Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)

$15,000 per year.  Each OGS is tenable for a maximum of one year (three terms) and a minimum of two consecutive terms.

To be considered for either an OGS or QEII-GSST award, a student must be:

• A Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Person at the time of the application deadline [Exception: see note on international students below];
• Enrolled at a publicly-assisted university in Ontario in a full-time program of study that leads to a graduate degree and is approved for operating grant purposes by the ministry; and
• Enrolled in 60% or more of a full course load as defined by the university, or 40% or more for students with permanent disabilities.
  In addition, to be considered for a QEII-GSST award, a student must be:
• Enrolled in a research master’s or doctoral program in a science and technology discipline (See Appendix One for a list of eligible science and technology disciplines).

International students who are studying in Ontario with a student study permit under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) are eligible for the allotted OGS international student awards. However, they are ineligible for QEII-GSST awards.

Minimum Academic Requirements

An applicant must, at minimum, meet the following academic requirements:

• Students entering the first or second year of graduate studies at the time of the application deadline: must have achieved a first-class average, as determined by the host institution, in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent). Students entering the third year or beyond of graduate studies at the time of the application deadline: must have an overall average of at least A- (or equivalent) on all graduate courses completed.
• If master’s or doctoral degree marks used for calculating an applicant’s grade point average (GPA) are not available (e.g., courses were graded on a pass-fail basis), then the university’s Graduate Studies Office will use the most recently available undergraduate or graduate marks to calculate a student’s GPA.

Note: While institutions are encouraged to apply the revised minimum academic requirements to students entering first or second year of graduate studies, institutions do have discretion to apply these criteria to any student (in any year of studies) being considered for the OGS/QEII-GSST. 

If institutions choose to exercise this discretion, institutions should notify candidates of the revised eligibility criteria.

Universities may require applicants to meet more rigorous academic requirements as they deem appropriate. For example, universities could require that potential recipients exhibit overall research ability and potential.

Recipients cannot be enrolled in a qualifying or make-up year, or be on a paid educational leave or sabbatical.

Eligibility conditions

• There is a lifetime maximum of six years of OGS per student
• In addition, the lifetime maximum of government-funded student awards must not exceed six years. This includes: OGS, OTS, SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR awards.
• Recipients must remain enrolled as a full-time student in an eligible program; recipients who withdraw, transfer to part-time status, or fail to complete the term, will be required to repay the award for incomplete and future terms. For clarity, a withdrawal in the second term requires repayment of the award from the first term.

1. Prospective Students: The admissions application package will be used as the basis for consideration for the OGS competition. You must complete and sign the following  (PDF file) supplemental form for prospective students.
2. Current Students who have applied for tri-council funding: Students may request their tri-council applications be used for consideration for the OGS competition. Students must contact their Graduate Program Administrators to make this request. The complete tri-council application, including reference letters and transcripts, will be used for consideration. Students will only be required to submit the following  (PDF file) supplemental form for students who have applied for tri-council funding. If a student would like to modify their application (i.e. update their research proposal) they must contact their Graduate Program Administrator to inquire further. 
3. Current students who did not apply for tri-council funding: Must complete the following  (PDF file) application form for current students who have not applied for tri-council funding. Applicants are required to have two  (PDF file) Academic Assessment Forms completed by referees for consideration*. Please ensure you follow the instructions on the form. Applicants must also provide a CV and copies of all university transcripts (certified copies of transcripts and print-outs from MyServiceHub accepted).

*Instructions for completing academic assessment PDF

1. Right-click link and “Save link as…” (Mac) or “Save target as…” (Windows)
2. Do not use the “preview” function or browser to fill in the form, as the information may not save.
3. Open the PDF with Adobe Reader.
4. Once the form is completed, click “File > Save As Other > Reader Extended PDF > Enable More Tools (Includes Form Fill-in & Save)” to save as a PDF.

Please refer to the Awards Guide for detailed information. 

OGS applications must be submitted to the Graduate Program Administrator of the program to which you are applying for funding by the specified program deadline.

Important note regarding application form compatibility

If after selecting the appropriate form you encounter a web page beginning with "Please wait..." and the page does not refresh to show the application form, follow these instructions:

1. Hover your mouse cursor near the top right of your browser window 
2. Click on the download arrow to download the form directly to your desktop
3. Complete the form in Adobe viewer from your desktop

Starting the 2018-19 academic year, the OGS competition will incorporate a hybrid model of distribution and awarding, where 50% of the total number of awards will be distributed to the Faculties, and the remaining 50% will be held for a university-wide competition.  The YSGPS Scholarship and Awards Committee will adjudicate the university-wide competition.

Please apply directly to your Program, as they are your faculty contacts. 

If you experience difficulties accessing the forms, please ensure:

1. Adobe Reader is installed on your computer and that it is up to date. If not, please see the Toronto Met Student Adobe download.
2. Please review how to  (PDF file) change browser settings to view forms and "How to open XFA-based PDF forms on Firefox and Chrome (external link) " to ensure your browser is updated and compatible in order to view the forms.

If you experience difficulties filling out and saving forms:

1. Right-click link and “Save link as…” (Mac) or “Save target as…” (Windows)
2. Do not use the “preview” function or browser to fill in the form as the information may not save.
3. Open the PDF with Adobe Reader.
4. Once the form is completed, click “File > Save As Other > Reader Extended PDF > Enable More Tools (Includes Form Fill-in & Save)” to save as a PDF.

Results for the OGS will be released in early May.