Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Master's (CGRS M)

It is the applicant’s responsibility to confirm that the minimum eligibility criteria of this award are satisfied before they begin the application process by reviewing the complete eligibility and selection criteria on the official CGRS M website. 

Note: If you entered your doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s degree (that is, you were never registered in a graduate level program) and have completed between zero and 12 months of studies in the doctoral program, you may be eligible to apply for a Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Master’s (CGRS M) or for a Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral (CGRS D). Applying for a CGRS M, if you are eligible, will maximize your potential period of funding. You are responsible for choosing the type of award for which you apply. 

Prospective students who are interested in holding their CGRS M scholarship at Waterloo must apply for admission into a graduate program by February 1, 2026 (this is a Sunday and a firm deadline). Applicants are not eligible to receive or accept a CGRS M offer from a university where they are not enrolled in or have not applied for admission to an eligible program of study. 

Up-to-date official transcripts from all current and previous post-secondary institutions (including transcripts from institutions where you completed an exchange term) are required as part of the application in order to determine whether you’ve achieved a first-class average in each of the last two completed years of full-time study. Applicants who do not include a complete set of required transcripts will be deemed ineligible. 

Steps to obtain transcripts: 

1. Applicants must complete and submit a CGRS M applicant transcript request web form (The Centre's forms website). This request is free of charge and is due by Monday, November 17, 2025. Applicants who submit this form will have their official Waterloo transcripts emailed to them by Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA). 

2. Applicants are responsible for obtaining all other 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 home university transcript. 

3. Applicants are responsible for compiling all their transcripts and uploading them to their CGRS M application to the Research Portal prior to submitting their application. Applicants are unable to submit their application until all transcripts are uploaded to the application.  

4. Applicants who are having issues obtaining the required transcripts must contact gspa-awards@uwaterloo.ca for assistance by Monday, November 17, 2025. 

Applicants must follow the detailed instructions provided on the CGRS M website, including how to complete the application, how to confirm if the proposed research falls under the correct agency's mandate, the number of referees required, presentation standards of the free-form documents, including maximum allowable pages, transcripts, etc. 

• CGRS M Instructions for Completing an Application 

• CGRS M Instructions for Completing a Canadian Common CV 

*Note: The Outline of Proposed Research and Bibliography cannot share the two-page maximum; each of these sections must be only one page. Failure to follow this will result in excess content not being reviewed and, consequently, may put your application at a disadvantage. 

Applicants must have a research portal account and a Canadian Common CV (CCV) account in order to submit their application: 

• First-time users must create an account within the research portal. 

• A Canadian Common CV (CCV) account must also be created in order to upload a CV into the application during the e-submission process. If the applicant has already previously registered for a CCV account, they do not need to re-register. The CCV will have a CGRS M template that will focus only on fields that are pertinent for graduate student level experience. Additional information can be found in the Instructions for Completing a Canadian Common CV (CGRS M website). 

Applicants must contact two potential referees as soon as possible, but no later than three weeks prior to the December 1st application deadline. Reference letters must be completed for the applicant to submit their application. As such, applicants should set their referee deadline at least 3 days before the application deadline to ensure all reference letters are complete before the application is submitted. Applicants should share the following instructions with their referees.  

• Instructions for Completing the Reference Assessment Form 

Tips for selecting referees can be found on the Scholarship competition resources webpage.