The Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) program provides merit-based scholarships to recognize academic excellence in all disciplines of academic studies at the master’s and doctoral level. The scholarship is jointly funded by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (‘Ministry’) and Carleton University. The Ministry provides two-thirds of the value of the award and the university one-third.
Value and Duration
The OGS is valued at $15,000 for one year: $5,000 per term up to a maximum of three (3) terms, and must be held for a minimum of two (2) consecutive terms.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) at the time of the application deadline; International students who are studying in Ontario with a study permit under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) at the time of application are eligible to apply for the allotted OGS international student awards
- Applicants must have a 10.0 GPA (A-) in each of their last two years of full-time study
- Applicants must be enrolled full-time or intend to be enrolled full-time in a graduate program at Carleton University in the 2024-25 academic year. Students with disabilities may study part-time
- Applicants who are in or will be going into an extension term in the graduate program for which they are requesting funding are not eligible to hold an OGS
- Applicants whose program time to completion is before December 31 of the academic year in which they would hold the award are not eligible to apply
- Applicants cannot be in default on any Canadian government-sponsored loan
- Applicants cannot hold an OGS award in the same term (overlapping) or in the same award year as a scholarship from SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR, Vanier, QEII, or another OGS. Students cannot receive payment from two OGS awarded in consecutive years in the same term.
- Applicants cannot exceed the following Maximum Support Limits:
- Master’s students can receive an OGS award for a maximum of two (2) academic years
- PhD students can receive an OGS award for a maximum of four (4) academic years
- All students cannot exceed a lifetime maximum of six (6) years of government-funded graduate awards. This includes the following programs:
- Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR); Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS); Ontario Trillium Scholarship (OTS); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC); Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC); Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST); Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS)
- Both program maximums and lifetime maximum must be followed
Deadline
Applications open on August 15, 2023 and close November 15, 2023 at 12:00AM EST (midnight). Late applications will not be accepted. Ensure you allow enough time to submit your application prior to the deadline. The referee deadline is December 1, 2023.
Application Process
- All students, who have MC1 credentials and can access Carleton Central should be using the online application, available through Carleton Central. If you have applied to Carleton in the past but never attended, or you have graduated and are planning to come back and have MCI credentials, please log into Carleton Central and use the online form. You must complete the online application (found in Carleton Central under Awards and Financial Assistance, Graduate Online Application Forms) and upload the requested documents by the deadline specified.
- All other applicants should fill out the OGS application forms available below. Your complete OGS application package, including all forms and supporting documentation, must be submitted to the Graduate Administrator in the department you applied to at Carleton by the specified deadline.
- Request two References: Reach out to potential referees well in advance. Once they have agreed, ensure their names and contact information are correctly entered in your application. Once your application is submitted online, your referees will be notified by email that you have listed them as a referee and they will be provided a link to complete their assessment. If completing the PDF application, applicants must contact their referees and request they complete the Academic Assessment form below. The completed assessments must be submitted directly to the Graduate Administrator, either from an official email address or by mail. All referees will have until December 1 to complete their assessments. Applicants are responsible for ensuring referee assessments are submitted by the deadline.
- Get Transcripts: Transcripts are a mandatory requirement to demonstrate eligibility and are an integral part of the material reviewed by selection committee members. Applications that do not adhere to these instructions and guidelines may be rejected. Up-to-date official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate studies must be included in the application. Retain the paper copy of any uploaded transcripts, as you could be asked to provide it for verification purposes. All transcripts must be combined into one PDF to be uploaded to your application. Up-to-date transcripts are defined as official transcripts dated or issued in the fall session of the year of application (if currently registered) or after the last term completed (if not currently registered). If you are registered in a degree program in the fall session of the year of application, you must provide a transcript that demonstrates registration in your program. Official transcripts are defined as transcripts issued by the institution’s registrar’s office. Transcripts from other sources, such as those printed from the student’s account on the institution’s website, are not official and will not be accepted. Electronic transcripts provided by an institution’s registrar’s office are considered to be official transcripts. You should check with your institution(s) to verify whether this option is available to you. If a transcript includes transfer credits from another institution, the grades for these credits must be shown. If the grades are not shown, the original transcript from the other institution must be included in the application. This includes international exchange programs. If you have transcripts written in a language other than English or French, you must provide a certified English or French translation. Paper transcripts must be scanned and saved as a single PDF file (unprotected). You must include only one copy of the legend (for each transcript). Do not scan the legend multiple times. Opening and scanning a paper transcript will not render the transcript unofficial. Pay close attention to specific formatting requirements. It is your responsibility to ensure that your transcripts are complete and legible once uploaded. This is particularly relevant for transcripts with security features in place to prevent duplication. In all cases, you are responsible for ensuring that your application is complete by reviewing and previewing the final version of the online application before it is submitted.
- Submit Your Completed Application: Applicants with MC1 credentials should submit their complete application online prior to the specified deadline. Applicants without MC1 credentials that are submitting a PDF application must submit their complete application including official transcripts to the Graduate Administrator in the department they intend to apply to at Carleton prior to the specified deadline.
Application Forms for the 2024-25 Paper Application
*Only to be used if applicant does not have MC1 credentials*
Please download and save a blank copy before completing these forms. PDF applications should be submitted to the Graduate Administrator in the Department you intend to apply to at Carleton. A complete OGS package must include all required forms and transcripts. Optional forms can also be included, if applicable.
Transcripts (Required)
Copy of Student Study Permit (Required for temporary resident visa students ONLY)
OGS Application Form (Required)
Application Checklist (Required)
Research/Program Statement (Required)
Awards Page (Optional/If Applicable)
Publications Page (Optional/If Applicable)
Application Resources
Carleton University OGS Application Tips & FAQs
Successful Research/Program Statement Example 1
Successful Research/Program Statement Example 2
Decisions
Applicants will be notified of the results of the competition by April each year.
If successful, award recipients must provide their decision to accept or decline their award. Students who applied through Carleton Central should accept through there as well. If you submitted a paper application, you will need to print out the OGS 2024-2025 Notice of Decision Form and submit it to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, 512 Tory Building or email it to jenna.mcconnell@carleton.ca.
Note: If you have a pending decision from SSHRC, NSERC or CIHR and have been successful in the OGS competition, please accept your OGS offer. If you then receive a positive result regarding a different external award, your funding will be revised.
Still Need Help?
If you cannot find answers to your questions, please contact Jenna McConnell, Coordinator External/Internal Graduate Awards (jenna.mcconnell@carleton.ca).