Are you a graduate student who excels in their field of study and is seeking financial support to further their education? Look no further than the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST) programs, which encourage excellence in graduate studies at publicly assisted universities in Ontario. These scholarships are jointly funded by the Ontario government and participating institutions, with the government contributing two-thirds of the value of the awards and the university providing the remaining one-third.
At the University of Waterloo, students are considered for both the OGS and QEII-GSST by using a single application. Both scholarships are of equal prestige, with the OGS available for all disciplines of academic study and open to Canadian Citizens/Permanent Residents and International students. The QEII-GSST, on the other hand, is specifically available for students in a research-based graduate program in one of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) disciplines and is only available to Canadian Citizens/Permanent residents.
Each OGS and QEII-GSST is valued at a maximum of $15,000 per year, paid as $5,000 per term for either two or three terms. Additionally, Waterloo recognizes the outstanding academic achievement of its graduate students by offering the President’s Graduate Scholarship (PGS) to students receiving an OGS or QEII-GSST.
To be eligible for the University of Waterloo Postgraduate Scholarship, international applicants must hold a valid study permit under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), while domestic applicants must be Canadian citizens, Permanent Residents, or Protected Persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada). 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), with eligibility averages calculated using grades from the most recent academic history up to August 31, 2023, regardless of program or relevance to the current or proposed program. OGS awards are open to applicants in all disciplines of academic study (research-based AND course-based programs), while QEII-GSST awards are restricted to applicants in research-based graduate programs in a STEM discipline only.
The application deadline for the University of Waterloo Postgraduate Scholarship is February 1, 2024, with specific deadlines for the submission of transcript requests, applications, and reference letters. International students must be currently registered in a graduate program at Waterloo or be on an approved leave of absence/inactive term by February 1, 2024, to be considered. All students must be registered full-time at the time of holding the scholarship. If you are interested in applying for this scholarship, visit the University of Waterloo website for more information on how to apply.
