Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) Program

The 2025-26 allocations are as follows: 

• TBD total OGS awards available:
  • TBD OGS  awarded to Canadian citizens, Permanent Residents, or Protected Persons (2 of these awards will be set aside for Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) applicants who self-identify on their OGS application)
  •  TBD OGS awarded to international students who are studying in Ontario under a temporary resident visa

The OGS is valued at $15,000 for one year.  A recipient will be awarded $5,000 per semester for up to three semesters.

The deadline to apply for 2025-26 OGS funding at Guelph is January 31, 2025. Eligible applicants are asked only to submit one OGS application per competition year. 

A complete OGS application consists of the following:

1. A complete OGS Application Form application, submitted to your Graduate Program Assistant (Award & Event Specialist in CSAHS) via email. As we all continue to work remotely, mailed or other hard copies will NOT be accepted.
2. Two (2) Academic Assessments, submitted directly by your referees to your Graduate Program Assistant  (Award & Event Specialist in CSAHS) via email, from the referees' official institutional or corporate email addresses (i.e., assessments may not be submitted from gmail, hotmail or similar email accounts). As previously noted, assessments must be e-mailed directly to the Graduate Program Assistant, and mailed or other hard copies will not be accepted. 
3. Students not currently registered in a graduate program at Guelph must submit a complete application for admission to a graduate program at Guelph prior to the OGS application deadline; it takes quite some time to fully complete an application for admission, so please start your admission application well in advance of the OGS deadline.
4. Current University of Guelph master's students applying for doctoral funding who are not eligible as master's applicants must also submit a online OUAC application for admission to a doctoral program.

NOTE: Transcripts are not required as part of your OGS application; they will be accessed from your application for admission.

The University of Guelph will use the following criteria to evaluate all OGS applications:

Academic Record (40%)

• Transcripts
• Other academic accomplishments
• Prior scholarships and awards
• Publications and presentations

Statement of Interest/Plan of Study/Research Proposal (30%)

• Statement of Interest for Master’s (motivation, creativity, significance, communication skills)
• Plan of Study for Doctoral (feasibility, merit and significance, communication skills)

Academic Assessment from Referees (30% total, 15% per assessment)

• Ability to complete projects within an appropriate time period
• Contribution to research development
• Critical thinking, application of knowledge, judgement, originality, initiative, autonomy, enthusiasm for research
• Academic training and relevant work experience (co-op included)
• Professional and extracurricular interactions and collaborations with supervisors, colleagues, and peers (e.g. teaching, mentoring, supervising, project managing, chairing committees, organizing conferences/meetings, elected positions, etc.)

Students are limited in the number of years that they may hold an OGS.

Master's students may receive the scholarship for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may receive the scholarship for a maximum of four years. Both are subject to a lifetime maximum of six years per student.

In addition, OGS guidelines restrict students to a lifetime maximum of six years of government-funded awards and prohibit students from holding an OGS and other government funding concurrently.

Recipients cannot hold an OGS concurrently with funding provided by:

• Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS)
• Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST)
• Ontario Trillium Scholarships (OTS)
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
• Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)
• Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS)

Applicants must:

• Be registered or intend to register in an eligible program on a full-time basis.
• Be registered or intend to register full-time in the Summer, Fall, or Winter semester following the OGS application deadline.
• Have not exceeded the lifetime maximum of government-funded support or maximum OGS support available for their current level of study (see Maximum Support)
• Master's students must have completed, as of December 31 prior to the application deadline*, between zero and 12 months of full-time studies at the master's level
  • Current University of Guelph master's students who:
    • are applying for OGS to support future doctoral studies and are not eligible for OGS as a master's student due to months of study, may not accept an award offer until they have enrolled in a doctoral program (if offered).
    • intend to apply to transfer to a doctoral program and are not eligible as a master's student due to months of study, may not accept an award offer until they have enrolled in a doctoral program (if offered).
• Doctoral students must have completed, as of December 31 prior to the application deadline*, between zero and 36 months of full-time studies at the doctoral level
  • In the case of students who have transferred from a master's program to a doctoral program, this will be calculated starting with the first semester in which the student was enrolled in the doctoral program
  • Current University of Guelph master's students who:
    • are applying for OGS to support future doctoral studies and are not eligible for OGS as a master's student due to months of study, may not accept an award offer until they are enrolled in a doctoral program (if offered)
    • intend to apply to transfer to a doctoral program and are not eligible as a master's student due to months of study, may not accept an award offer until they are enrolled in a doctoral program (if offered).
• Must have achieved a first-class average (minimum A-) in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent). Please refer to the University of Guelph undergraduate and graduate – Grade Schedule and Interpretation grading scales. 
  • ​Note: If marks used for calculating an applicant's grade point average (GPA) are not available (e.g., courses were graded on a pass-fail basis) in the last two registered years, then the next most recent semester of available undergraduate or graduate marks will be used to determine eligibility
• OSAP Holds - if you have an OSAP hold and/or restriction on your OSAP account, please know that while you are eligible to apply for the OGS, failure to resolve the restriction before/after accepting the OGS/QEII-GSST may result in the full cancellation and/or repayment of OGS/QEII-GSST funds. It is solely the applicant's responsibility to ensure they are in good standing with OSAP administrators prior to the acceptance of an OGS or receipt of funds. 

*The December 31 prior to the 2025-26 OGS application deadline is December 31, 2024.

To hold an OGS:

• Meet all eligibility to apply criteria (see above).
• Must register and remain enrolled as a full-time student at the University of Guelph in an eligible program.
• Be registered in the Summer, Fall, or Winter semester following the OGS application deadline.
• Current master's students applying for doctoral funding and who are not eligible as a master's student due to months of study, may not accept/activate an award offer until they are enrolled in a doctoral program. 
• Current master's students intending to apply for a transfer to a doctoral program and are not eligible as a master's student due to months of study, may not accept/activate an award until they are enrolled in a doctoral program. 
• Recipients who withdraw, transfer to part-time studies, or fail to complete the semester may be required to repay the award.  A withdrawal in a subsequent semester will not require repayment of the award for any completed semesters. A recipient who plans to complete or withdraw from their program, or transfer to part-time status, during a semester they hold the OGS should contact the Graduate Awards Officers (grschol@uoguelph.ca) to determine if they will be required to pay back their award.
• Recipients cannot hold an OGS concurrently with funding provided by:

  • Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST)

  • Ontario Trillium Scholarships (OTS)

  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)

  • Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)

  • Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS)

• Recipients may accept research assistantships, part-time teaching positions, or other paid employment that does not affect their status as full-time graduate students.
• Recipients must be in good standing with the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).  Students who have never applied for OSAP are in good standing. If you are not in good standing and do not resolve the issue at the time you are awarded an OGS and/or while you are receiving the OGS, your OGS may be fully cancelled. 
• Recipients must ensure their Social Insurance Number (SIN) is recorded in WebAdvisor.  The award cannot be processed without a SIN on file.  The requirement for a SIN does not apply to international students.