Financial support for graduate students

Criteria

Robert L. Rice Memorial Graduate Fellowships are awarded annually for demonstrated and potential academic and research ability.

Fellowships are available to entering and continuing full-time Canadian and International students completing graduate work in any field of chemistry as indicated upon their application (Form GSA1).

Two scholarships valued at approximately $7,000 and are granted for a period of one year (typically Sept. to Aug.). 

One cannot hold a Canada Graduate Scholarship — Masters and a Rice Scholarship at the same time.

Application process (Deadline June 1)

A complete application includes a graduate studies application package (if a new student) — including copies of academic transcripts and two letters of reference — and a one-page (single spaced) research proposal.

Renewal process (Deadline June 1)

Given strong performance, fellowship renewal is possible. Please submit a one-page (singled spaced) statement of progress and a letter of reference from your thesis supervisory committee.

Send applications and renewals to gradstudies@mta.ca with the subject line: Rice Fellowship.

Evaluation

The Graduate Scholarships Committee, comprised of two Science faculty members whose student is not applying plus a third faculty member from the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, reviews all applications and forwards their recommendations to the Dean of Graduate Studies for a final decision.

Background

Robert Lewis Rice (1920-1985) was born in Port Mouton, Nova Scotia to Rev. Frederick Llewellyn Rice (1878-1963) and Karen Brende (1892-1943). He was a Pre-Med student at Mount Allison University from 1939-1941, before leaving Mount Allison in 1942 to work in aircraft production at the Canada Car & Foundry in Amherst, Nova Scotia. After then spending a year at the Dalhousie Medical School and enlisting with the Royal Canadian Air Force, Robert returned to Mount Allison in 1946 to complete a Bachelor of Science (1948) and Master of Science in Chemistry (1950). He was a scientist at Imperial Tobacco in Montreal for a number of years.
His brother, Frederick Anders Hudson Rice, left an endowment to the university in 1992 to establish the Robert Lewis Rice Memorial Fund.

Deadline: Dec. 1 each year

(offered by NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR)

The objective of the Canada Graduate Scholarships — Master’s (CGS M) Program is to help develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies.

The CGS-M Program provides financial support to high caliber scholars who are engaged in eligible master's or, in some cases, doctoral programs in Canada. The CGS M Program supports 2,500 students annually in all disciplines and is administered jointly by Canada’s three federal granting agencies: CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC.

The selection process and post-award administration are carried out at the university level, under the guidance of the three agencies. Students submit their application to the university at which they propose to hold their award via the Research Portal. Qualifying Canadian universities receive a CGS-M allocation indicating the number of students to whom they can award scholarships; these allocations are divided by broad fields of study: health, natural sciences and/or engineering, and social sciences and/or humanities.

For more information, visit the Canada Graduate Scholarships site.

Selection process

All eligible applicants are considered together in one pool and are assessed using the nationally established criteria.

Selection committee

Our CGS-Masters Selection Committee is comprised of the department heads from each science department.

Policy on conflicts of interest

Members are responsible for declaring any conflicts of interest prior to the review of applications. If any applicant is, has been, or will be under the direct supervision of a member, or if there is a personal link, the member must withdraw from the committee and assign an alternate from his / her department.

More generally, our institutional Policy on Conflicts of Interest in Research also apply.

Upcoming information sessions TBD

Deadline: 4 p.m. October 1, each year

These scholarships are offered by the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) to new graduate students at New Brunswick public universities and are valued at $4,000.

APPLICATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

1. How to submit

Applications are submitted via ROMEO (www.mta.ca/romeo). Detailed instructions on using the ROMEO system are noted below. 

2. Full submission

A full submission includes the following items:

• Online application form, with the following attachments:
  • Research proposal (maximum one page) and bibliography (maximum one page), as a single attachment.
  • Canadian Common CV
• Two reference assessment forms
  • These are separate forms submitted directly to the Office of Research Services in signed sealed envelopes, sent via campus (or in the case of external referees, to Office of Research Services, Mount Allison University, 65 York St., Sackville NB, E4L 1E4) OR scanned PDFs by e-mail to research@mta.ca
• NBIF Scholarship Student Data Collection Form

 

• We will also access your transcripts as submitted with your application for graduate studies, and these will be provided to the review committee as part of the assessment process (see evaluation criteria).

3. Presentation standards for research proposal and bibliography attachment

• The attachment must conform to the following presentation standards:
• Text must be single-spaced, with no more than six lines per inch.
• The acceptable font is Times New Roman (regular, minimum 11-pt.) or any comparable serif 11-point font.
• Condensed type is not acceptable.
• Set margins at a minimum of 2 cm (3/4 of an inch) all around.
• Use a left-justified, standard page layout.
• The maximum number of pages permitted for each is 1 (one). Pages in excess of the number permitted will be removed.

4. Eligibility

• You must be registered in, or have applied for and awaiting a decision from, our graduate studies program.
• You must not have completed more than 12 months of full time study in our graduate studies program at the time of taking up the award.
• Foreign students are eligible to apply.
• You may only hold one NBIF scholarship at any time.
• You may only hold one NBIF STEM scholarship, once. It is intended for new graduate students in their first year of study.

5. Evaluation criteria

Academic excellence 50%

As demonstrated by past academic results, transcripts, awards and distinctions, such as:

• Academic record
• Scholarships and awards held
• Duration of previous studies
• Type of program and courses pursued
• Course load
• Relative standing (if available)

Research potential 30%

As demonstrated by the applicant’s research history, his/her interest in discovery, the proposed research, its potential contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the field, and any anticipated outcomes, including:

• Quality and originality of contributions to research and development
• Relevance of work experience and academic training to field of proposed research
• Significance, feasibility, and merit of proposed research
• Judgment and ability to think critically
• Ability to apply skills and knowledge
• Initiative, autonomy and independence
• Research experience and achievements relative to expectations of someone with the candidate’s academic experience

Personal characteristics and interpersonal skills 20%

As demonstrated by the applicant’s past professional and relevant extracurricular interactions and collaborations, including:

• Work experience
• Leadership experience
• Project management including organizing conferences and meetings
• The ability or potential to communicate theoretical, technical and/or scientific concepts clearly and logically in written and oral formats
• Involvement in academic life
• Volunteerism/community outreach

6. Contact

For more information or assistance, please contact:

Gregory M. Sandala, PhD
Director of Research Partnerships, Office of Research Services
Mount Allison University
research@mta.ca

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION USING ROMEO

Overview

The application process involves the following:

1. Register as a user on ROMEO

2. Complete the NBIF STEM Graduate Scholarship Application form.

• a. A series of data points in various folder tabs (the form).
• b. Upload three PDFs (proposal, CCV, NBIF form).
• c. Submit.

3. Referees send reference letter separately to ORS and these are attached to your application.

4. Await decision.

Register as a user

1. Go to online system.

2. Register as a user. 

• a. Rank: Graduate student.
• b. Affiliation: choose 'Department', then select the department of your advisor (even if this is not the department associated with your major or degree program.)
• c. Complete other appropriate details, such as e-mail address, phone number, current address, etc.

3. Receive instructions to set up a password.

4. Complete your registration.

NOTE: if you have already used the ROMEO system for any other purpose, you are already registered and can skip to the application itself. If you have forgotten your password,  simply hit “Reset Password” and follow instructions.

COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM

1. Select 'Apply New' (upper right hand corner).

2. In the Student Internal Grants and Scholarships section, select 'NBIF STEM Graduate Scholarship Application'.

3. Anything marked with a red “*” is a mandatory field.

NOTE: You should regularly “Save” your work by clicking on Save in the upper left corner. You can exit any time and your saved work will be saved, and then return at a later time to work on the application. Choose “Applications: Drafts” to access your working application and to edit/update.

Project info tab

1. Title: Provide a title for your research proposal (your graduate thesis topic).

2. Start date: Enter the full date of the start of your graduate studies program.

3. End date: Enter the full date of your anticipated date of graduation.

4. Keywords: this is optional, do not feel obliged.

5. Related certifications: 

• a. If your research involves animals, check 'Add New', choose 'Animal Care', then save. No “notes” are required. It is just an administrative placeholder/reminder.
• b. If your research involves human participants, check 'Add New', choose 'Human Ethics', then save. No “notes” are required. It is just an administrative placeholder/reminder.

Project team info tab

1. Principal investigator: This will automatically pre-populate with your information.

2. Supervisor: Scroll to the bottom of this page to 'Other Project Member Info', and select 'Add New'.

• a. Do NOT type any information in any of the boxes.
• b. Choose 'Search Profiles'.
• c. Type in the last name of your supervisor. 
• d. Select 'Search'.
• e. When the name(s) appear, choose 'Select' for your supervisor. All of their information will automatically pre-populate.
• f. For 'Role in Project', change the setting to supervisor.
• g. Save.

3. If you will have a co-supervisor, repeat to add a second faculty member.

• a. For 'Role in Project', change the setting to co-supervisor.

NOTE: If you have one or more additional co-supervisors from other universities, you will not find them in the ROMEO system. In the “Comments” box beneath your supervisor’s information, simply type in details about any other formal co-supervisors. Do not include those who might be “readers” of your thesis.

Project sponsor info tab

This is an administrative section only, do not do anything in this section.

NBIF STEM Graduate Scholarship Application tab

Application details sub-tab

1. Items are self-explanatory, all questions must be answered.

2. For the two “number of months” questions, you must put in an answer for each, even if “0”.

3. For 'Keywords' and for 'Fields of Study', you must put in at least one each; you are not obligated to include more.

Attachments tab

There are three attachments: 

1. Add attachment: Do your research proposal and bibliography first. This is a one page research proposal (maximum) with a one page bibliography (maximum), for a combined single two-page document.

• a. Browse and upload.
• b. Doc agreement: Application.
• c. Add attachment.

2. Repeat for Canadian Common CV (as generated by the CCV system).

• a. Doc agreement: Select CV/Resume.

3. Repeat for NBIF Graduate Student Data Collection Form.

• a. Doc agreement: Application.

Note: A copy of your transcripts, as submitted for graduate studies admission, will be added to your application, as will the two reference letters provided by your referees. These documents will be obtained directly by the Office of Research Services.

Submission

1. Save.

2. Submit.

• a. If you get an error message, check the error tab to see what needs to be fixed.

3. A “Submit” dialog box will appear to complete the process. Type in the word “complete” in the box, and press 'Submit'.

4. You will receive an auto-message from the system confirming that you successfully submitted your application.

Deadline: Jan. 15 each year

Each year, CFUW provides a range of post-graduate awards and fellowships to women through its Charitable Trust Fund.

The CFUW Fellowships and Awards Program is an affirmative action program as provided for in the Constitution of Canada and eligibility is restricted to women.

CFUW's Fellowship and Award winners have produced work in a variety of academic areas, including international humanitarian efforts, feminist and gender analysis, advanced science, medicine, social justice and human rights for women and girls.

For more information, visit the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) Awards and Fellowships site.

Deadline: Nov. 15 each year

The Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program encourages and promotes bi-national collaborative research and thoughtful public debate on topics that reflect the broad range of contemporary issues relevant to Canada, the United States, and the relationship between the two countries.

Canada-U.S. Fulbright awards offer a unique opportunity to explore a wide range of scholarly issues, including important contemporary issues that are relevant to Canada, to the United States, and to the relationship between the two countries.

While the competition is officially field-open, the program is especially keen to support students in the humanities, in the areas of communications and culture, in Canadian-American relations, in all areas of contemporary public policy, on topics relating to culture and to the environment, law, Indigenous issues, and in pure and applied sciences.

For more information, visit the Fulbright Program site.

Deadline: February each year

Two classes of Mackenzie King Scholarship are available to graduates of Canadian universities: the Open Scholarship and the Traveling Scholarship. Both are to support graduate study.

The Open Scholarship is available to graduates of Canadian universities who pursue graduate study in any discipline, in Canada or elsewhere. One Open Scholarship is awarded each year. The value has recently been about $9,000 but it is subject to change.

The Traveling Scholarship is available to graduates of Canadian universities who pursue graduate study in the United States or the United Kingdom in the areas of international relations or industrial relations. Recently four scholarships of $11,000 each have been awarded annually, but the number and the amount are subject to change.

For more information, visit the Mackenzie King Scholarships site or contact the Office of Research Services at research@mta.ca

Important note: Applications are submitted internally, first, to the Office of Research Services, 213 Centennial Hall (research@mta.ca), to facilitate the internal selection and nomination process to the national competition.

Deadline: Nov. 1 each year

The Leonard and Kathleen O'Brien Humanitarian Trust provide postgraduate scholarships for current or former residents of the Province of New Brunswick who are pursuing advanced (master’s and Ph.D.) study or research in any academic, artistic, or professional field at any recognized university or research establishment. Each year, ten scholarships are offered that vary between $5,000 and $15,000.

For more information, visit the O'Brien Foundation site: Eligibility and Conditions and How to apply