General Information
Medals
The Governor General's Medal, Graduate Level
Awarded annually to a graduating student of very high academic standing in a master's or doctoral program of study. Donor: His/Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada. Established in 1988.University Medal at the Ph.D. Level
Awarded at each convocation ceremony, when merited, to a graduating student for outstanding academic achievement at the Ph.D. level. Established in 1982.
University Medal at the Master's Level
Awarded at each convocation ceremony, when merited, to a graduating student for outstanding academic achievement at the master's level. Established in 1982.Awards Policy
In recent years Carleton graduate students have been increasingly successful in winning highly competitive external scholarships. These include: the Doctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Postgraduate Scholarships (Master’s and Doctoral) and Industrial Postgraduate Scholarship (IPS) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) Scholarships (Master’s and Doctoral), as well as Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The Province of Ontario provides funding for the Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS), and the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST) for students enrolled in graduate programs in Ontario institutions.
In addition, the University itself provides generous support, and the majority of graduate students receive funds from this source.
Students who hold such awards must pay regular/full time tuition fees unless otherwise stated.
Full-time graduate students at Carleton University are expected to comply with the following procedure. Any full-time graduate student who accepts an award that is not directly administered by Carleton University must immediately inform his/her departmental chair and the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in writing. This requirement applies to any awards or financial assistance offered by any agency or institution.
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines can be found at https://gsapplications.carleton.ca .Students who receive offers of funding from the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs are required to respond to the offer within 30 days of date of the letter.
Method of Payment
All awards administered by Carleton are paid on the 15th and the 30th of each month. The exception is the first month of each term (September, January, May) when all awards are paid at the end of the month. Students receiving awards of any kind are urged to note the above payment dates and be prepared to be financially self-sufficient during these months.
In addition, students receiving teaching assistantships, scholarships, or any other kind of award or bursary should note that the deadlines for payroll may differ from the registration deadlines. In the first month of each term (September, January and May) students must have completed registration, including finalizing arrangements for the payment of fees, no later than the 15th of the month, in order to be eligible to receive payments at the end of the month.
Eligibility
In the case of fellowships, grants, scholarships, etc., for which students must make application, it is the individual student's responsibility to establish his/her eligibility. Should it become known that a student is unqualified for any reason, he/she must return the funds already received, with the University assuming no responsibility.
Departments recommending students for internal awards must accept full responsibility for the eligibility of their nominees.
Students are urged to consult carefully the brochures and announcements that specify the conditions associated with tenure of individual awards.
This information is available in the office of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs and in departmental offices.
Awards Administered by Carleton University
The awards administered by Carleton University are derived from a variety of sources. Throughout the years, a number of individuals and organizations have contributed substantial funds to the University, through bequests and donations, in order to help support students in various fields of study.
These sums, together with the assistantship funds made available from the University budget, make up the reservoir from which the Carleton scholarships and assistantships are drawn.
It is not always possible to identify precisely the sources of various donations and bequests (often small, but most important in the aggregate) from which any graduate student's financial support has been constructed. In the following cases, however, either because of the relative importance of the contribution or because of the fact that it is earmarked for a specific type of student or program, we do identify the external source from which the award has originated.
Please refer to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs Web site at: www.gs.carleton.ca for a complete, current listing of all awards available to graduate students. Unless stated otherwise, graduate students must be registered full-time in the term in which the award is held in order to be eligible to receive the awards listed below.
Awards Tenable at Carleton University
Government Aid Programs
Ontario Student Assistance Program
The Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is a program designed to help Ontario students cover the cost of post-secondary education. Funded by the federal and Ontario governments, OSAP is intended to promote equality of opportunity for post-secondary studies through direct financial assistance for educational costs and living expenses. These interest-free loans are intended to supplement your financial resources and those of your family.
To determine whether you are eligible for OSAP and to ensure that you have the proper funding for the start of your studies in September, you should submit your OSAP application by June 1. Application forms are available at the OSAP website at osap.gov.on.ca. After you submit your online OSAP application you must print off your Declaration and Consent Forms. It is essential that you sign and forward these documents to the Awards Office. Your OSAP application does not process until the forms are received. For further information please visit the OSAP website or contact the Awards Office at awards@carleton.ca
Other provincial assistance programs
If you don't live in Ontario, you may be eligible for loans and bursaries through your home province or territory. "Home" province or territory is usually defined as the province in which you currently reside or the province in which you have most recently lived and worked for 12 consecutive months (excluding residence for full-time attendance at a post-secondary institution).
Emergency Loans
If, as a registered student, you run into unexpected expenses or your student loan is delayed, you may be able to borrow up to $700 from the University’s emergency loan fund until your other funds arrive. Applications are available from the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs Office.
Parker Loans
If you are enrolled as a full-time student, you may be eligible to borrow up to $1,000 if you are in your first year of studies at Carleton, and $1,500 in future years to meet your educational expenses for the academic year. Payment is due July 1. Applications are available from the Awards Office.