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Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS)
In this section . . .
The Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) program is designed to encourage
excellence in graduate studies at the master’s and doctoral levels.
An Ontario Graduate Scholarship is awarded for one academic year, which may
consist of two or three consecutive terms. One-term awards are not granted. For
2007–2008, the value of the OGS is $5,000 per term. Thus, you may receive
$10,000 for two consecutive terms or $15,000 for three consecutive terms. The
province of Ontario contributes two-thirds of this amount and the university
provides one-third.
Number of Scholarships Awarded
For the 2007–2008 academic year, a total of 2,000 scholarships will be
awarded. Of these, 60 scholarships will be awarded to students who have been
admitted to Canada as visitors with a student authorization/study permit.
In addition, some of these scholarships, called institutional scholarships, will be awarded to nominated students at selected universities – namely, Lakehead University, Laurentian
University, and University of Ontario Institute of Technology. These universities may nominate up to ten students each for the institutional scholarships. Nominated students must pursue their graduate studies at the nominating university. To be eligible, nominees must meet the citizenship requirements, be approved by the selection board, and satisfy all conditions of eligibility. Visitors with a student visa are not eligible for institutional scholarships. For additional information about the institutional scholarships, contact your graduate studies office.
You are eligible to apply for an Ontario Graduate Scholarship if you:
- plan to be enrolled full time in an approved graduate program leading to a master’s or doctoral degree at an Ontario university that is financially assisted by the Government of Ontario (as defined by Ontario Regulation 237/90, as amended). Check with your graduate studies office or the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to determine if your proposed program is
approved;
- are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (the “landed on” date on your permanent resident document can be no later than November
15,
2006), or have been admitted to Canada with a student authorization/study
permit dated no later than November
15,
2006.
In addition:
- Applicants who will be in the first or second year of graduate studies
during the tenure of the award and have graduated from an Ontario
university at any time between November 15, 2005 and November 15, 2006, are
not currently registered in an Ontario university and are applying through
their department must have an overall average of at least A-, or the
equivalent, on the last 20 one-term/semester courses, or the equivalent,
completed.
- Applicants who will be in the first or second year of graduate studies
at the time of application and are currently registered in an Ontario
university and are applying through their department must have an
overall average of at least A–, or the equivalent, on the last 20
one-term/semester courses, or the equivalent, completed.
- Applicants who will be in the first or second year of graduate studies
during the tenure of the award and are not currently registered in an
Ontario university at the time of application and are applying directly to
the Ministry, must have an overall average of at least A–, or the
equivalent, on the last 20 one-term/semester courses, or the equivalent,
completed.
- Applicants who will be in the third year or beyond of graduate studies
during the tenure of the award and have graduated from an Ontario
university at any time between November 15, 2005 and November 15, 2006, are
not currently registered in an Ontario university and are applying through
their department must have an overall average of at least A-, or the
equivalent, on all graduate courses completed.
- Applicants who will be in the third year or beyond of graduate studies
at the time of application and are currently registered in an Ontario
university and are applying through their department must have an
overall average of at least A-, or the equivalent, on all graduate courses
completed.
- Applicants who will be in the third year or beyond during the tenure of
the award, and are not currently registered in an Ontario university at
the time of application and are applying directly to the Ministry, must
have an overall average of at least A-, or the equivalent, on all graduate
courses completed.
- Students who are unable to study full time due to a disability are eligible to apply for and hold an OGS
award. These students must meet all eligibility requirements.
You are not eligible to apply if you are a refugee claimant and do not have a
student authorization/study permit.
If you are not eligible for a Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan, have defaulted on a
Canada-Ontario Integrated Student Loan, Canada Student Loan, an Ontario Student Loan,
a loan made under the Ontario Venture Capital Program, or have failed to make satisfactory repayments on an Ontario Student Grant overpayment, you
will
not receive your OGS award, unless the default is cleared.
Eligibility Conditions
The following conditions may affect your eligibility for an OGS award:
- You can receive a lifetime maximum of four years of government-funded student awards. This maximum includes awards offered by the following agencies:
– the Ontario government, through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program,
– the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC),
– the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC),
– the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) (formerly the Medical Research Council).
- You cannot hold a scholarship from SSHRC, NSERC, or the CIHR, or an Ontario Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (OGSST) at the same time as an OGS.
- You can receive up to two OGS awards at the master’s level. The award is tenable during either one or both of the first two academic years (12-month periods) of a master’s degree program, but not after the second year.
- You can receive up to four OGS awards at the doctoral level. The awards are tenable during any of the first five academic years (12-month periods) of a doctoral program, but not after the fifth year.
Acceptance Conditions
If you receive an OGS award, you must comply with the following conditions:
- You must be enrolled as a full-time student in an approved graduate program for the tenure of the award. If you withdraw, transfer to part-time status, or fail to complete a term, you will be required to repay the award.
- You may hold one OGS award for either two or three consecutive terms.
- You cannot hold an award for only one term.
- You cannot be enrolled in a qualifying or “make-up” year or be on a paid educational leave or sabbatical.
- You may, though only with your university’s approval, change to another discipline or to another approved program during the tenure of the award.
- You may hold other awards that, together, have a maximum value of $10,000 per year. You may also accept research assistantships, part-time teaching positions, or other employment that does not affect your status as a full-time graduate student. The total time you spend on duties pertaining to employment must not exceed an average of ten hours per week.
- You must notify both your institution and the ministry if you change your mailing address.
Application Procedures
There are specific application procedures that you must follow
depending on whether or not you are currently enrolled at an Ontario University.
It is extremely important that you follow the appropriate procedures otherwise
your application will be delayed and/or not included in the competition.
In addition, you must ensure that all supporting documentation (e.g.,
Statement of Interest or Plan of Study, etc) are included in your OGS
Application Package. Check out all of the
details on Application Procedures.
If you do not have a Social Insurance Number (SIN), you must apply using a
paper application form.
- OGS will now require official/original transcripts from studies done in
Canadian and American Universities. No certified photocopies will be
accepted. Print-outs from institution web-sites will not be accepted.
OGS will accept copies
or photocopies of transcripts from foreign universities where it is not possible
to get another official transcript. However, the transcripts must be signed by the department or
Graduate Studies office the student is applying through.
- OGS will no longer accept photocopies or faxes of Report 1 or Report 2.
- The ministry is providing a PDF fillable form to be used by the person
providing Report 1 or Report 2 who wishes to elaborate on their assessment.
This form is to be attached to either Report 1 or Report 2 and signed by the
person providing the reference.
- If a student has additional Previous Studies and Transcripts, an
additional page is to be included after Page 2 of their application package.
The 2007-2008 OGS application is now available online!
Go to the OSAP
Main Page to log into the secure section of the OSAP website where you will
find the OGS online application.
We strongly urge you to apply online. Just look at the benefits:
- The online application on the OSAP website is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- It is quick and easy to use.
- Your information is secure.
- It has built-in "smarts" to help you to avoid making entry errors.
- You can print your personalized application, Reports from professors, and Summary Sheet to submit with your supporting documentation.
Website Security Procedures
The security features on the OSAP website have been developed to provide the maximum level of security in order to ensure that your personal information is kept strictly confidential. If you have applied to OSAP previously and accessed the OSAP website, log in using your Social Insurance Number or OSAP Access Number and your OSAP password. If you have not applied to OSAP previously, click on the “New Student” link in order to log in. It is extremely important that you keep your password in a secure place, that you do not give it out to others, and that you change it periodically. Do not forget or misplace your password because considerable time and effort is required to have it replaced. See
Request to have OSAP Access Restored for details. You can change your password periodically by going to
Update Your File found on the OSAP main page.
Computer Technical Requirements
It is important that your computer be set up properly in order to use the
online OGS application and to print your personalized OGS application package.
If you are using a PC, you must use Windows ME, 2000 or XP. If you are using Windows 95 or 98 you
must upgrade your system.
If you are a MAC user, we highly recommend that you use Netscape 7.1 or
higher as your browser. Please be sure you are using the latest version for Macs and not PC's. The latest version of Netscape Communicator for Mac Users can be downloaded at Netscape. Go to Technical Requirements
for details.
In order to print your OGS Application Package you need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or
higher installed on your computer. Go to Technical
Requirements for details.
1. Applicants who are currently enrolled as full-time students in an Ontario university
If you are currently enrolled as a full-time student in an Ontario university, your institution is responsible for processing your application and supporting documentation. Therefore, you must submit your complete paper application package or, for the on-line application, Pages 1 and 2 of the application along with all supporting documentation to the graduate studies office or your current department (undergraduate or graduate) at your university. Please contact your graduate studies office to begin the application process and to find out what procedures you must follow to complete this process. The ministry has established a deadline date of November 15, 2006. Please note, however, that your institution will set an earlier internal deadline to ensure that your completed application is received by the ministry deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure that your application form and supporting documentation are received by the graduate studies office or your current department (undergraduate or graduate) by their specific deadline date. The Ontario Graduate Scholarship program does not accept incomplete or late applications.
2. Applicants who graduated (completed their program) from an Ontario university between November 15, 2005, and November 15, 2006, and are not currently registered at an Ontario university
If you graduated or have completed your program from an Ontario university between November 15, 2005, and November 15, 2006, and are not currently registered at an Ontario university, the institution from which you graduated is responsible for processing your application. You must follow the procedures above for applicants who are currently enrolled as full-time students in an Ontario university. The Ontario Graduate Scholarship program does not accept incomplete or late applications.
3. Applicants who are not currently enrolled in an Ontario university (direct applicants)
If you are not currently enrolled in an Ontario university, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities is responsible for processing your application. Therefore, you must submit your complete paper application package and for the on-line application, Page 1 and 2 of the application along with all supporting documentation to:
Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program
Student Support Branch
Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities
P. O. Box 4500
189 Red River Road, 4th Floor
Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5G9
The ministry application deadline date is November 15, 2006. An application submitted directly to the Ministry must be received in the Thunder Bay office on or before November 15, 2006. Therefore you should take into account the amount of time needed by the postal service to process and deliver mail.
A complete Ontario Graduate Scholarship application package must contain the following:
- Page 1 - Personal Data - completed and signed by student
- Page 2 - Education Information - completed and signed by student
- Student Checklist - completed and signed by student
- Study Permit/Authorization - (if applicable for International Students)
- Summary Sheet - items 5-10 completed and signed by student
- Report 1 - completed and signed by Referee
- Attachment to Report 1, if provided - completed and signed by Referee
- Report 2 - completed and signed by Referee
- Attachment to Report 2, if provided - completed and signed by Referee
- Official/original University transcripts, undergraduate and graduate (if applicable)
- Statement of Interest or Plan of Study
- List of Significant Academic Accomplishments
- List of Scholarships or Awards
The Ontario Graduate Scholarship program does not accept incomplete or late applications. If your application is incomplete or late, you will be disqualified from the competition.
Questions should be directed to:
Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program
Student Support Branch
Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities
PO Box 4500
189 Red River Rd, 4th floor
Thunder Bay ON P7B 6G9
Telephone: (807) 343-7257
Toll-free: 1-800-465-3957
Telephone Device for the Deaf: 1-800-465-3958
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