2021-2022 SGS University-Wide Awards

Award Overview

Student Deadline to Graduate Unit: April 26, 2021
Level of Study: Master’s or doctoral
Required Legal Status: Domestic or international
Results: July 2021

Purpose
Through the generous support of numerous donors, a number of endowed awards have been established at the School of Graduate Studies (SGS). This year, approximately 20 awards with individual eligibility criteria and values are available within the SGS University-Wide Awards competition.

Please find the application-form and individual award descriptions on the SGS Website (see under University-Wide Awards).

Please see below for the specific awards that our students are eligible for.

Incoming students (starting in September 2021): Please read individual award’s eligibility criteria before applying.

• SGS Fellowships and Bursaries for Black and/or Indigenous Students
• Agnes M. Ireland Award (OSOTF)
  

Current students:

• The majority of these awards require eligible applicants to be currently registered in a U of T graduate program at the time of application (and must maintain this registration throughout the 2021-21 academic year);
• Students returning in September 2021 to complete their degree are eligible;
• Students convocating in June 2021 are not eligible;
• iSchool Master’s students who have been accepted into a doctoral program are eligible for incoming awards only.

May apply for the following awards:

• SGS Fellowships and Bursaries for Black and/or Indigenous Students
• Joseph Bazylewicz Fellowship
• Ranjit Kumar Graduate Fellowship
• Kwok Sau Po Scholarship
  
• Scace Graduate Fellowship
• Donald Matheson Springer Fellowship – Admitted to/commencing a graduate program at University of Michigan in September
• Professor R. Paul Young Fellowship (PhD only)
• Vivekananda Graduate Prize (OSOTF)
• UTFA Al Miller Memorial Award (OSOTF)
  
• CCDI Fiftieth Anniversary First Families Award (OSOTF)
• Hungarian Helicon Foundation Graduate Award (OSOTF)

Eligibility to Apply
Applicants must:

• Meet any additional award specific eligibility criteria required as outlined in the award description;
• Be a domestic or international graduate student;
• Be either a currently registered student in a U of T graduate degree program or have accepted an offer of admission to a full-time U of T graduate degree program (commencing September or January immediately following the current competition);
• Demonstrate one or both of the following:
  • financial need for upcoming academic year through the completion of an SGS Financial Need Assessment Form;
  • academic excellence – have achieved at least A- (or equivalent) in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent); or if the student has competed two years of graduate studies at the time of application, the student must only demonstrate an overall average of at least A- (or equivalent) on all graduate courses completed.

Note: To hold the award, students are required to be registered for the entire academic year following the competition, with the exception of the Donald Matheson Springer Fellowship for graduating students.

Need Based/ OSOTF Awards

• Awards categorized as need based only do not require the demonstration of academic excellence;
• Awards categorized as “OSOTF” (Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund) are only open to eligible applicants who meet all three of the following criteria:
  1. Demonstrate financial need for the upcoming academic year through completing the SGS Financial Need Assessment Form;
  2. Are Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada or protected persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) at the time of the application; and
  3. Are residents of Ontario at the time of the application, as defined by one of the following criteria:
     • Student has always lived in Ontario;
     • Ontario is the last province in which student has lived for 12 months in a row without being a full-time postsecondary student; or
     • Student lives in Ontario now and has lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row.

If student is married/common-law, student can be considered an Ontario resident if:

• Spouse has always lived in Ontario; or
• Ontario is the last province in which spouse has lived for 12 months in a row without being a full-time postsecondary student; or
• Both of these statements are true:
  • Student lives in Ontario now; and
  • Student and spouse have lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row.

If student qualifies as a dependent student, student is considered an Ontario resident if:

• Ontario is the last province in which parent(s) have lived for at least 12 months in a row; or
• Both of these statements are true:
  • Student lives in Ontario now; and
  • Student and parent(s) have lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row.

The above requirements are established by OSAP to determine Ontario residency for OSAP purposes.

Merit Based Awards

• Awards categorized as merit-based only do not require the demonstration of financial need;
• At minimum, applicants must:
  • Have achieved at least A- (“A-” = 80%) or equivalent in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent); or
  • If the student has competed two years of graduate studies at the time of application, the student must only demonstrate an overall average of at least A- (“A-” = 80%) or equivalent on all graduate courses completed.

Application Process
Applicants must:

1. Download and complete the SGS University-Wide Awards Application form from the SGS Website. Applicants applying for multiple opportunities need only to complete this item once;
2. Ensure the letter(s) of reference are sent directly from the referee(s) to the graduate unit as per the graduate unit’s application deadline;
3. Submit all of the required documents for each award (detailed in the award descriptions). Please note that supporting documentation is also required for certain items within the SGS Financial Need Assessment form (if applicable). Please refer to the guide attached to the form.

Graduate units may submit up to 2 nominations for each award within this competition. Ineligible or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Application form: SGS Website (see under University-Wide Awards).

Submit applications and all other relevant documentation by the established deadline to:
Awards Committee, c/o iSchool Student Services
Faculty of Information
Email: awards.ischool@utoronto.ca

Faculty of Information Deadline: April 26, 2021

No late applications will be accepted

Results
Graduate units will inform applicants regarding the unit’s internal results. Nominees to SGS will be contacted directly by SGS in July 2021 regarding the outcome of the centralized competition.