Completion and Postdoctoral Awards

The CAGS Distinguished Dissertation Awards recognize Canadian doctoral dissertations that make unusually significant and original contributions to their academic field. They were established in 1994 and are presented annually. There are two awards: one for engineering, medical sciences, and natural sciences, and one for fine arts, humanities and social sciences. The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) grants the Awards and is sponsored by Proquest. They include a $1,500 cash prize, a Citation Certificate, an all-inclusive trip to the next CAGS Annual Conference (with an awards ceremony), and the opportunity to connect with scholars from across Canada.  

Eligibility

2025 candidates must:

• Demonstrate work (through their dissertation) that makes significant, original contributions  to both the academic community and to Canadian society
• Have completed and had their thesis accepted by the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (OGPS) between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024

Nomination Process

The University of Guelph is permitted to submit one nomination per category for consideration in the national competition. Candidates must be nominated by their department to the Office of Graduate & Post-doctoral Studies. Two nominees are selected by the Office of Graduate & Post-doctoral Studies Awards Committee to be forwarded to CAGS.

Deadline for departments to submit nominations: March 7, 2025

Nomination packages must include:

• A letter from the student's supervisor or graduate coordinator describing the reasons for the nomination and why the dissertation constitutes a significant piece of original work;
• A copy of the external examiner's pre-defence report signed and dated by the examiner (or authenticated by the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies);
• An abstract of the dissertation, not exceeding 350 words, written by the candidate in non-technical language;
• An up-to-date c.v. of the nominee.

The selected nominees will be forwarded to CAGS by the Awards Officers by the March 31 nomination deadline. Letters of support from the Assistant VP of Graduate Studies will be prepared and included with the applications of the selected candidates.

Contacts & Resources

For complete program information, please refer to the Canadian Associate for Graduate Studies (CAGS) website.

For questions related to the nomination process, please email the Graduate Awards Officers at grschol@uoguelph.ca.

University of Guelph Governor General’s Gold Medallists

The Governor General’s Gold Medal was first awarded in 1873 by the Earl of Dufferin and has since become one of the most prestigious awards that a student at a Canadian educational institution may receive. At the University of Guelph, the Gold Medal is awarded to two graduate students annually who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement.

Nomination Process

Students do not apply but may be nominated by their College Awards Committee, if they graduated from a graduate degree in the previous June, October, and February convocations.

Complete nomination packages are due to the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in late April each year.

A complete nomination package includes:

1. A nomination letter from the College Dean’s Office
2. CV or two-page summary of biographical information on the candidate including basic information, the academic record, scholarly/research activities, and teaching experience
3. Two letters of reference

Contacts & Resources

For questions related to the nomination process, please email the Graduate Awards Officers at grschol@uoguelph.ca.

The University of Guelph's Indigenous Postdoctoral Award provides financial support to enhance funding for Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit Métis, Native American, Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian) postdoctoral scholars at the University of Guelph. This funding is intended to supplement existing postdoctoral support, enabling faculty to attract outstanding Indigenous postdoctoral researchers in any discipline who have completed their doctoral program within the past five years of appointment.

Value & Duration

• $25,000 per year, up to a maximum of two years.
• Funding will be awarded as available, with a maximum of two awards supported at any given time.
• This funding is intended to be a top-up and must be combined with other sources of postdoctoral funding.

Faculty Eligibility & Responsibilities

• Faculty supervisors applying for this funding must have already secured base funding for the postdoctoral scholar. 
• Faculty supervisors must commit to ensuring that the total financial support for the postdoctoral scholar, including this top-up, meets or exceeds University of Guelph postdoctoral funding standards and collective agreement obligations, including the cost of benefits.
• Departments should review the OGPS - SecureSite for guidance on distributing the award in compliance with collective agreement obligations. 

Postdoctoral Scholar Eligibility

Must be a First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Native American, Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian applicant who has earned their PhD, or PhD-equivalent (e.g., DVSc), within the past five years.

Allowable Extensions to Eligibility Window

The window of eligibility may be extended by a cumulative maximum of two years if the applicant had their career interrupted for the following reasons (no other exceptions will be permitted):

• Parental leave
• Illness
• Health-related family responsibilities; or
• Mandatory military service

Any interruptions to the career/research used to extend the eligibility window for degree completion must have occurred after the fulfilment of the requirements of the doctoral degree and before the application submission. Justification must be provided in the Letter of Special Circumstances. "Fulfilled all requirements of the degree" refers to the date that the applicant completed all of the steps required for obtaining their degree. Although these requirements may vary by institution and degree type, they normally include thesis defence, corrections and thesis deposit; this is not the convocation date. 

Other Eligibility Restrictions

• Applicants who currently hold or have held a postdoctoral fellowship or award from an external agency (i.e. CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) are eligible for the Indigenous Postdoctoral Award only if the term of that funding ends at the same time as or prior to the start of the indigenous Postdoctoral Award.
• Postdoctoral scholars may not hold a tenure-track or tenured faculty position or be on leave from such a position. 
• In exceptionally rare circumstances, a University of Guelph doctoral graduate may be supported, but strong justification must be provided. 

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on:

• Research excellence.
• Quality of the proposed research program.
• Institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between the postdoctoral scholar, faculty supervisor and institutional strategic priorities.

Application Process

Postdoctoral scholars must apply for this funding in collaboration with a faculty member who has agreed to supervise and support their research at the University of Guelph. Once a faculty supervisor and base funding are established, the applicant will:

1. Confirm availability of Indigenous Postdoctoral Award funding by emailing postdoc@uoguelph.ca; and 
2. Submit an application package to postdoc@uoguelph.ca

Applicants will be notified of the decision by postdoc@uoguelph.ca in typically 2-3 weeks.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and funding will not be reserved for future consideration if unavailable at the time of submission.

Application Package

Application packages, to be submitted via e-mail to postdoc@uoguelph.ca, must include the following as .PDF files:

• Research Proposal (max. 1 page for proposal and 1 page for references)

• Statement from the postdoctoral scholar self-identifying as Indigenous

• Curriculum Vitae (including publications)

• Faculty supervisor's statement outlining research and mentorship plan and base funding to be submitted directly to the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies - postdoc@uoguelph.ca by the supervisor, attention: Indigenous Postdoctoral Award.

• Letter outlining Special Circumstances (if needed, as described below)

Letter Outlining Special Circumstances

• Career/research delays: Identify any administrative responsibilities, family or health reasons, or any other factors that might have delayed or interrupted any of the following: academic and/or career advancement, scientific research, other research, dissemination of results, training, etc. Common examples of an interruption/delay might be a bereavement period following the death of a loved one, maternity/parental leave, or relocation of your research environment.
• Justification for extensions to the eligibility window for degree completion: Note that your eligibility window will only be extended by the duration of the eligible delay(s)/interruption(s). It is essential that you provide specific dates for your delays and/or interruptions, including the exact number of months or days these interruptions accounted for.
• Justification for remaining in PhD research environment: Doctoral graduates of the University of Guelph who wish to be considered for the Award must provide a strong justification for this exceptional circumstance which will be assessed as part of the selection committee review process. The more similar the proposed research environment is to that of the PhD, or PhD-equivalent, the stronger the required justification.
• Justification for remaining in the same research environment (other than PhD): At the time of application, if the applicant is affiliated with the proposed host institution (e.g. postdoctoral position) they must justify the decision to continue at the same location. The longer the applicant has been at the same institution (or research environment), the stronger the required justification.

Council of Ontario Universities

In honour of the achievement of John Charles Polanyi, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the Government of the Province of Ontario has established a fund to provide annually up to five prizes to outstanding researchers in the early stages of their career who are continuing to post-doctoral studies or have recently started a faculty appointment at an Ontario university.

Value

The prizes, each of which is valued at $20,000, will be conferred in the fall of 2025. They are available in the areas of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Economic Science, broadly defined.

Important Dates

• December 2, 2024 – Complete application package, including transcripts due to the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
• January 31, 2025 – If endorsed by University of Guelph, the application is due to COU

Eligibility

Please refer to the Council of Ontario Universities website for comprehensive eligibility criteria.

Application Process

1. Review the COU website for complete information and to access the application form.
2. Submit a copy of the completed application package to OGPS via email to grschol@uoguelph.ca. Hard-copy submissions will not be accepted.
3. The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Awards Committee will review the applications and select those that will be forwarded to the COU for further consideration.
4. Applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been selected to be forwarded to the national competition by early February.

Contacts & Resources

If you have questions about the application process, please contact the Graduate Awards Officers by email grschol@uoguelph.ca.

Council of Ontario Universities

Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, a Scholar Awards Program in Women’s Health has been established to ensure that Ontario attracts and retains pre-eminent women’s health scholars. The community of women’s health scholars fostered by this Awards Program will excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge about women’s health and its translation into improved health for women, more effective health services and products for women, and a strengthened health care system.

Value

For 2025-26, up to two one-year awards at the Master’s level and up to three one-year awards at the Doctoral level, and up to two one-year awards at the Postdoctoral level:

• Master’s Awards - $25,000 plus $1,000 research allowance
• Doctoral Awards - $35,000 plus $2,000 research allowance
• Postdoctoral Awards - $50,000 plus $5,000 research allowance

Important Dates

• December 2, 2024 – Complete application package, including transcripts due to OGPS (grschol@uoguelph.ca) 
• January 31, 2025 – If endorsed by the University of Guelph, the application is due to COU

Eligibility

Please refer to the Council of Ontario Universities website for comprehensive eligibility criteria.

Application Process

1. Review the COU website for complete information and to access the application form.
2. Submit a copy of the completed application package to OGPS via email to grschol@uoguelph.ca. Referees should also submit their assessments directly to grschol@uoguelph.ca
3. The OGPS Awards Committee will review the applications and select those that will be forwarded to the COU for further consideration.
4. Applicants will be notified whether or not their application has been selected to be forwarded to the provincial competition by early February

Contacts & Resources

If you have questions about the application process, please contact the Graduate Awards Officers by email grschol@uoguelph.ca.

Talent Award

The five annual SSHRC Impact Awards (Gold Medal, Talent Award, Insight Award, Connection Award, Partnership Award) recognize the highest achievements in social sciences and humanities research, knowledge mobilization, and scholarship supported by SSHRC.

The SSHRC Talent Award recognizes outstanding achievement by an individual who, at the nomination deadline, holds an SSHRC doctoral or postdoctoral fellowship or scholarship (including, but not limited to, a Canada Graduate Scholarship, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, or Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship). For more information regarding the application process and eligibility, please visit the SSHRC Talent Award page.

Talent Award nomination packages are due to the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (OGPS) by February 28, 2025 for consideration by the OGPS Awards Committee.

Each institution may submit only one nomination for each Impact Award in each category in a given year. See previous SSHRC Impact Award winners.

Postdoctoral research awards are available through the Tri-Agencies (CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC) to support and promote promising research talent in a variety of disciplines as they embark on the next phase of their careers and research activities. 

Value & Duration

$70,000 (taxable) per year for 2 years (non-renewable)

Eligibility

Please refer to the CPRA website for complete eligibility requirements.

Application Process & Deadlines

Applications typically become available in July of each competition year. Please visit the Tri-Agency website for complete instructions and access to the applicable forms. 

There is no University of Guelph internal deadline for these opportunities. Please observe the Tri-Agency deadlines for complete applications. 

• SSHRC: September 11, 2025
• CIHR: September 17, 2025
• NSERC: October 17, 2025

Should you require support in the application process, please contact postdoc@uoguelph.ca.