Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST)

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The information contained on this web page pertains to the 2026-2027 competition for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST).

New for 2026-2027: All applicants must submit an OGS/QEII-GSST Intent to Apply form and are responsible for collecting and submitting all official post-secondary transcripts (Waterloo and non-Waterloo) to their Department along with their OGS/QEII-GSST application form.

Jump to: Overview | Important dates | Eligibility criteria | Evaluation criteria | Critical steps | Timeline | Ranking and results | Helpful resources

Overview

The Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST) programs encourage excellence in graduate studies at publicly-assisted universities in Ontario. Both programs are jointly funded by the Ontario government and participating institutions. The government contributes two-thirds of the value of the awards and the university provides the remaining one-third.

Students are considered for the OGS and QEII-GSST at Waterloo by using one application. At Waterloo, the program is divided into two competitions based on citizenship (international and domestic). Applicants will be considered based on their citizenship status as of the application deadline.

  • OGS – available to domestic and international students in any graduate study discipline.
  • QEII-GSST – available to domestic students who are in a research-based graduate program in one of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines.

Value

Each OGS and QEII-GSST is valued at $5,000 per term up to a maximum of $15,000. 

Successful recipients will receive a President's Graduate Scholarship (PGS) in addition to their OGS or QEII-GSST.

Start date

Successful OGS and QEII-GSST recipients will begin their scholarship during 2026-2027. The allowable start terms are spring 2026, fall 2026, or winter 2027.

Duration

Awards are granted for a duration of up to one year and are non-renewable. Applicants must apply annually to be considered.

Please refer to the OGS/QEII-GSST Award holder’s guide for full details.

Available awards

Allocations for 2026–2027 will be posted once confirmed by MCU.

Award type # of Awards (25-26) Notes
Indigenous* 2 OGS domestic competition only
Domestic competition 196 OGS and QEII-GSST combined
International competition 5 OGS only
TOTAL 203  

Available awards for the domestic competition are allocated to each Faculty and are shown below. The International competition does not have Faculty allocations. 

Domestic competition  2025-2026

Faculty

 OGS QEII-GSST
HEALTH 24 4
ARTS 35 2
ENG 36 11
ENV 19 3
MATH 22 8
SCI 24 8
TOTAL 160 36

*Waterloo reserves two OGS awards for Indigenous applicants each year. For the purpose of this scholarship, an Indigenous person is one who is a citizen or member of a First Nations community (Status/Non-Status), Métis or Inuit. To be considered for an Indigenous award, applicants must complete the Indigenous verification process in order to have their Indigenous identity verified by the Office of Indigenous Relations at the University of Waterloo. 

Important dates

*As February 1, 2026 is a Sunday; application materials (application form, transcripts and reference letters) will be accepted up until Monday, February 2, 2026. 

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Eligibility criteria

Citizenship

  • International applicants must hold a valid study permit under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada).
  • Domestic applicants must be a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada)

Minimum Academic Requirements

  • Applicants must have achieved a first-class average (minimum of A-/80%) in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent). 
  • Eligibility averages are calculated using grades from the most recent academic history up to August 31, 2025, regardless of program or relevance to the applicant’s current or proposed program. Waterloo is required to adhere to these parameters as dictated by Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU). Fall 2025 grades are not used for eligibility or assessment purposes. 
  • While the minimum average is A-/80%, in recent competitions, successful recipients typically had averages of 85% or higher, peer-reviewed publications and presentations, and approximately half had previously held provincial or federal scholarships.

Program of Study

  • OGS awards are open to applicants in all disciplines of academic study (research-based AND course-based* programs).  
  • QEII-GSST awards are restricted to applicants in research-based graduate programs in a STEM discipline only (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

*Note: Application packages from course-based students must demonstrate evidence of all criteria under which their application will be evaluated, including research ability.

Registration/Admission Status

  • International applicants must:
    • Be currently registered in a graduate program at Waterloo or be on an approved leave of absence/inactive term by February 1, 2026 in order to apply.
      • Due to the limited quota of awards available for international students, prospective graduate students are not eligible to apply.
  • Domestic applicants must:
    • Be currently registered in a graduate program at Waterloo or be on an approved leave of absence/inactive term by February 1, 2026 in order to apply; OR
    • Apply for full-time graduate admission at Waterloo with a start term of either spring 2026, fall 2026 or winter 2027. 

Note: all students must be registered full-time at the time of holding the scholarship.

Time in Program

Selected recipients must normally be within their program time limits but students over their term limits are still eligible to apply.

Maximum Support

Master’s students can receive an OGS or QEII-GSST for a maximum of two academic years and doctoral students for a maximum of four academic years.*

In addition, students cannot exceed a lifetime maximum of six (6) years of government-funded graduate awards. Awards under the following programs are counted toward this lifetime maximum:

  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS)*
  • Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST)*
  • Ontario Trillium Scholarships (OTS)
  • Tri-Agency Scholarships (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC, Vanier)

*For the purpose of OGS/QEII-GSST, one or two term awards will count as one full year towards the OGS/QEII-GSST program and lifetime maximums. 

Concurrent Support

While they cannot be held concurrently, eligible students are encouraged to apply for both a tri-agency graduate scholarship and OGS/QEII-GSST within the same competition year. Students who are successful in both competitions will normally decline the OGS/QEII-GSST in favour of accepting the tri-agency scholarship due to the higher value and national-level prestige associated with it. These students will be offered an OGS/QEII-GSST in “name” only by Waterloo which they are welcome to list on their CV or resumé as a declined award. Additional notes to be aware of:

  • Students are not permitted to partially hold an OGS/QEII-GSST and a tri-agency scholarship in the same competition year.
  • Students are not permitted to hold/overlap an OGS and QEII-GSST from two separate competition years.
  • Students are required to check the eligibility of other awards they may be offered to see if an OGS/QEII-GSST can be held concurrently.

Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) Restrictions

Students who have previously applied for OSAP and have an OSAP restriction on their file are not eligible to receive their scholarship until the restriction has been cleared. At the time of disbursement, if GSPA finds a restriction on the student’s file, the student will be advised of a deadline by which they must clear the restriction or else forfeit their award.

Evaluation criteria

The evaluation criteria, with weightings on each determined by the Faculty to which the applicant is applying, are as follows: 

  1. Academic Excellence (40-50%*) as demonstrated by:
    • Academic transcripts
    • List of competitive scholarships, awards, and honours
  2. Research Ability and Potential in Program of Study (30-40%*) as demonstrated by:
    • Research proposal
    • Publications
    • Conferences
    • Presentations
    • Originality, artistic performance, and creations broadly defined (where relevant to the field of study)
  3. Communication and Leadership Abilities (10-20%*) as demonstrated by:
    • List of relevant volunteer, leadership, and academic work experience

*Individual faculty weights:

  • Arts, Engineering: (1) 50%, (2) 30%, (3) 20%
  • Health: (1) 50%, (2) 40%, (3) 10%
  • Environment, Mathematics, Science: (1) 40%, (2) 40%, (3) 20%
  • OGS International competition: (1) 40%, (2) 40%, (3) 20%

Critical steps

The OGS and QEII-GSST scholarships are not portable (recipients cannot take their OGS/QEII-GSST to another institution). Applicants must submit separate applications at each institution where they wish to be considered for an OGS/QEII-GSST. Therefore, applicants may need to submit multiple OGS/QEII-GSST applications to several institutions and follow that institution’s application processes and timelines.

If you are experiencing accessibility barriers with submitting your application package and require an accommodation, please contact Laura Frazee by January 5, 2026.

Step 1: Confirm eligibility

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It is the applicant’s responsibility to review the eligibility criteria as indicated above before beginning the application process. Questions regarding eligibility may be directed to the current/proposed department graduate co-ordinator.

Step 2: Select your department

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Applicants are to submit their application components to the department at Waterloo where they are planning to hold the scholarship if successful.

  • If the applicant is already enrolled in a graduate program at Waterloo by the application deadline, and the applicant will start holding the scholarship while enrolled in that department, the application form, transcripts, and references are to be submitted there.
  • Domestic applicants only:
    • If not already registered in a graduate program at Waterloo by the scholarship application deadline, the application form, transcripts, and reference letters are to be submitted to the department to which the applicant is applying for admission; i.e., the “proposed department”.
    • If applying to multiple graduate departments at Waterloo, applicants must select one of those departments and submit their OGS/QEII-GSST application components there. Applicants may only submit one OGS/QEII-GSST application per annual competition at Waterloo. 

Step 3: Apply for admission (if applicable - domestic applicants only)

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  • Domestic applicants – Canadian/PR applicants who are not registered in a graduate program at Waterloo by the application deadline must apply for graduate program admission by February 1, 2026 in addition to applying for OGS/QEII-GSST. This deadline is firm.
  • International applicants – Due to the limited quota of awards available for international students, prospective graduate students are not eligible to apply and must be current graduate students. 

Step 4: Submit OGS/QEII-GSST Intent to Apply form

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New for 2026-2027: An OGS/QEII-GSST Intent to Apply form is now required.

  • All applicants must submit an OGS/QEII-GSST Intent to Apply form by January 14, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. (ET).
  • A Waterloo ID is required to complete this form. Prospective students who do not yet have a Waterloo ID must first apply for admission. After paying the application fee, the Waterloo ID will appear within 24 hours in the applicant portal, located beside the applicant's name at the top of the page.

Step 5: Collect transcripts

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New for 2026-2027: applicants are responsible for collecting all official post-secondary transcripts (Waterloo and non-Waterloo) and must submit them to their Department with their OGS/QEII-GSST application form. 

Steps to obtain transcripts:

  • Applicants must complete the OGS/QEII-GSST Intent to Apply web form to determine whether an official Waterloo transcript will be emailed to them or if a previously obtained transcript should be reused.
  • Applicants are responsible for obtaining all non-Waterloo official transcripts from previous institutions, including transcripts from institutions where they completed an exchange term and the courses do not have an actual grade showing on the Waterloo transcript. 
  • Any applicants who are having issues obtaining the required transcripts must contact gspa-awards@uwaterloo.ca for assistance by January 14, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. (ET).

Step 6: Select and contact referees

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Applicants are required to obtain two academic references. Referees must email their letter directly to the department graduate co-ordinator of the applicant's current/proposed department by February 1, 2026.

Applicants should select academic referees who know them well and are capable of making an informed assessment from an academic perspective (e.g., current or past supervisors, industrial supervisors, previous USRA supervisors). Confirm in advance that your referees have the time and are willing to provide a supportive letter.

Applicants must provide their referees with the following details:

  • Submission email address and deadline (February 1, 2026).
  • Letters must be signed, on institutional letterhead (if available), and limited to 2 pages.
  • Letters must be current; those from previous competition years will not be accepted.
  • If content is reused from a tri-agency reference letter, it must be reformatted as a signed letter on letterhead (submission of the tri-agency referee form is not permitted).
  • Each letter should include:
    • Applicant’s full name
    • Referee’s full name, affiliated institution, department, and title (if applicable)
    • Description of what capacity they have known the applicant
    • Applicant’s strengths with regard to the OGS/QEII-GSST evaluation criteria

To support referees in preparing their letters, applicants are encouraged to provide them with a package containing:

  • Current curriculum vitae
  • Transcripts
  • A list of research contributions; applicants are encouraged to request referees to address the importance of their publications and contributions in the letters of appraisal (e.g., research that has received recognition outside of the academy; research that has applied outcomes that have positively influenced society, governance, industry or other sectors, etc.)
  • A copy of the research proposal/program of study, and
  • A list of community involvement or other extracurricular activities that demonstrate leadership qualities

Step 7: Complete the OGS/QEII-GSST application form

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Step 8: Submit OGS/QEII-GSST application form and transcripts to department

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Applicants must email their OGS/QEII-GSST application form and official post-secondary transcripts to their current/proposed department graduate co-ordinator.

Ranking and results

International competition:

  • Applicants complete and email their application to the current/proposed graduate department by February 1, 2026.
  • The department will review and rank applications.
  • The faculty will review ranked applications and select the top 3 candidates from their faculty to be considered at a university-level adjudication.
  • Institutional selection committee will review top 3 candidates from each faculty and select 5 international OGS recipients and provide a ranked reversion list.

Domestic competition:

  • Applicants complete and email their application to the current/proposed graduate department by February 1, 2026.
  • In addition to being considered as part of the regular domestic competition, applications from those who identify as Indigenous on the application form will also be reviewed separately by an institutional selection committee. The committee will make final award selection. 
  • All remaining OGS/QEII-GSST selections will be made according to each faculty-specific adjudication process below:

Arts, Science:

  • Departments submit ranked applicants to their faculty for faculty-wide assessment.
  • Faculty-level committee reviews and makes award recommendations based on faculty-set quota; GSPA verifies eligibility and makes award offers. 

Engineering, Environment:

  • Faculty distributes quotas to departments but reserves some for faculty decision-making.
  • Departments make award recommendations based on departmental-set quota; GSPA verifies eligibility and makes award offers. 
  • The remaining faculty allocation is adjudicated separately by faculty-level committee; GSPA verifies eligibility and makes award offers. 

​​Health and Mathematics:

  • Faculty distributes quotas to departments.
  • Departments submit ranked applicants to their faculty for review.
  • Faculty-level committee reviews and makes award recommendations based on Department rankings; GSPA verifies eligibility and makes award offers. 

Helpful resources & forms

Contact us

Questions about the OGS/QEII-GSST program can be emailed to the Co-ordinator, Graduate Financial Aid and Awards in Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.