Award Overview
| Student Deadline to Graduate Unit: | March 29, 2024 at 5:00 PM. |
| Value/Duration: | $5,000 per term for 2 or 3 consecutive terms |
| Level of study: | Master’s or Doctoral |
| Required Legal Status: | Domestic Students (Canadian citizen, permanent resident, protected persons) |
| Results: | July 2024 |
Purpose
In 1998, the Ontario government introduced the QEII-GSST, a merit-based scholarship program targeted specifically toward graduate students in science and technology. The Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarships in Science and Technology (QEII‐GSST) Program is designed to encourage excellence in graduate studies in science and technology. The program is supported through funds provided by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) and by funds raised by the University of Toronto from the private sector. The Province allocates QEII-GSST awards to universities specifying the number of awards that each may offer to their students annually
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Be a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) by the student deadline as determined by each graduate unit;
- Be registered or intend to register in an eligible program on a full-time basis in 2024-2025;
- An eligible program is defined as a full-time program of study of two or three terms at the University of Toronto leading to a graduate degree. A full-time student is one who is in at least 60% of a full course load (40% for students with a permanent disability) or as defined by their institution. Program eligibility is determined individually by each graduate unit. Students should carefully review the information outlined by the graduate unit they intend to be registered in, to determine if their program is eligible for the graduate unit’s QEII-GSST competition
- Be enrolled in a research master’s or doctoral program in a participating graduate unit (see list of eligible graduate units below);
- Have not exceeded the lifetime maximum of government-funded support or maximum QEII-GSST/OGS support available for their current level of study (see website under maximum support); and
- Have achieved at least A- (or equivalent) in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent); or if the student has competed two years of graduate studies at the time of application, the student must only demonstrate an overall average of at least A- (or equivalent) on all graduate courses completed.
- NEW: At the graduate unit’s discretion, exceptions may be made for highly meritorious applicants who are below the required GPA minimum. Examples of cases in which a unit may consider granting an exception include (but are not limited to): applicants with documented medical issues or family care responsibilities, applicants who have pursued alternative career paths, or mature students with professional experience. Contact your proposed graduate unit(s) to confirm their use of this eligibility criterion.
Note: If marks used for calculating an applicant’s grade point average (GPA) are not available (for example, courses were graded on a pass-fail basis), then the next most recent available undergraduate or graduate marks should be used to determine eligibility.
To be eligible to hold the QEII-GSST, recipients:
- Must register and remain enrolled as a full-time student at U of T in an eligible program at the graduate unit from which the QEII-GSST was awarded;
- Who withdraw, transfer to part-time status, back transfer from a doctoral to a master’s degree, complete degree requirements prior to the end of their award, or fail to complete the full term, will be required to repay any funds received for the incomplete term;
- Must be in good standing with the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). Applicants who have defaulted on a Canada or Ontario Student Loan, or have failed to make satisfactory repayment on a loan overpayment, are ineligible to receive the award. Students who have never applied for OSAP are in good standing. Those with an OSAP restriction may still apply for the QEII-GSST. However, if awarded, they must have the restriction cleared within 30 days of notification in order to accept and hold the award;
- May accept research assistantships, part-time teaching positions, or other paid employment that does not affect their status as a full-time graduate student and is commensurate with the graduate unit policies. Typically, students holding full-time paid employment are not eligible to receive a QEII-GSST from the University of Toronto; and
- Cannot hold a QEII-GSST award in the same session (overlapping) or from the same award year as a scholarship from SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR, OGS, or another QEII-GSST.
The eligibility criteria provided above are the minimum requirements only. Graduate units may impose additional criteria to apply, receive, or hold an QEII-GSST. Please inquire with your graduate unit regarding any additional requirements or conditions to those listed here.
QEII-GSST Eligible Graduate Units
Graduate units participating in the QEII-GSST competition at the University of Toronto are listed below. Please note the list is considered comprehensive and students should consult with the graduate unit to confirm eligibility of their specific program. Professional Master’s programs are not eligible for a QEII-GSST (e.g., Master of Engineering, Master of Forestry Conservation, Master of Mathematical Finance, Master of Science in Planning, Master of Heath Science, etc.)
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Arts and Science (Faculty) at Mississauga campus Aerospace Studies Astronomy & Astrophysics Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering Cell & Systems Biology Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry Chemistry Civil Engineering Computer Science Dentistry |
Earth Sciences Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Electrical & Computer Engineering Forestry Geography & Planning Health Policy, Management & Evaluation Immunology Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology Materials Science & Engineering Mathematics Mechanical & Industrial Engineering |
Medical Biophysics Medical Science Molecular and Medical Genetics Nursing Science Nutritional Sciences Pharmaceutical Sciences Pharmacology & Toxicology Physics Physiology Public Health Sciences Rehabilitation Science Statistics |
Application Process
Applicants must submit an OGS application to their proposed graduate unit using the U of T OGS Online Application and select “Yes” that they would like to be considered for other graduate award competitions in the “Governmental Award Applications in Progress” section of the Awards and Financial Aid page of the application. Additional application requirements may be necessary depending on the individual competitions. The OGS Online Application is accessible through the SGS OGS webpage.
Applicants applying for other awards that use the OGS application form may upload additional application documents as an attachment to the application form’s “Awards and Financial Aid” page. Note: Any unit who wishes to use the new attachment function for their QEII-GSST or other awards competitions will need to instruct their applicants to select “Yes” on the form that they are applying for other awards and attachment(s) are required.
Each graduate unit will have its own internal submission deadline to which applicants must adhere.
Once completed and submitted online, the entire application will be available to the proposed graduate unit(s) for review and consideration.
Important note for prospective students: QEII-GSST awards are not transferrable between universities or between graduate units at U of T. Accordingly, students must submit an OGS application to each graduate unit for which they are seeking admission at U of T and each Ontario institution if applying to multiple universities (each institution will have its own unique OGS and QEII-GSST application process).
For Temerty Faculty of Medicine (TFOM) applicants only: There are three types of QEII-GSST’s through TFOM with different application procedures (please visit the Vice Dean Research & Health Sciences Education website for details, which will be updated once the competition opens):
- Awards through graduate units – applications are submitted directly to the graduate unit. Check graduate unit deadlines through unit websites;
- Awards through clinical/surgical departments – applications are submitted directly to the clinical/surgical departments; check the appropriate department’s website for deadline and application details;
- Awards through TFOM, Research & Health Sciences Education (RHSE) – deadline and submission details to be communicated by RHSE, as posted on their website. For additional information, contact RHSE at glse.awards@utoronto.ca.
For detailed instructions on how to complete the OGS Application, please see the OGS Application Instructions.
Results
Graduate units will communicate internal adjudication results to applicants by May 30, 2024. Official QEII-GSST award offers will be issued by SGS starting July 2024. QEII-GSST results are not available on the OGS Application system.
Contacts & Resources
For more information, visit the SGS QEII-GSST webpage.
Questions regarding the administration of the award at the SGS and technical support for the application may be directed to:
Debbie Chau, Graduate Awards Officer
Graduate Awards Office
School of Graduate Studies
debbie.chau@utoronto.ca
Please direct questions regarding the QEII-GSST competition to awards.dlsph@utoronto.ca.