University-Wide Awards

Award Overview

• Award Category: Admission Awards, Doctoral Awards, In-Course Awards, International Awards, Master's Awards, Prof. Master's Awards, University-Wide Awards
• Student Deadline : Date set by graduate unit
• Application Dates : Winter
• Graduate Unit Deadline : May 7, 2021 (not for students—unit must forward all nominations to SGS by this date)​
• Level of Study : Doctoral, Master’s
• Required Legal Status : Domestic / International
• Results : July

Purpose

Approximately 21 awards with individual eligibility criteria and values are available within the ​​SGS University-Wide Awards competition.​ Applicants must meet all award specific eligibility criteria required, as outlined within each award description (review list with links in the Application Process section below).

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Meet any additional award specific eligibility criteria required, as outlined within each award description (see list above);​
• Be a domestic or international graduate student;
• Be either a currently registered student in a U of T graduate degree program or have accepted an offer of admission to a full-time U of T graduate degree program (commencing September or January immediately following the current competition);
• Demonstrate one or both of the following:
  • ​financial need for upcoming academic year through the completion of an SGS Financial Need Assessment form​;
  • ​academic excellence – 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.​

​To hold the award, students are required to be registered for the entire academic year following the competition, with the exception of the Donald Matheson Springer Fellowship for graduating students.​

Need Based / OSOTF Awards

This competition consists of 20 different awards with various criteria and requirements. To determine for which need based awards you are eligible, review the “Award Descriptions” section below.

Awards categorized as need based only do not require the demonstration of academic excellence.

Awards categorized as “OSOTF” (Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund) are only open to eligible applicants who meet all three of the following criteria:

1. Demonstrate financial need for the upcoming academic year through the completion of the SGS Financial Need Assessment form;

2. Are Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada or protected persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) at the time of the application; and

3. Are residents of Ontario at the time of the application, as defined by one of the following criteria:
• Student has always lived in Ontario; or
• Ontario is the last province in which student has lived for 12 months in a row without being a full-time postsecondary student; or
• Student lives in Ontario now and has lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row.

​​If student is married / common-law, student can be considered an Ontario resident if:
• Spouse has always lived in Ontario; or
• Ontario is the last province in which spouse has lived for 12 months in a row without being a full-time postsecondary student; or
• Both of these statements are true:
◦ Student lives in Ontario now; and
◦ Student and spouse have lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row.

If student qualifies as a dependent student, student is considered an Ontario resident if:

• Ontario is the last province in which parent(s) have lived for at least 12 months in a row; or
• Both of these statements are true:
◦ Student lives in Ontario now; and
◦ Student and parent(s) have lived in Canada for less than 12 months in a row.

The above requirements are established by OSAP to determine Ontario residency for OSAP purposes.

Merit Based Awards

​This competition consists of 20 different awards with various criteria and requirements. To determine for which merit based awards you are eligible, review the “Award Descriptions” section below.​

Awards categorized as merit based only do not require the demonstration of financial need.

At minimum, applicants must:
• Have achieved at least A- (“A-” = 80%) or equivalent in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent); or

• If the student has completed two years of graduate studies at the time of application, the student must only demonstrate an overall average of at least A- (“A-” = 80%) or equivalent on all graduate courses completed.

Application Process

Applicants must:​

1. Download and complete the SGS University-Wide Awards Application form​. Applicants applying for multiple opportunities need only to complete this item once;
2. Ensure the letter(s) of reference are sent directly from the referee(s) to the graduate unit, as per the graduate unit’s application deadline;
3. Submit all of the required documents for each award directly to the graduate unit (detailed in the award descriptions). Please note that supporting documentation is also required for certain items within the SGS Financial Need Assessment form​ (if applicable). Please refer to the guide attached to the SGS FNA form.​
4. Graduate units may submit up to 2 nominations for each award within this competition. Ineligible or incomplete applications will not be considered.

​​​Application Form​ (form m​ust be saved to a local computer before it can be completed).

Award Descriptions

Legend
IC = In-course; A = Admission
Graduate units (departments, centres, institutes, schools, or Faculties) are allocated into four divisions. Learn more.

​ ​

Results

Graduate units are asked to inform applicants regarding the unit’s internal results. Nominees to SGS will be contacted directly by SGS in July regarding the outcome of the centralized competition.

Award Holder Information

Graduate units are asked to inform applicants regarding the unit’s internal results. Nominees to SGS will be contacted directly by SGS in July regarding the outcome of the centralized competition. ​

Recipients will receive an official award email from SGS–along with a link to this web page–to review the terms and conditions to ensure they will be able to collect and hold their award throughout the 2019-20 academic year.

Payment Timeline

Upon registration for the academic year, successful candidates’ payments will be processed through ACORN in early September. If a recipient owes fees from the previous academic year (2018-19), the payment will first clear the arrears and any remaining funds from the payment will be refunded to the recipient.

The method of the refund depends on the information the recipients have entered onto their ACORN accounts. Please review the How to Activate & Maintain Your Award web page for further information.

Deferrals / Leaves of Absence

All recipients are required to contact the Graduate Awards Officer about any potential changes to their registration status and/or program.

Contacts & Resources

Each applicant may contact their graduate unit to determine the specified deadline for this competition as well as to which email address all of their application materials must be submitted.

Inquiries regarding these awards or the application process may be directed to:

Olivera Joksimovic
Graduate Awards Officer
School of Graduate Studies
o.joksimovic@utoronto.ca
416-946-0808