Award Overview

• Award Category

  Doctoral Awards, In-Course Awards, International Awards

• Student Deadline

  Friday, November 20, 2026, 4:30 pm *Note: Letter of recommendation request will be sent to your referee after you submit the Sedra Application Form. Students are expected to submit their application before the posted deadline in order to give their referees sufficient time to submit their reference letters.

• Application Dates

  Fall

• Value & Duration

  Two Sedra Awards: Up to $15,000 for 1 year; Up to Two finalists: $1,000 each

• Level of Study

  Doctoral

• Year of Study

  Second or third year of a doctoral program (third or fourth year of a direct-entry doctoral) at the University of Toronto, as of the student submission deadline date

• Required Legal Status

  Domestic / International

Purpose

In honour of the significant contributions made by Professor Adel S. Sedra, former U of T Vice President and Provost, the University of Toronto Alumni Association (UTAA) established this award to recognize doctoral students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and extracurricular leadership.

As of 2027-28 award year: Two fellowships of up to $15,000 are awarded annually. One fellowship is awarded to a candidate from SGS Division I or II (Humanities or Social Sciences); and one fellowship is awarded to a candidate from Division III or IV (Physical Sciences or Life Sciences).

Up to two finalists who are not selected as Sedra Scholars each receive a $1,000 prize in recognition of their achievement, and are named UTAA Graduate Scholars.

Eligibility

Candidates across all divisions, including humanities, social sciences, and sciences, are warmly encouraged to apply.

At the time of application, applicants must be registered and in good standing in the second or third year of a doctoral program (third or fourth year of a direct-entry or fast-track doctoral) at the University of Toronto. The scholarship is not open to students who are pursuing master’s degrees.

Note: If a student transfers from a master’s program to a doctoral program without completing the master’s degree, the commencement of their doctoral program will be from the date of first registration in the master’s program and applicants are given the same eligibility window as direct-entry doctoral students (third or fourth year). For example, if the student transferred after their first year of registration into a PhD program, they would now be in year two of a “fast-track” PhD program.

Eligible candidates:

• Have an outstanding academic record and be making exceptional progress in their doctoral program, as demonstrated by transcripts, letters of recommendation, and other measures of scholarship according to their discipline;
• Should be involved in work that reflects a concerted effort to understand and respond to the changing intellectual landscape in their field of study; and
• Should have demonstrated a commitment during their doctoral program to enhancing the student experience of their peers through extracurricular leadership within the University and involvement in the life of the University. Of equal importance will be the candidates’ commitment to community outreach and involvement, as demonstrated by extracurricular activities outside of the University and their discipline. Community outreach often relates to disciplinary background. Therefore, outreach not specifically related to one’s research or academic field is highly valued and should be emphasized in the application.

Note: Only achievements/contributions during the doctoral program will be considered.

Application Process

Applicants must complete an online Adel S. Sedra Distinguished Graduate Award application by the application deadline (Application link available on September 8th).

• A Curriculum vitae, statement and transcripts are to be uploaded as a single PDF file to the online application.
• Letters of recommendation are submitted via email invitation. The request for letter of recommendation to referees will be sent by auto-email from graduate.awards@utoronto.ca after the applicant submits their Sedra application Form.  Each referee will need to respond to the email request with a PDF attachment of the letter of recommendation by the application deadline. Note: Students must contact their referees in advance to confirm referee participation before entering their names into the application form. Applications and referee names cannot be modified after submission to SGS.  It is recommended that students inform their referees that the reference request will be sent only after the students submit their application and encourage their referees to prepare the reference letter before they receive the email request from SGS is sent so that there is minimal delay in completing the application.

Applications that are incomplete, ineligible or are submitted after the respective deadlines will not be considered.

Hardcopy application materials will not be accepted.

Application Requirements

A complete application package will include all of the following items:

1. Completed online application form.
2. Curriculum vitae (please ensure your full name is clear on the first page) – Outlining only current doctoral program’s academic achievements, scholarships and awards received, plus publications, work experience, and extracurricular involvement both inside and outside the University in the following three categories:
   • Academic Performance – scholarships & awards, contributions to research and development (e.g., publications, articles, book chapters, patents, presentations, creative outputs). Applicants should indicate their role in their most notable research contributions explaining the rationale or practice for any unusual ordering of authors. For multi-authored publications, use a percentage to approximate the portion of the contribution.
   • Leadership and Engagement within the University (Departmental, Faculty, or University-wide)
   • Leadership and Engagement Outside of the University (e.g., including volunteering or community work within and beyond the limits of the field of study)

Note: Applicants are encouraged to provide details for two to three of their extracurricular activities on their CV to demonstrate commitment to enhancing the student experiences through extracurricular leadership within the University, involvement in the life of the University, and community outreach/involvement outside the University during their doctoral program

3. Statement of no more than 500 words about each applicant’s future academic and career goals
4. Scans of original or certified/validated copies of up-to-date official transcripts from master’s and doctoral level studies.  Direct-entry or “fast track” doctoral students must also supply scans of original or certified/validated copies of their official undergraduate transcripts.

For U of T transcripts:

• Although official transcripts are preferred, ACORN academic histories (web “Print to PDF”) are accepted for U of T transcripts only.

For transcripts external to U of T:

• Certification/validation of unofficial transcripts or web print-outs may be performed by the graduate unit. If the graduate unit is not able to certify/validate a transcript, it is each applicant’s responsibility to obtain and provide within their application package a scan of an original official transcript that was issued by the appropriate institution.
• Official e-transcripts are acceptable, but any encryption will need to be removed before uploading or combining with other transcript files. Students may use freely available PDF software such as Adobe Acrobat Reader or their internet browser (e.g., Chrome) to “print to PDF” in order to create an unencrypted “copy” of the file, which remain acceptable.
• Grading legends must be provided with every transcript
• Transcripts should not be mailed to the Graduate Awards Office

1. 5. Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation will be automatically requested via email from graduate.awards@utoronto.ca after the applicant submits their online Sedra Award application.  Letters must be submitted by reply email from each referee as a PDF attachment by the student application deadline.

Three or four supporting letters of recommendation from the following list of people:

• One (1) letter of recommendation from the thesis supervisor or supervisory committee member who can comment on the applicant’s academic progress.
• One (1) letter of recommendation from a member of the teaching staff of the University who can comment on the student’s involvement in university life.
• One (1) letter of recommendation from a referee outside of the University who can attest to the student’s external extracurricular activities.
• Up to one (1) additional letter of recommendation that attest to the student’s academic and extracurricular leadership.

Letters of Recommendation Notes:

• • • • Referee must directly reply to the email request from “graduate.awards@utoronto.ca” without changing the Subject line.
      • Letters of recommendations should use strong positive language and measure the candidate in comparison to others in the same discipline and stage in their academic program. In addition, describe the applicant while providing information relevant to the field of study, degree or culture of the department (e.g., publishing norms, degree requirements, grading practises, unusual accomplishments, or special outreach activities) that would otherwise not be known outside the discipline. Referees are encouraged to speak about opportunities for service that is normal for the discipline, highlighting how the student has gone above and beyond the expected norms.
      • Each letter should be on institutional letterhead, signed, and the name and contact information of each referee must be clearly stated.
      • There is no particular formatting standard or page limit but each letter must be written specifically for the Sedra competition and should be addressed to the “SGS Adel S. Sedra Distinguished Graduate Award Committee”.
      • A letter of support signed by multiple individuals will count as one letter towards the total.
      • Referee letters must remain confidential and not be reviewed by applicants.

  FAQ’s

  May I nominate a student for the Adel S. Sedra Distinguished Graduate Award?
  Student candidates may be encouraged to apply for a scholarship, but the committee will not consider applications made on a student’s behalf. All scholarship applications must be made directly by the students themselves.

  May I include additional material in my application?
  Additional documents/letters will not be considered.

  What if I have not received all necessary documents by the deadline?
  It is each applicant’s responsibility to ensure that they submit their completed application electronically as per the sections above.
  Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

  Who will view the letters of recommendation? Can I have them sent to me?
  All letters of recommendation are confidential and will be viewed by members of the Selection Committee only. Those who wish to view the letters for publicity or information purposes must first obtain permission from the individual who wrote the letter. Once submitted, all application materials become property of University Advancement and cannot be sent to the applicant.

Results

By early February, successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified via their U of T email address. Finalists who are not selected as Sedra Scholars will each receive a $1,000 prize in recognition of their achievement, and will be named UTAA Graduate Scholars.

Award Holder Information

Contacts & Resources

For questions about this competition, please contact:

Debbie Chau
Graduate Awards Officer
Graduate Awards Office, School of Graduate Studies
debbie.chau@utoronto.ca

Recipients

2026-2027 Recipient

2025-2026 Recipient

2024-2025 Recipient

2023-2024 Recipient

2022-2023 Recipient

2021-2022 Recipient