Ontario Women’s Health Scholars Awards

Master’s or Doctoral Award

• • Applicants must be registered full-time in a master’s or doctoral graduate program at an Ontario university at the time of taking up the award (i.e., fall 2020).
  • Must remain registered full-time throughout the entire duration of the award.
  • Master’s students remain eligible to the end of their sixth term of full-time study, and doctoral students to the end of their 15th term of full-time study.

Postdoctoral Award

• • Applicants must be engaged in full-time research at an Ontario university at the time of taking up the award (i.e., September 1, 2020).
  • Must have completed all requirements for the doctoral degree by May 31, 2020 and normally no earlier than January 31, 2017.
  • In cases where an applicant completed all requirements for a doctoral degree before this date, an explanation (e.g., childrearing responsibilities after graduation) must accompany the application for the delay in application.

Applicants must submit to their graduate unit (not Dean of Graduate Studies) an electronic copy (PDF) of the following documents:

• • The completed application form from the COU website (PDF);
  • A curriculum vitae – no page restrictions (must include information concerning the eligibility criteria);
  • A statement of research written by the candidate (maximum 1,000 words);
  • A non-technical summary written by the candidate (maximum 500 words, one additional page is allowed for diagrams, bibliography, etc.);

An application for a master’s or a doctoral award must also include:

• • The applicant’s undergraduate and (if appropriate) graduate transcripts, which may be either:
    • Official transcripts sent directly by the Registrar’s office of the issuing university, or
    • Copies verified and certified as accurate by the Registrar’s office of the nominating university; and
  • Confidential letters of appraisal of the applicant from two assessors.

An application for a postdoctoral award must also include:

• • A brief summary of the doctoral thesis of no more than 300 words; and
  • Confidential letters of appraisals of the applicant from four assessors:
    • Mandatory arm’s length assessors: Postdoctoral applications must have two arm’s length assessors from among the four assessors. The arm’s length assessors cannot be:
      • a relative or close friend, or have a personal relationship with the applicant;
      • in a position to benefit from the funding of the application;
      • affiliated with the applicant’s current and/or proposed institutions;
      • professionally affiliated with the applicant, as a result of (but not limited to): being their supervisor or trainee; collaborating, publishing or sharing funding with the applicant, or having plans to do so in the immediate future.
    • The letters of appraisal should focus on an evaluation of the applicant’s research to date, and the research the applicant proposes to undertake during the graduate or postdoctoral period, paying particular attention to the criteria for selection described below.
      • Assessor should also provide a short description of the relationship, if any, with the applicant.
      • The applicant must ask for the appraisals to be emailed directly from the referee to the Graduate Administrator at the graduate unit / department by the student deadline.
      • The University of Toronto is permitted to put forth two applications per award category to COU. Therefore, each graduate unit may nominate one candidate per award level to SGS for central adjudication.