UWO Support Sessions

There are two type of CIHR Scholarships.

1. Graduate Scholarships Masters Awards

Candidates must have completed or be in the last year of a bachelor degree or have been registered for no more than 10 months as a full-time student in a Master's program.

2. Doctoral Research Awards

Candidates must have completed at least 12 months of graduate study at the Masters or PhD level, and have been registered for no more than 26 months as a full-time student in a doctoral program.

The top ranked Doctoral Research Award applicants pursuing doctoral research training in Canada are eligible for a Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) Doctoral Award. The annual stipend is $30,000, plus an annual research allowance of $5,000.

Steps to writing a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Application.
 

Step 1: Write a draft, keeping in mind on what you will be assessed:

There are two modules to fill out: the CV Module (one for yourself and one for your potential supervisor) and the Training Module. Get them by clicking here

• the CV Module is used by all applicants, even old Profs. like me, when applying for their grants. Don't be intimated by the fact that, in your application, many sections will be blank.

Research Training

• add any summer research related jobs

Honors and awards.

• State for what the award was.
• Note how awards build on each other. If you get this award, your odds for another, increase

Your marks.

• Very important early in your career.

List of publications.

• These become increasing important as you proceed from being an undergraduate student.
• Aren't you glad you sent in that last abstract?

The three sponsors

• One must be your former research supervisor.
• Help to make these letters superb by providing your sponsors ammunition. Provide your sponsors with:
  • a copy of your marks
  • an updated CV
  • Add a short letter in which you highlight what you have achieved and what you hope to achieve.

  In this letter you should also point out:

  • Courses in which you have done particularly well in. If you know your ranking, state it.
  • How well your research is going. Progress in publications. Meeting attended. Techniques mastered.
  • Courses taught. TA's (ratings if available).
  • Other research jobs (publications if available).
  • Contributions to the dept., university (e.g. student rep., committees, events organized).

Training Expectations: your plan of study

• Show how what you plan to do, fits in with what you have done. Show that you have a clear idea of where you are going.
• Select a potential supervisor and try to get her/his help in outlining a particular project.
• State how working with this supervisor will help you get the skills that you need for your career goals 

Proposed Training Program

• get together with your proposed supervisor to complete this very important section.
• explain why the question asked is important in layman's language (do not assume that your assessor will know the jargon in your field)
• state what skills/knowledge-base you will acquire while pursuing this question
• state how these skills/knowledge-base will be useful for the next stage of your career.

Space, facilities and personnel support.

• Space: office, personal office computer, lab space you will have access to, lab equipment
• Facilities: general group/departmental/research institute shared equipment
• Personnel: technicians, computer programmers, other faculty who will do things for you or can help you.

Ranking of the Dept./Program.

• Unlike OGS and NSERC, there is no ranking by the department or the university. Here there is just one big hoop to jump; CIHR.

Step 2: Get Feedback

• When it starts looking good, ask others (e.g. other graduate students who were awarded one, faculty whose students were awarded one) for comments.
• Give them copies on a printed form or if you are short of time, with a copy of the form. It is frustrating to try to comment on a series of answers when you don't know the questions.

Step 3: Print out the final version.

• Proof read it carefully.
• Don't trust spell checkers. Have some else proof read and check the style (fonts, spacing, margins etc.).
• Use 12pt, Times Roman (or equivalent) font.