Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) is a program that funds by the provincial government for one or two reason(s). The main reason behind it is to encourage excellence in graduate learning at the masters and doctoral degree. It is all about merit-based awards and sponsorships open to various students including foreigners, in every discipline of academic study.

  • A sum of one hundred and sixty-six awards is available at Waterloo in which:
  1. The first five (5) are reserved for only international graduate students as part of the global competition;
  2. two (2) are set aside for the native students and;
  3. the rest 159 are allocated to the 6 Faculties
  • A totality of 35 Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST) are available at Waterloo:
  1. For domestic students in fields of study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

Key Points of the Ontario Graduate Scholarship

The key points of the Ontario scholarship include the following:

  • The scholarship worth $15,000 for each year.
  • The main eligibility criterion for an international student intends to study in Ontario is a permit from an authority.
  • The minimum period for running the graduate scholarship program is 2 consecutive terms.

Scholarship Application Process

Below are the requirements for eligibility to process the scholarship application:

  1. Applicants for the scholarship should have a first-class standard, (minimum of A-/80%) in each of the last 2 full-time academic years. This means the eligibility averages are based on grades up to August 31, 2017.
  2. You must provide transcripts from all your post-secondary institutions, whether you have your certificate already or not.
  3. Graduate transcripts are compulsory even if fall 2017 is the first term of your program.
  4. The same scholarship appliance form is also useful in evaluating a nominee for Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology. The QEII-GSST is also worth $15,000 per year.
  5. You as a student have the alternative to taking up the OGS or QEII-GSST sponsorship for a minimum of 2 terms value at $10,000 or 3 terms worth of $15,000. The scholarships are non-renewable.

Evaluation Criteria

These three items are evaluation or eligibility requirements for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship:

  • An academic distinction with a weight of 30% to 50% as established by academic transcripts, scholarships, awards and honors lists.
  • Communication and leadership skill with a weight of 0% to 20% as demonstrated by a list of relevant volunteer, leadership, and academic work experience.
  • Research capability and potential in program study with a weight of 30% to 50% as confirmed by conferences, originality, presentations as well as publications.

Maximum Support

International master’s students receive an OGS or QEII-GSST award for a minimum of 2 academic years while doctoral students for a minimum of 4 academic years.

Additionally, OGS students cannot go beyond a period of 6 years of graduate awards which government funds.

  1. Tri-Agency Scholarships (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC, Vanier)
  2. Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) program.
  3. Ontario Trillium Scholarships (OTS)
  4. Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST)



Source by Alimrany B Mujeeb

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