For Students and Fellows – Overview – Postgraduate

Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships (IPS)

Value	Application Deadline	How to Apply
$15,000/year for up to three years plus a minimum company contribution of $6,000 per year NSERC/MITACS Scholarship funding available	No NSERC deadline (there may be university deadlines)	Nomination by the Graduate Studies Office Form 200
	Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships Checklist
Program Contacts

What kind of support do these scholarships provide?

Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships provide financial support for highly qualified science and engineering graduates. The support allows them to gain research experience in industry while undertaking advanced studies in Canada. These scholarships are aimed at encouraging scholars to consider research careers in industry where they will be able to contribute to strengthening Canadian innovation.

The new NSERC/MITACS Scholarship supports graduate students so they can undertake mathematical research with an eligible partner organization. The research must involve the use of advanced mathematical techniques. The applicant and the partner organization must meet the eligibility criteria of the NSERC Industrial Postgraduate Scholarship (IPS 1 or IPS 2) program.

Are you eligible for scholarship support?

To be considered eligible for support, you must:

• be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
• hold, or expect to hold (at the time you take up the award) a degree in science or engineering from a university whose standing is acceptable to NSERC (if you have a degree in a field other than science or engineering, NSERC may accept your application at its discretion);
• have certification from the Dean of Graduate Studies that, over the last two completed years of study, you had a first-class academic standing (a grade of "A-") (see the Note below for more details); and
• be pursuing full- or part-time graduate studies in the natural sciences or engineering at an eligible Canadian university in accordance with the regulations in effect at the university.

To determine if you are eligible for the IPS program, NSERC will count the number of months of graduate studies completed in the program for which you are requesting funding in an NSERC-supported field. It will count two sessions of part-time graduate study as one session of full-time study at the time of nomination.

In evaluating your eligibility, NSERC will consider all studies counted towards a graduate degree, whether completed at the degree granting institution or not.

NSERC scholarship support is limited to a maximum of four years* full-time equivalent at the postgraduate level:

• Up to 24 months of support through CGS M, PGS M, or IPS 1 or a combination of these awards
• Up to 36 months of support through CGS D, PGS D, or IPS 2 or a combination of these awards

* Please note, however, that if you hold a two-year IPS 1 you may still be eligible to apply for and hold a three-year CGS D if you meet all of the other eligibility criteria.

* Also note that you are not eligible to receive scholarship support while you are in a qualifying year of study.

What types of scholarships are available?

Industrial postgraduate scholarships are available to you in two categories: IPS 1 and IPS 2. (Part-time students: see previous note.)

• IPS 1

This scholarship support is for a maximum of 24 months and must be held during the first three years of graduate study.

At the time NSERC receives the nomination, you:

• may be entering, or have begun the first year of a master’s program;
• may be entering, or have begun the first year of a doctoral program, if you were admitted to the Ph.D. program directly from your bachelor’s program; and
• must not have been registered in graduate studies for more than 12 months.

IPS 1 support will not extend beyond the 28th month of your master's program. If you are a successful applicant and if you have completed more than four months full-time equivalent in a master's program at the time you take up your award, the normal 24-month duration of the award will be decreased by the number of months in excess of four that have been completed at that time.

• IPS 2

This scholarship support is for a maximum duration of 36 months and must be held during the first four years of doctoral-level studies. You are eligible for this type of scholarship only if you are, or will be, a doctoral candidate.

At the time NSERC receives the nomination:

• you must have completed no more than the full-time equivalent of 24 months of studies in the doctoral program for which you are requesting funding in a field of research that NSERC supports. Support will not extend beyond the 52nd month of doctoral studies;
• if you were admitted into a doctoral program directly from your bachelor’s program, you must have completed between four and 36 months of studies in the doctoral program for which you are requesting funding. You must hold the IPS 2 during the first five years of your doctoral program and support will not extend beyond the 64th month; and
• if you previously held an IPS 2, a PGS D, a CGS D, or a PGS B, you are not eligible for further support of your graduate studies.

You will be eligible for only a two-year IPS 2, if:

• you previously held a PGS A or IPS 1 for more than 12 months;
• you previously held a one-year CGS M or PGS M plus a PGS M Extension; or
• you have completed more than the full-time equivalent of 16 months of your doctoral program (28 if you were admitted to the doctoral program directly from the bachelor’s program) as of the date of receipt of the nomination.

Value of scholarships

NSERC will pay a stipend of $15,000 per year to your university. In addition, your sponsoring company is required to pay at least $6,000 per year to the university in scholarship funds to support you (you should not be paid directly by the company). Although NSERC cannot award you more than $15,000, the company can contribute more than $6,000 to support you or the project. As a result, the scholarship is worth a minimum of $21,000. IPS award holders may be eligible for some postgraduate supplements (see Table of Supplements).

If you are a part-time student, the company contribution must be at least $3,000 per year, and you will be eligible for up to 72 months of support at one-half the normal stipend level ($7,500 per year.)

The NSERC/MITACS Scholarship offers the following funding each year, for up to two years at the master’s level or up to three years at the doctoral level:

• NSERC contributes $15,000;
• the partner organization contributes $7,500;
• MITACS contributes $7,500.

Of the total $30,000/year per project, the graduate student will receive $22,500/year as a scholarship and the academic supervisor will receive the remaining $7,500/year for further research in the specified area.

Condition of award tenure

You must:

• hold your scholarship only at your nominating university;
• spend a minimum of 20 per cent of your time at the sponsoring company on activities related to your thesis project; and
• be sponsored by a company which is eligible for the IPS program.

Interaction with the sponsoring company

To satisfy the conditions of your scholarship, you must spend a minimum of 20 per cent of your time (at least 50 days per year) at the sponsoring company on activities related to your thesis project. In the free form section of Form 200 – Application for an NSERC Scholarship or Fellowship – Outline of Proposed Research, you must clearly describe, in tabular form, the details of the planned interaction with the sponsoring company. This table must include a description of how you allocate your time, the location(s), and the type of interaction you will undertake. This may include such things as field work or spending time with an alternate industrial partner. A small amount of time may be spent in meetings, conferences, travel for the company, training company personnel, and outreach activities.

Make sure you document the time you spend at the company (complete with times, dates and hours, in tabular form) and make it available to NSERC as part of your progress report.

Which companies are eligible to participate?

Examples of eligible organizations may include:

• private-sector organizations doing R&D;
• industry associations;
• some utilities and provincial hydro companies;
• foreign companies, as long as sufficient opportunities are provided for interaction between the student and company;
• start-up/spin-off companies with their own research facilities separate from the university; and
• government-owned companies operating as regular for-profit enterprises or on a cost-recovery basis (municipal, provincial, and federal government departments, hospitals and other non-profit institutions that receive a significant proportion of their operating budget from public funds are not eligible).

The company’s eligibility is reviewed on a case-by-case basis, with consideration given to the quality of the student’s interaction with the company. The overall goal is to ensure that the student’s research project will benefit from an industrial interaction.

NSERC will request that an academic co-supervisor be named in situations where the faculty supervisor has a personal or financial involvement with the company. The supervisor must declare any conflict of interest and follow the university’s conflict of interest guidelines.

How do you apply?

Contact the Office of Graduate Studies at your university. It is responsible for submitting nominations to NSERC. A complete nomination includes the following eight items:

1. Form 200, Application for an NSERC Scholarship or Fellowship
2. Official academic transcripts with the grade point average (GPA) indicated
3. The names of the faculty supervisor and the company supervisor (university participants must declare any conflict of interest and must not have a personal or financial involvement with the company; the university must confirm that its conflict of interest guidelines have been followed)
4. Information on the sponsoring company, if necessary, to establish eligibility for the program
5. A description of the research facilities to which the student will have access
6. Details of the planned interaction with the sponsoring company in tabular format, as described above
7. Certification by the Dean of Graduate Studies of the student's admission to the proposed degree program and whether it is on a full- or part-time basis
8. A statement signed by the university, the company, the student, and the university supervisor in which you all agree to:

• the company's financial contribution to the scholarship (for full-time, a minimum of $6,000 per year for the duration of the award);
• the company’s commitment for the duration of the award;
• the ownership of intellectual property arising from the research;
• the student spending 20 per cent of his/her time at the company; and
• the understanding that the granting of the student's degree will not be delayed by the desire to keep research results confidential.

Students wishing to apply for the joint NSERC/MITACS Scholarship must follow the same application procedures as for the NSERC Industrial Postgraduate Scholarship (IPS 1 or IPS 2) program, and they also have to submit additional information required by MITACS. NSERC will accept applications at any time.

NSERC and MITACS will jointly evaluate each application.

For more information, contact Lawrence Meadows at MITACS at 604-268-7372 or lmeadows@mitacs.ca or contact Klara Konya at NSERC at 613-996-1597 or klara.konya@nserc.ca.

Additional information for IPS/MITACS applications

This section must be completed by the academic supervisor.

Organization sponsor:	Name
	Position
	Organization
	Address
	Phone
	Fax
	E-mail

Application deadlines

There are no NSERC deadlines for this program, but there may be internal university deadlines. For more information about university deadlines, contact the Graduate Studies Office or the Scholarship Liaison Officer.

Notification of decision

NSERC will notify you and the nominating university of its decision within two months of the date NSERC receives a complete nomination. If nominations are incomplete, the processing time is significantly increased. Nominations which are not complete four months after the proposed start date of the award may be rejected by NSERC. Please verify your application using the Checklist for IPS applications.

Start date of award

The start date of the award should be within three months of the date NSERC receives the nomination.

Payment of award

The university will be responsible for making regular payments to the scholarship holder.

If you do not hold a scholarship for the full period, NSERC will make a prorated reduction in the stipend.

Termination of support

• If you no longer meet the eligibility criteria that were in effect at the time your award was approved, you will no longer be eligible for scholarship support.
• If your host company withdraws its financial support for your scholarship, you will no longer be eligible.

In both cases, notify NSERC and the Graduate Studies Office at your university. Your scholarship will be cancelled.

Progress reports

Before NSERC can authorize subsequent instalments of the scholarship, it must receive a progress report from the Graduate Studies Office on the anniversary date of the scholarship. The report must:

• verify the student's satisfactory standing in the graduate program;
• describe the progress the student has made in the research project;
• detail the time the student has spent at the host/collaborating company; and
• confirm the company's continued financial support.

Parts of the report may be prepared by the Dean of Graduate Studies, the student, the university supervisor, or the company representative (as appropriate). Please verify your progress report using the Checklist for IPS applications.

Exit Survey

Near the end of the final year of your award, you will be sent an exit survey that must be completed and returned to NSERC. A completed copy of this survey should also be given to the Scholarships Liaison Officer in the Graduate Studies Office at your university.

This survey will be used to identify successful projects for promotional purposes and will contribute to the assessment of subsequent applications to the IPS program from the student or the company. Do not submit a technical report.