SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Peter StoicheffApril 6, 2006
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [sshrc.ca]
Funded by Industry Canada Its purpose is to fund research in
the Social Sciences, Humanities and, recently, Fine Arts
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
There are two other research funding councils NSERC CIHR
The three (SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR) are called the Tricouncils
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop Many SSHRC programs for faculty
researchers Three programs for graduate students
under the Canada Graduate Scholarships program Doctoral Scholarships ($35K/year for 3
years) Doctoral Fellowships ($20K/year for 4 years) Master’s Scholarships ($17.5K for 1 year)
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Eligibility: you must … be a citizen or permanent resident of
Canada be applying for support to pursue
your first PhD (or equivalent) be pursuing doctoral studies (or a
combined MA/PhD) in the social sciences and humanities
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Eligibility: you must … Not be applying in the same year to
NSERC or CIHR Not already have received a Doctoral
award from any of the Tricouncils Not be under any SSHRC sanction for
financial or research misconduct
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
3 parts to the application: Transcripts 2 letters of reference Program of Research description
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Application Procedure: Go to sshrc.ca website for printable
forms Arrange for transcripts Arrange for 2 letters of reference Write Program of Research
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Application Procedure: Submit transcripts and Program of
Research to your home department 2 letters of reference will be sent by
referees to your home department All this will be done well ahead of
SSHRC’s November 15th deadline because …
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop Application Procedure:
Your home department will rank you among all those being submitted from your department
That ranking, and the applications, will be sent to the College of Graduate Studies and Research which will …
Rank all the applications from the whole university into 2 categories …
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Application Procedure: Those that will be sent on to Ottawa Those that won’t
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Application Procedure: There is a formula that determines
how many the College of Graduate Studies and Research is allowed to send to Ottawa
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop Application Procedure:
SSHRC’s head office in Ottawa will send each application it receives from every university to one of 4 committees (based on your choice)
Each committee will rank the applications it receives
Those rankings will go back to SSHRC SSHRC will tell applicants the results in mid-
April
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Transcripts: nothing much to say …
2 Letters of Reference: Ask referees if they can write strong
letters Ask someone who knows your work If you’re a 1st-year Ph.D. student, ask
your M.A. supervisor
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Program of Research: Lots to say … Only 2 pages You’re writing for a non-discipline-
specific committee They’re reading tons of applications So … make it understandable by …
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Program of Research: Not using jargon Recalling you’re not writing for a
specialist Imagining you’re writing for a student
colleague who’s not in your department Recalling you’re not writing for a journal
in your area or for a prof in your department
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop Program of Research:
Be concrete and practical Be feasible – i.e. it is a do-able project
in the amount of time remaining Sound as if you know what you’re
doing – not speculative but convinced of your project
Understand why it contributes to knowledge in the area
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop Program of Research:
Show you know the field, and the literature in it
Show you know where you fit in the field (i.e. you’re not doing something already done)
Show you are capable of doing what you propose (the methodology is sound)
Show why you want to do it at the particular institution
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Program of Research: Show connections between your
proposed Doctoral work and what you’ve done before
Show any conceivable connections between what you propose to do and the larger, non-academic community (that can be a tough one, but let me explain …)
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Program of Research: Remember to use correct grammar
and punctuation Get someone else to read it Work closely with your supervisor Assume you will go through at least 5
drafts
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Other suggestions: Assume it will take you more than one
kick at the can Use all of the available 2 pages of the
Program of Research Follow SSHRC’s rules about font size
and margins to the letter – you will otherwise be disqualified
SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships Workshop
Other suggestions: Assume the committee is looking for
reasons NOT to give you the award because it reads many good, worthy ones
Therefore, don’t give them any reason!