The Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements Pilot Initiative is a funding opportunity for Indigenous students that have applied or will apply to receive funding through the Canada Graduate Scholarship in the Master’s stream.

The Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s stream provides financial support to scholars who are enrolled in an eligible master’s or doctoral program in Canada.

Successful applicants will receive the Indigenous Scholars award and/or the Indigenous Scholars Supplement depending on if they have already been offered the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s.

The Indigenous Scholars Award and Supplement are valued as follows:

  • Indigenous Scholars Award: $17,500 over 12 months.
  • Indigenous Scholars Supplement: $5,000 over 12 months.

Eligibility: 

  • Self-identify as Indigenous
  • Eligible to apply to the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s program. To be eligible, applicant must:
    • be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a Protected Person under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
    • be enrolled in, have applied for or will apply for full-time studies for an eligible graduate program at the master’s or doctoral level at an eligible Canadian institution
    • as of December 31 of the year applicant is applying, completed at least 0-4 and up to 12 months of full-time studies in the program they are requesting funding for (click here for details on number of required months).
    • not have held or be currently holding a CGS M scholarship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
    • have achieved a first-class average, as determined by the host institution, in the last two completed years of study. Note: Applicant should contact proposed host institutions to determine their use of this eligibility criterion, some do not require a first-class average
  • Have Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s application deemed meritorious in the review process

Note: To be eligible for this scholarship, only 1 scholarship or fellowship application may be submitted to CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC per academic year.

How to apply: 

  • Apply for the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s program. Click here for instructions.
  • Select “Indigenous Scholars Award and Supplement Pilot Initiative” in the drop-down menu in the “Supplements/Joint Initiatives” section of the application form, under the “social sciences and/or humanities” or “natural sciences and engineering” field of research
  • Submit a personal statement (3,000 characters maximum) describing how their proposed research project, career and/or education goals have been influenced by their experience as an Indigenous person.

Click here for a list of more program resources for this scholarship.

Deadline: 

Deadline to apply is 7:00 pm on December 1, 2022.