CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC Canada Graduate Research Scholarships – Master’s

The CGS M Awards Program supports students in all research disciplines and is administered jointly by Canada’s three federal granting agencies: the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The selection process and post-award administration are carried out by McMaster, under the guidance of the three agencies.

Canada Graduate Research Scholarship (CGRS-M) Q & A Sessions

Staff from all three agencies (CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC) will be present at all sessions.

These sessions will be hosted as live Q&A MS Teams meetings. Before attending a session, participants must read the relevant program description, watch the NSERC YouTube tutorial videos and come prepared with their questions.

Click on the dates below to join the MS Team meeting you wish to attend.

Thursday, November 6, 2025 (in English),11 am to 1 pm (ET)

Wednesday, November 12, 2025 (in French), 12 pm to 2 pm (ET)

Friday, November 14, 2025 (in English), 10 am to 12 pm (ET)

Tuesday, November 18, 2025 (in French), 1 pm to 3 pm (ET)

Thursday, November 20, 2025 (in English), 11 am to 1 pm (ET)

Objective

The objective of the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s (CGRS M) program is to help develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate potential to contribute to Canadian research.

Description

The CGRS M is a scholarship in the Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS) administered by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The CRTAS aims to support the next generation of innovators by providing funding and high-quality research training, cultivating research skills, fostering creativity and empowering awardees to make significant contributions to Canada’s research ecosystem, economy and prosperity.
The CGRS M program supports up to 3,298 students annually in all disciplines and is administered jointly by Canada’s three granting agencies. The selection process and post-award administration are carried out at the institutional level under the guidance of the three agencies. Students submit their application to the institution(s) at which they intend to hold their award using the Research Portal.

Value and Duration

$27,000 for 12 months, non-renewable

Assigned Allocations to McMaster

CIHR – 41
NSERC – 29
SSHRC – 35

Application Deadline: December 1, 2025 – before 8:00 p.m. (ET)

There are no extensions granted by the Tri-Agency. Applicants to the CGRS M program must complete their application using the Research Portal, hosted by NSERC. It is a single application form used by all three Agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR) and the applicant can choose up to 3 universities as their proposed host institution. Once the student submits the application in the portal, no additional changes can be made.

Note: As the application deadline approaches, delays may occur due to a high volume of users on the Research Portal, which may prevent the timely submission of your application. It is your responsibility to strictly follow all 11 steps in the instructions for completing an application before the portal closes. Late applications will not be accepted.

Other Awards

McMaster CGRS M applicants are also eligible to be considered for additional awards at McMaster such as the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology and the Ontario Graduate Fellowship. No additional application is necessary.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, you must:

  • be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) as of the application deadline date
  • be enrolled in, have applied for or will apply for full-time admission1 to an eligible graduate program at the master’s or doctoral level that can be started within the eligible dates of the competition year at a Canadian institution with a CGRS M allocation
  • respect the internal deadline to apply for admission for your intended program of study—contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the selected Canadian institution(s) for more detailed information
  • have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application
    • either between 0 and 12 months of full-time studies (or full-time equivalent) in the program for which you are requesting funding2, which may be one of the following:
      • a master’s program
      • a doctoral program that you are entering directly from a bachelor’s program without having ever been enrolled in any graduate programs (direct-entry)
      • a combined master’s-doctoral program
      • a master’s program that will transition to an eligible doctoral program, either before or after award activation, with no master’s degree conferred (fast-track)
      • a master’s program for which the degree requirements will be completed before the end of the award, allowing the award to continue into an eligible doctoral program
    • or between 4 and 12 months of full-time study (or full-time equivalent) in an eligible master’s program for which the degree requirements will be completed before activation of the award at that same institution, allowing it to be activated during the first 12 months of the subsequent doctoral program for which you are requesting funding
  • not have held or be currently holding a Master’s level scholarship from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC
  • not have held or be currently holding an Indigenous Scholars Award and Supplement
  • have achieved a first-class average, as determined by McMaster University (10/12, A-, or 80%), in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent)
    • Note: If you do not meet the first-class average eligibility, please refer to Special Circumstances on page 5.
  • submit a maximum of one postgraduate scholarship (master’s or doctoral) or postdoctoral application per academic year to either CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC
    • Note: Should more than one application be submitted, the eligible application submitted first chronologically will be retained

Footnotes

  1. For details regarding part-time admission, refer to the Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide.
  2. All studies credited toward the eligible program will be counted, whether or not they were completed at the degree-granting institution. Two terms of part-time study count as one term of full-time study.

Research Portal

Students submit their application using the Research Portal. The Research Portal will allow the application to be submitted to up to three institutions – refer to Application Procedures. Applicants can be considered for a CGRS M at McMaster University if they select McMaster as one of their proposed host institutions on their CGRS M application and are enrolled in, have applied for, or will apply for full-time admission to an eligible graduate program at the master’s or doctoral level.

Program of Study Eligibility

An eligible graduate program must be predominantly research oriented, leading to the completion of a thesis, major research project, dissertation, scholarly publication, performance, recital and/or exhibit that is merit/expert-reviewed at the institutional level as a requirement for completing the program. If the program requires additional admission into the major research component stream, this acceptance must be confirmed before you can hold the award.

Joint programs with a professional degree (for example, MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/MA, JD/PhD, MBA/PhD, MA/MBA) as well as clinically oriented programs of study, including clinical psychology, are eligible if they have a significant autonomous research component, as described above.

Master’s programs that are based only on course work are typically not eligible since they do not include a significant research component, as described above.
Given the specific requirements of certain disciplines, institutions are invited to contact the appropriate agency for guidance on the eligibility of programs of study.

Field of research and subject matter eligibility

CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC support and promote high-quality research in a wide variety of disciplines and areas, which are divided into broad fields of research (health, natural sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities). This includes research that bridges two or more disciplines or that requires the skills of several disciplines.

You must ensure that you are submitting your application to an institution that has an allocation for the field of research you intend to pursue. Applications deemed by a host institution to have been labelled incorrectly will be re-labelled according to the agency’s research subject matter guidelines (refer to Selecting the appropriate federal granting agency). You should contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution where you intend to hold the award for further guidance on subject matter eligibility.

Special circumstances

The agencies require institutions and reviewers to take into consideration special circumstances that may have affected your research, professional career, record of academic or research achievement or completion of degrees. These may include administrative responsibilities, maternity or parental leave, child-rearing, illness, disability, cultural or community responsibilities, socio-economic context, trauma, loss, family responsibilities or the impact of a pandemic.

Applicants submit this information through the application form in the CGRS-M research portal.

Note: If applicants do not meet the first-class average eligibility requirement, they will not be immediately disqualified if they include special circumstances. We will review their application to confirm if they can be included in McMaster’s competition.

Self-identification information

You must complete the self-identification form found in the person profile of the Research Portal when applying for funding. This data provides information on the diversity of the population applying for and receiving agency funds. This information increases the agencies’ capacity to monitor their progress on increasing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in their programs, to recognize and remove barriers and to design new measures to achieve greater EDI in the research enterprise. If you do not want to self-identify, you have the option to choose I prefer not to answer for each question, but you are required to select a response for the questionnaire to be marked as complete. Self-identification information is not part of your application and will be neither accessible to nor shared with external reviewers and/or review committee members. For more information, refer to the frequently asked questions about the self-identification questionnaire.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

The three agencies are acting on evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-agency statement on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and is aligned with the objectives of the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan.

Self-identification data and consent provided with applications may be used to determine eligibility for additional awards or priority funding opportunities designated for specific underrepresented groups.

Indigenous Student Researchers

The Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements Pilot Initiative provides financial support to meritorious Indigenous students who have applied to the CGRS M program. To the limit of available funding, Indigenous students who are successful in the CGRS M competition will be offered the Indigenous Scholars Supplement, valued at $5,000. To the limit of available funding, Indigenous Students on the alternate list will be offered an Indigenous Scholars Award valued at $27,000 and an Indigenous Scholars Supplement valued at $5,000.

The Tri-agency Policy on Indigenous Citizenship and Membership Affirmation and the associated directive apply to these awards and supplements; successful applicants must provide documentation as outlined in the Policy and Directive.

For more information refer to the Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements Pilot Initiative web page.

Black student researchers

The Government of Canada has provided additional funds to increase direct support for Black student researchers. CGRS M applicants who self-identify as Black and provide consent in their application to be considered for funds designated for specific groups may be selected to receive this funding. Each agency has up to 20 additional CGRS M awards reserved for Black student researchers.

San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment

CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC, along with other Canadian research funding agencies, are signatories of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). The agencies are committed to meaningful assessment of excellence in research funding and to ensuring that a wide range of research results and outcomes are considered and valued as part of the assessment process. The agencies will continue to work to ensure that their strategies, policies and guidance align with DORA.

A complete application includes the following documents:

  • Create and complete the application in the Research Portal,
  • the outline of the proposed research-including the bibliography and citations (attachment). Note: For presentation standards, consult the Research Portal presentation and attachment standards web page.
    • Outline of proposed research (maximum of one page); NOTE: If the document is longer than one page, the excess copy will be deleted from the application when submitted to the ranking committee
    • Bibliography/citations (maximum of one page).
  • all undergraduate and graduate transcripts (attachment)
    • Up-to-date transcripts are defined as transcripts dated or issued in the fall 2025 session of the year of application (if currently registered) or after the last term completed (if not currently registered).
    • Official transcripts are defined as transcripts issued by the institution’s registrar’s office. Transcripts from other sources, such as those printed from the student’s account on the institution’s website, are not considered official.
    • Electronic transcripts provided by an institution’s registrar’s office are considered to be official transcripts. You should check with your current institution(s) to verify whether this option is available to you.
    • Opening the transcript envelope and scanning the transcript will not render the transcript unofficial.
    • The agencies or McMaster University will not accept transcripts submitted outside of the application platform.
    • If you have transcripts written in a language other than English or French, you are required to provide a certified translation of the transcripts.
    • If your institution does not provide transcripts, you can submit, in lieu of a transcript, a letter bearing the official institution seal/stamp or a letter signed by the dean of graduate studies or an equivalent confirming 1) your program of study, 2) your registration status and 3) the fact that the institution does not provide transcripts.
    • Transcripts must be scanned (black and white recommended) and saved as a single PDF file.
    • Include one copy of the legend (reverse of each transcript). Do not scan the legend multiple times.
    • Maximum file size of 15 MB.
    • Page size 8 ½ in. x 11 in. (216 mm x 279 mm) or A4 (210 mm x 297 mm)

Troubleshooting attaching PDF documents

If the size of your transcript attachment is not accepted by the system, the following message may appear: “PDF must be in 8.5” x 11” (216 mm x 279 mm) or A4 (210 mm x 297 mm) format.”

To resolve this issue, please try the following:

    • Open the file in your PDF software
    • Go to File > Print
    • In the Printer field, select your PDF software
    • Under Properties > Layout > Advanced > Paper size, select Letter (8.5” x 11”)
    • Click OK
    • Return to the Print window and click Print
    • Save your file as a PDF document and upload it to the system

If you are still experiencing difficulties, contact the help desk at least 48 hours in advance of the application deadline date.

  • the CGRS M Canadian Common CV (CCV)
  • two reference assessments.

Selection Criteria

Selection Criteria is as follows:

Academic Excellence – 50%

Research Potential – 30%

Personal characteristics and interpersonal skills – 20%

Notification of results

Offers of awards will be available in the research portal as of April 1, 2026. Offers to alternate applicants may be made up until January 31, 2027.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to regularly check the research portal between April 1 and January 31 for results of the competition.

If you are offered an award, you will have 21 days from the date of each offer of award to accept or decline in the research portal. The status of offers not accepted within the 21 days will automatically be changed to Declined and cannot be reversed.

Applicants may accept only one CGRS M offer. Once an offer has been accepted, the system will automatically change all other offers and statuses to Declined, and applicants will not be eligible to receive further offers.

Application statuses in the research portal

Received by administrator: The completed application has been successfully submitted to the institution by the applicant.

Offered: An offer has been made to the applicant by the institution.

Alternate: The application has been deemed meritorious in the institution’s competition; however, due to its ranking, it falls below the allocation cut-off. The applicant is therefore on the alternate list. Should an award become available due to a decline, an applicant on the alternate list may receive an offer.

Not offered: The application has been deemed non-meritorious in the institution’s competition. Subsequent offers will not be made to the applicant.

Ineligible: The application has been deemed ineligible based on the eligibility criteria outlined in the funding opportunity description.

Accepted: The offer has been accepted by the applicant.

Declined: (a) The offer from the institution has been declined by the applicant; or (b) an offer from a different institution has been accepted by the applicant and, therefore, all other pending offers are automatically set to Declined; or (c) an offer has not been accepted within 21 days from the date of offer.

Deferred: Before commencing an award, the applicant may defer an award for up to three years, for a maximum of one year at a time. Conditions apply; see Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide for details.

Acceptance withdrawn: The acceptance of the offer has been withdrawn at the applicant’s request.

Useful Links

Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s program
Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s program: Instructions for completing an application
Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s program: Instructions for completing a Canadian Common CV
Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master’s program: Instructions for completing the reference assessment form
Research Portal / Portail de recherche
Research Portal – Frequently Asked Questions

Tutorial videos