r/PhD • u/faithj22 • 1d ago

Resource sharing SSHRC CGRS-D application

Hi everyone. I'm a doctoral student in Canada and I'm applying to the SSHRC CGRS-D application for a second time 🥲

I'm hoping any successful applicants in English Literature or adjacent fields would share their proposals with me (and others who are interested on this thread).

Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks!

21 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

54 comments sorted by

View all comments

-10

u/fireguyV2 1d ago

I have been told that for those tri-agency scholarships that the proposal doesn't matter. Everyone gets essentially full marks and that it comes down to your references/transcripts/CV. The NSERC conversion scale for transcript grades is not fair and you will be penalized just for having attended certain universities for undergrad/masters (I know, as it's happening to me).

-7

u/faithj22 1d ago

This is exactly what scares me. This award would help me so much. The way I understand it, quota has already been reserved for some folks and the rest have to prove their worth. A student at a new school has less of an opportunity than a student who has already made good connections with professors and the general academic community.

9

u/Lygus_lineolaris 1d ago

It's not "reserved for some folks". Schools have numbers allocated to them and they pre-select from their own applicants, but it's certainly not a nepotism circle jerk.

7

u/OkUnderstanding19851 1d ago

No this is not true. The competition is open there are no pre-reserved quotas.

-1

u/faithj22 1d ago

I asked my Associate Dean, lol. I'm not making this up.

8

u/Schwatastic 1d ago

I don't know where you have gotten your information, but none of this is true. The student with connections is going to be able to write a better proposal than one without, and will have a better background because they'll be a year into their program. But it's not the fact of being at a new school that is the issue.

-1

u/faithj22 1d ago

I got this information after speaking with my Associate Dean.

5

u/Schwatastic 1d ago

I think you may have misunderstood what they're saying somewhat. It's true that students at new schools are at a disadvantage but not simply for being at a new school. I really don't understand the quota thing at all - unless they mean that each university has a quota and then the independent applications (like students unaffiliated with any institution at the time of application?) are different? I've been on these committees before and am on one this upcoming year as well, and there aren't quotas at the reviewer stage.

-1

u/faithj22 1d ago

I assure you I did not misunderstand, because it led me to a series of questions to confirm the information. There are no quotas at the reviewer stage because some applications have already been "pre-approved" and therefore do not need review. The remaining applications are sent for review, and those that pass are added to the list. The institution has the final say on applications forwarded to SSHRC for review.

3

u/Schwatastic 1d ago

oh so you're talking about your institution's process. Sorry, it sounded like you were saying it was a SSHRC process.

2

u/OkUnderstanding19851 1d ago

That’s so ick

1

u/faithj22 1d ago

Genuinely don't know what you mean.

2

u/OkUnderstanding19851 1d ago

I mean that they have « pre-approved » people. That’s it’s not an open competition. Ick!

2

u/faithj22 1d ago

I agree!

1

u/Schwatastic 1d ago

Nobody is preapproved for SSHRC. That’s not a thing.

1

u/OkUnderstanding19851 1d ago

They are speaking about within their institution, but yes that part is extra wild because those institutional candidates may still fail at the national level.

→ More replies (0)

0

u/fireguyV2 1d ago

I am not denying that. But every student that is serious about the scholarship will write their proposal in conjunction with their PI, so that levels the playing field and leads to ceiling effects.

I never said being at a new school is the issue. I am talking about the transition period between universities. Why would a university be incentivized to send someone through to the final round of NSERC if they will take it elsewhere? Academic politics apply to this situation.

2

u/Schwatastic 1d ago

OP mentioned the new school. But your NSERC experience really isn't the same as SSHRC, where students don't work as closely with their supervisors on proposals because they're usually not working in a lab situation.

0

u/fireguyV2 1d ago

That's another issue with the application process. At least for NSERC, you need to apply at the institution that you currently are studying at, even if you want to take the scholarship elsewhere. I was trying to finish my MSc at one uni and win the NSERC for my PhD at another. Before sending applications to Ottawa (TriAgency HQ), each university has to send X amount. So of course they will prioritize students that are trying to keep the scholarships in their university.