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University of Victoria NSERC CGS/PGS
Grants Facilitation
Tips for NSERC Doctoral Scholarship
Applications
(CGS & PGS ‘D’ Applications)
10 September 2014
Dr. Brad Buckham
UVic NSERC CGS/PGS Grantscrafter
bbuckham@uvic.ca
Overview
• (Following the maxim of the 5 W’s and 1 H…)
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What is NSERC? What is a CGS/PGS application?
Why should I apply?
Who are the people evaluating my application?
Where can I tenure the award?
How do I craft a successful proposal?
When can I meet with the UVic NSERC Grantscrafter &
When do I submit?
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What is NSERC?
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NSERC – Natural (a.k.a. “National” ) Sciences and
Engineering Research Council.
NSERC represents 1/3 of the Canadian Tri-council
and is the primary granting agency for academics
studying in the Natural Sciences & Engineering
(NSE).
NSERC – for Students:
• Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS).
• Postgraduate Scholarships (PGS).
• “…ensure a reliable supply of highly qualified
personnel to meet the needs of Canada's knowledge
economy…and be the research leaders of tomorrow.”
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What is a CGS/PGS application?
• A CGS/PGS-’D’ application has 4-5 distinct components
that need to be completed:
• Form 201: personal data, academic background,
research/work experiences, location of tenure.
• Outline of Proposed Research (“free” form).
• Justification for Eligibility of Proposed Research (“free” form).
• Applicant Contributions & Statements (“free” form).
• Referee reports.
• Collectively, these components must present the 5 W’s
and 1 H that define your MASc or PhD research program
(Who, What, When, Where, Why & How).
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What is a CGS/PGS application?
Form 201
Front Matter
Application profile, person profile, experience, start date & location
Who
When
Where
Outline of Proposed Research (1 pg.)
Describe the MASc or PhD research project.
Justification for Eligibility of Proposed Research (1 pg.)
What
How
Why
If the field of study falls into CIHR or SSHRC territory, describe the NSE
challenges that the research addresses.
Is the research being completed in an established NSE research program?
Candidate’s Statement (2pg. CGS/PGS-D)
Part I: Contributions to research and development
Part II (PGS-D): Most significant contributions
Who
Part III: Applicant’s statement
Referee’s Report (x2)
Why is this applicant worth the investment.
Can the applicant complete a graduate level research project?
What is the value of the research itself?
Who
Why
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What is a CGS/PGS application?
Outline of Proposed Research
1. What: Describe clearly the research challenge in your project. Provide
background information to position your research within the context of the
field. State the objectives and the hypothesis.
2. How: Describe what you will do. Outline the experimental or theoretical
approach to be taken. Ensure the methodology fits within the constraints of the
PhD program.
3. Why: State the significance of the proposed research to a field or fields in the
natural sciences and engineering. What are the benefits to Canada. How will
the research results facilitate further work in the area?
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What is a CGS/PGS application?
What are the benefits to Canada?
• You, and possibly the
project itself.
• The members of the
selection committee are
investing federal $’s. They
are evaluating potential
returns on that money.
Scope of your CGS/PGS
project
• A return on that investment
is not likely to be realized
in the short term.
• In the span of 3-5 lines,
can you show you have the
long term vision to be “a
research leader of
tomorrow?”
Scope at which the “Benefit to
Canada” is evident
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Why should I apply?
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…to be a research leader of tomorrow.
NSERC supports:
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“…high-calibre Canadian graduate students in building
global linkages and international networks through the
pursuit of exceptional research experiences.”
• “... the training of teams of highly qualified students that
address significant scientific challenges associated to
Canada's research priorities.”
The PGS application process is an excellent exercise in
identifying research goals and career objectives.
Somewhere between $21,000-$35,000 in financial support
3-4 pages to glory...
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Who are the people evaluating
my application?
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At NSERC, applications are reviewed by one of twelve
selection committees.
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Committees are formed by university faculty selected from
across Canada who serve a fixed term.
Applications are assigned to a committee based on the
expertise required to evaluate the proposal.
Although each member scans every application, usually
two selection committee members read an application in
detail and present it to their colleagues for discussion and
evaluation during the competition.
NSERC then makes awards according to Committee
recommendations, and insofar as the budget for that year
permits.
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Who are the people evaluating
my application?
NSERC Scholarships and Fellowships Committees:
168 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Earth Sciences.
169 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Evolution and
Ecology.
177 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Mathematical
Sciences.
178 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Physics and
Astronomy.
179 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Chemistry.
187 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Cellular and
Molecular Biology.
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Who are the people evaluating
my application?
NSERC Scholarships and Fellowships Committees:
193 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Civil and
Mechanical Engineering
194 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Chemical,
Biomedical and Materials Science Engineering
195 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Plant and Animal
Biology
196 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Psychology
197 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Electrical
Engineering
198 Scholarships and Fellowships Selection Committee for Computing
Sciences
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Where can I tenure the award?
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Form 201 allows you to specify three proposed
locations of tenure.
For PGS-D applicants, the Form 201 front matter is
the only place where the question of Where is
addressed…
“You may take up your PGS M or PGS D at any eligible
Canadian university. You may also take it up at any eligible
foreign university, provided you have received a previous
degree in the natural sciences or engineering from a
Canadian university.”
• …unless your proposed area of study crosses into
the social sciences or health domains
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Where can I tenure the award?
• …unless your proposed area of study crosses into
the social sciences or health domains.
• In this case, the “Justification for Eligibility of the
Proposed Research” attachment has to clearly show that
the research “...advance[s] knowledge in the NSE.”
• One component of that justification could be the track
record of the NSE research program that you are joining.
• If so, then you can discuss how the proposed work builds
on past accomplishments of that program in the NSE
domain.
• This can supplement the “Outline of Proposed Research.”
• Save the research proposal for discussion of your work.
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How can I craft a successful
proposal?
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READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. It is surprising how many
people don’t do this, and then get in trouble.
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“Free” form is not actually free. Far from it.
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If your research subject spans tri-council disciplines
you need to get assistance targeting one agency.
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Faculty of Grad Studies can solicit NSERC feedback
based on your draft free-form attachments.
Also make sure that you read and understand the
criteria that will be used by the committee to assess the
risk associated with investment in you.
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How can I craft a successful
proposal?
Academic excellence:
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academic record;
scholarships and awards held; and
duration of previous studies.
Research ability or potential:
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quality of contributions to research and development;
relevance of work experience and academic training to field
of proposed research;
significance, feasibility, and merit of proposed research,
and justification for location of tenure;
ability to think critically;
ability to apply skills and knowledge;
judgement;
originality;
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How can I craft a successful
proposal?
Research ability or potential cont’d:
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initiative and autonomy;
enthusiasm for research; and
determination and ability to complete projects within an
appropriate period of time.
Communication, interpersonal and leadership abilities:
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The ability or potential to communicate scientific concepts clearly
and logically in written and oral formats. For example, this could
include:
• quality of the application's presentation;
• participation in preparing publications; and
• awards for oral presentations or papers.
• professional and relevant extracurricular interactions and
collaborations.
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How? (to show you meet the
criteria)
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Academic excellence.
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Research ability or potential.
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Transcripts.
Form 201 - MASc research overview.
Research Proposal
Contributions and Statements – Parts I & II.
Referee reports.
Communication, interpersonal and leadership
abilities.
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Research Proposal
Contributions and Statements – Part III.
Referee reports.
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How? (to show you meet the
criteria)
Selection Criteria Weightings
CGS/PGS M
CGS/PGS D
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Academic Excellence
50%
30%
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Research ability or
potential
30%
50%
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Communication, interpersonal
and leadership abilities
20%
20%
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How? (to prepare the free form
attachments)
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Follow the specifications for the free form sections.
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1 pg: “Outline of Proposed Research”.
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1 pg: “Justification for …Research”
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2 pg: “Contributions & Statements”.
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Celebrate “white space” – Use section headings to
separate out sections of the proposal.
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References – used to support your statement of the
research program’s central problem.
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How many are needed to do this? Is such support
required at all?
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You are under the microscope – not other researchers
already working in your chosen field.
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How? (to prepare the research
proposal)
Title
Opening paragraph. Problem statement, background
information and motivation.
Objectives. What you are going to do?
Methodology. How are you going to reach your
objectives? A high level description of numerical &
experimental technique and process. The committee
understands that plans change.
Contributions. Why is the research worth pursuing?
What are the benefits to Canada? How will your work
contribute to Canada’s “knowledge economy”?
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How? (to prepare the research
proposal)
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Make sure to follow the formatting specified in the
Form 201 Instructions.
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0.75” (1.9 cm) margins all around.
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No smaller than a 12pt Times New Roman font.
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Recommend 6 pt spacing before and after
paragraphs.
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Ensure your name and NSERC PIN (if you have
one) are in the header/footer.
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“Outline of Proposed Research” is NOT a title.
Use the header/footer to indicate this (similar to
the Form 201 pages).
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How? (to prepare the Candidate’s
Statement)
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The Statement is a chance to show that you can be
relied upon to deliver.
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It's not a game of "who gets the highest publication
score", but who delivers well and on time so that
scarce public funds are not dissipated.
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Part I - Quality counts more than quantity.
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Formatting is very rigidly defined. See the Form 201
Instructions.
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Note that the instructions are very emphatic that
Parts II and III must contain different information.
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How? (to prepare the Candidate’s
Statement)
Part I – Contributions to research & development
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A numbered list of publications, technical reports,
poster presentations, …
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Form 201 instructions list lettered subheadings to
use within Part I:
a. Articles published or accepted in refereed journals
…
b. Articles submitted to refereed journals
…
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If you have nothing to list in a section (or subsection) keep the heading in and list the contents
as N/A or “none at this time”.
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How? (to prepare the Candidate’s
Statement)
Part II – Most significant contributions to R&D
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This is a chance to emphasize the quality of
selected contributions listed in Part I.
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For (up to) three selected Part I items:
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Describe your role in the research.
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Clarify your contribution to collaborative
research.
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Provide details, as appropriate, on the
significance of technical reports.
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How? (to prepare the Candidate’s
Statement)
Part III – Applicant’s Statement
• A. Research Experience.
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include special projects, honours thesis and
relevant co-op reports.
B. Relevant Activities.
• professional and extracurricular activities that
most demonstrate your communication,
interpersonal, and leadership skills.
C. Special Circumstances (detrimental).
• special considerations that have had an effect
on your performance or productivity.
• “If your supervisor is unable to provide you with
a Report on the Applicant, you may use this
section to provide an explanation.”
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How? (to select/solicit your
referees)
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The reference letter needs to present an accurate
and complete picture of your achievements and
research potential.
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The more information a referee has to draw from, the
better the case for support he/she can make for you.
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Draft Proposal and Contributions & Statements
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1 pg. Highlight sheet – why should the referee jump at
taking you as a CGS/PGS scholar? Pull your best
points from your draft attachments
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A chart showing your sessional/cumulative GPA
progression?
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http://www.uvic.ca/graduatestudies/finances/financialai
d/scholarshipapps/index.php
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When can I meet with the UVic
NSERC Grantscrafter?
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UVic internal deadline is 4:30pm, October 1 st.
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First review (content, organization, clarity)
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September 15-19.
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September 22-26.
Second review (fine tuning)
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September 24-27.
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Organize meeting times via email.
(bbuckham@uvic.ca).
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Meet in EOW 531.
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Final Comments
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When all is said and done, grants competitions are still
going to be unfair on occasion. It is not a perfect world.
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Please remember that after one rejection, you do not
need to despair.
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When you rewrite the application use the advice you can
accept and make sure you have covered off the rest.
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Applying for grants is actually a professional skill — one
skill in an academic’s bag of tricks.
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Scholars who are good at getting grant money are
looked upon with significantly greater favour by
university hiring committees than those who are not.
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Technicalities
UVic Graduate Studies
http://www.uvic.ca/graduatestudies/finances/financialaid/externalawards/ind
ex.php
Scholarships Officer: Ms. Yvonne Rondeau - scholoff@uvic.ca
Scholarships Officer: Ms. Kathy McCarthy - fgsaward@uvic.ca
NSERC
PGS/CGS Program overview:
http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/BellandPostgradBelletSuperieures_eng.asp
Form 201 Instructions:
http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/OnlineServicesServicesEnLigne/instructions/201/pgs-pdf_eng.asp
Scholarships & Fellowships Committees:
http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/NSERC-CRSNG/Committees-Comites/programsprogrammes_eng.asp