applied for OGS for the 2012-2013 academic year and at that point, it was 4 years max instead of 6.

[Ludwig2015]

Hence my curiosity - whether they are more in favour of grad students in their early studies over grad students in advanced stages of their dissertation.

[TakeruK]

I wonder(ed) that too. But I've never encountered any official position on that. My experience with the OGS and seeing how faculty refer to the OGS, to me, it sounds like an award that many view as an "early grad career" award (as I wrote above).

 

Also, and this is pretty much just speculation (but based on experience): in general, almost all graduate fellowships of this nature (i.e. awards that fund you as a student rather an award that funds a specific project or task) give me the vibe that they are for new students. That's why there are limits on how many years you're into a grad program before you are not longer eligible to apply (regardless of how many years of previous funding). I find that most awards meant for senior grad students will actually be funding a specific project and it's more like applying for your own research grant than a scholarship/fellowship. (But this can also be field dependent).

[random17]

As TakeuK says, it really depends on the policies of your department/school, since they're the ones who give out the scholarships. However, having just been given an OGS for my 4th/final year of my PhD, I know it is possible to get one in some places. (I'm international, though, and thus don't have any previous government fellowships, so I have no idea how that affects your OGS chances.)

[Konstantin]

I know that at my school, students are eligible to hold the OGS in their 6th year of the Ph.D. and many of them hold it after their SSHRC CGS/Fellowships. But, since the OGS is university (not provincially) administered, this regulation varies by university. I also I disagree that different depts set their own eligibility requirements, but rather it is the university (grad studies) that determines who can hold it and when.