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Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral
Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral
Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral
Award Overview
Include eligible domestic and international PhD students and applicants.
September 18, 2026
4:00 p.m. ET
The Canada Graduate Research Scholarship — Doctoral (CGRS D) program recognizes and supports outstanding innovators, knowledge workers, creative thinkers and researchers. Administered by CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC, it supports and promotes research excellence across a wide variety of health, natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities disciplines.
Official transcripts are required for all CGRS D applications submitted through Western University. For more information, see the Official Transcripts section below.
Application Process
Review the CGRS D Eligibility Criteria on the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral program funding opportunity webpage.
- International PhD students are eligible to apply for the CGRS D only if they are registered in their doctoral program of study at an eligible Canadian institution by the application deadline and if they meet all other eligibility criteria. Review the CGRS D Eligibility Criteria for further information.
How to Apply:
Select the Appropriate Federal Granting Agency
Review the Tri-Agency guidelines on Selecting the Appropriate Federal Granting Agency to determine whether your application should be submitted to CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC.
Review the CGRS D Funding Opportunity
Review the CGRS D Funding Opportunity for eligibility, program requirements, and application information before beginning your submission.
Review the Agency-Specific Application Instructions
Application instructions and submission systems differ by federal granting agency. Review the instructions below for the agency to which you are applying.
Complete and Submit your CGRS D Application
Each agency has its own application portal. Use the portal below for the agency to which you are applying.
To apply "through" Western, select Western University / The University of Western Ontario as your institution within your CGRS D application
Reference Letter Deadlines
It is recommended that you instruct your referees to submit their reference letters well in advance of the application deadline. You will not be able to submit your application until your reference letters have been submitted. Missing reference letters are not grounds for a deadline extension.
Recommended referee deadline: No later than September 16, 2026
Indigenous Self-Identification
Applicants who self-identify as Indigenous within their CGRS D application will be required to affirm their Indigenous citizenship or membership with Western. For details please visit the Office of Indigenous Initiatives. Affirmed applications will be forwarded directly to the Tri-Agencies for further competition above Western's allocated quotas, as per Tri-Agency regulations.
Additional Requirements and Competition Information:
Up-to-date official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate studies must be included in your CGRS D application, including transcripts for the fall term of the year of application, whether they contain grades or not.
Transcripts serve to confirm the number of months of graduate studies completed, calculate your average, and confirm your current registration. If your transcripts include transfer credits from another institution, the original transcript with the grades shown must be included.
Up-to-date official transcripts are defined as transcripts issued by the Registrar's Office and dated or issued in the fall term of application (if currently registered) or after the last term completed (if not currently registered).
2026 Fall Term Registration
If you are registered in a degree program for the 2026 fall term, your transcript must show 2026 Fall Graduate registration, even if this is your first term of your program. CONTINUOUS GRADUATE ENROLLMENT or the courses you're enrolled in must be listed under the 2026 Fall Graduate term.
Western's eTranscripts
If you use Western's eTranscript for your CGRS D application, you must share the eTranscript with yourself before you can access the PDF to be uploaded to your application. You must then do one of the following:
- download, print, and re-scan the transcript as a PDF, then upload to your application; or
- download and print to PDF, then upload to your application
Please review the Office of the Registrar's webpage on eTranscripts for further information.
For the fall 2026 CGRS D competition, Western has been allocated the quotas below. These are the number of applications per agency that Western can nominate to the national competition.
To determine whether you must submit your CGRS D application through Western University, review the Where to submit an application section of the CGRS D program funding opportunity.
Applications open
Western's deadline
4:00 p.m. ETWestern adjudication
Tri-Agency adjudication
Results announced
Support Available at Western
Attend a Scholarship Research Proposal Writing Session offered by Western's Writing Support Centre. Click the time/date below to register:
CGRS D Proposal Writing Foundations Webinars:
Participants will learn how to structure a compelling research proposal, tailor it to scholarship reviewers, and avoid common proposal-writing mistakes. Students should register for only one of the two CGRS D foundations webinars as the content is the same.
- August 5, 2026, 1:30 p.m. ET
- August 13, 2026, 1:30 p.m. ET
CGRS D Agency-Specific Proposal Writing Webinars:
These agency-specific sessions build on the foundations webinars by exploring proposal-writing strategies, how to communicate research persuasively to multidisciplinary audiences, and examples relevant to each agency. Participants should register for the webinar associated with the agency to which they intend to apply.
- CIHR: August 18, 2026, 1:30 p.m. ET
- NSERC: August 19, 2026, 1:30 p.m. ET
- SSHRC: August 20, 2026, 1:30 p.m. ET
CGRS D Proposal Writing Day:
20-minute appointments will be available with professional writing advisors. They will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, and spots are limited.
- September 2, 2026
Western Contacts
Tri-Agency Support
Contacts
The Tri-Agencies host annual info sessions for their funding opportunities. Review the currently scheduled info sessions below:
CIHR
English | Tuesday, June 2, 2026
French | Thursday, June 4, 2026
NSERC
English | Tuesday, August 25, 2026
French | Thursday, August 27, 2026
French | Wednesday, September 2, 2026 (1 - 3 p.m. ET)
English | Thursday, September 3, 2026 (10 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET)
English | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 (1 - 3 p.m. ET)
English | Thursday, September 10, 2026 (10 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET)
SSHRC
English | Monday, August 10, 2026
French | Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Holding the Award at Western
CGRS D award recipients must both accept the award with the awarding agency (CIHR, NSERC, or SSHRC) and activate the award at Western.
Accept Your Award
Accept your offer of award from the agency by following the instructions provided in your award documents.
Activate your award by completing the required agency forms. Any forms requiring an "Authorized Institutional Official" or "Scholarship Liaison Officer (SLO)" signature must be sent to Alli McDonald, Scholarship Coordinator (amcdon72@uwo.ca).
Activate Your Award for Payment
Initiate the payment process at Western through your Student Center account.
- Log in to your Student Center account.
- Select Student Financials from the main menu, then Financial Aid and Funding.
- Select Graduate External Scholarships and follow the activation steps.
The annual value of the CGRS D is divided into three equal instalments. Funds are applied to the award holder's Student Center account at the start of each term:
Each instalment is applied towards any tuition and fees owing on the account before being refunded to the award holder.
Award holders are responsible for continuing to meet the conditions of the CGRS D throughout the duration of the award. CGRS D award holders must:
Abide by the terms and conditions of the CGRS D as set out in the Tri-Agency Research Training Award Holder's Guide, in the CGRS D Funding Opportunity, and in the award documents sent by the award agency.
Complete the annual SGPS Progress Report Form.
SGPS Progress Report
- Award holders will receive an annual notification email from SGPS advising them of the deadline to submit the form. Annual deadlines will vary for each CGRS D award holder depending on the anniversary of their award start date, but will annually fall in either August, December, or April.
- A Progress Report can be submitted no earlier than 60 days prior to the anniversary date.
- Failure to submit the annual Progress Report will result in the suspension of further award payments.