• Value

  Alberta Innovates funding is available to successful applicants as full scholarships and top-up scholarships. NSERC, Vanier, China Scholarship Council and other external peer-reviewed award holders who win an Alberta Innovates GSS will receive an automatic top-up for the duration of their eligibility, and this top up value may increase to the full scholarship value when the external funding ends, for the remainder of the Alberta Innovates scholarship terms, if applicable.

  Master's full value: $26,500
  PhD full value: $31,500
  Top-up value: $12,000
  
  Scholarship terms vary from one to four years, depending on the circumstances of the applicant.

• Eligibility

  Eligible applicant requirements:

  • A minimum 3.5 GPA is an eligibility requirement for all applicants. The GPA will be calculated based on the most recent 15 units of course weight, or, if a student is newly admitted, AGPA will be used to determine eligibility.
  • Students applying for a master's level Alberta Innovates GSS must have been admitted to their master's program no earlier than Spring 2017.
  • Students applying for a doctoral level Alberta Innovates GSS must have been admitted to their doctoral program no earlier than Spring 2015. Please note that in case when you transfer from a master's to a PhD program, the time spent in your master's program counts towards the time spend in your PhD.
  • There are no citizenship restrictions on this award.
  • Your study and research must fall into the categories funded by Alberta Innovates: ICT, Nano and Omics.
  • If you are not yet registered in a graduate program at UAlberta, your eligibility to apply for the Alberta Innovates GSS is contingent upon meeting all eligibility requirements for admission to a UAlberta graduate program. You should contact your prospective department for information on those requirements and must apply for this competition through that department.
  • Each candidate must be sponsored by a faculty supervisor, possessing both a record of productive research within an Alberta Innovates-funded research area (ICT, Nano, Omics) and sufficient resources to ensure the satisfactory conduct of the research.
  • Students cannot receive more than a total of four years of combined Master’s/doctoral funding from Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship including any previous funding from the heritage organizations (Alberta Ingenuity and iCORE).
  

  Additional details can be found in the 2017 Alberta Innovates GSS Program Guidelines and Handbook.

  The following categories of students are not eligible to apply:

  • Students who have previously accepted support from Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship, Alberta Ingenuity or iCORE in a doctoral program.
  • Students who accept support from Alberta Innovates Graduate Studentship (Health), cannot receive simultaneous support from the Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship program.
  • Students who accept support from NSERC’s Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships (IPS) program cannot receive simultaneous support from the Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship program.
• Application Procedures

  Consult your department regarding their application process and internal deadline.

  Applications sent directly to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) by the applicant and/or applications received without a University of Alberta ID# will not be considered.

  Application

  Complete application package contains: 

  1. Please use the official Application form - ensure that both you and your supervisor have signed the application

  2. Two Letter of Reference: Applicants are required to submit a completed and signed Letter of Reference to Support Application for Graduate Awards Form. This particular form is mandatory.
  

  3. Copies of transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.

  • Incoming admitted students: All transcripts of university degree programs submitted as part of the admission application are accessible to FGSR. No additional transcripts are required.
  • Current UAlberta students: Up-to-date U of A transcripts are the only transcripts FGSR requires.
  • Foreign Transcripts: If FGSR does not have a certified English translation of your transcript on file, one must be submitted with the application. If unsure, please contact us, grad.awards@ualberta.ca, to confirm whether or not we have an English translation of your transcript.
  
• Nomination Procedures

  For Departments only:

  Please see the 2017 Alberta Innovates GSS Competition Memo for additional information.

  Please use the FGSR Department Nominee Ranking Form to rank your applicants.

  Note: For this competition be sure to rank your PhD and master's applicants separately. Please also rank all applicants, including those who hold an NSERC, Vanier, China Scholarship Council or other external peer-reviewed award.

• Adjudication Procedures
  FGSR will review all applications for eligibility and completeness and forward them to the Graduate Scholarship Committee (GSC) for adjudication. The GSC will evaluate the applicants based on excellence and strategic alignment in Platform Areas of scientific research important to Alberta. These Areas are: Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Nanotechnology and Omics; (Omics consists of: Genomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics, Transcriptomics and Regulomics) in and of themselves or which additionally support the innovation priority areas of Environment & Climate, Energy, Food & Agriculture, Fibre/Bioindustrial and Health.
• Deadline

  Applications must be delivered to your department by their internal deadline date.

  2018 Competition Deadline: TBA- Deadline for departments to submit application packages to FGSR (including ranked lists) via email to grad.awards@ualberta.ca (see instructions in the memo).
  
• Additional Information

  Application Outcome

  •Candidates whose applications are forwarded to FGSR by the departments will be notified of the adjudication outcome by FGSR via the e-mail address provided on their application.
  •Departments will also be notified of the adjudication outcome by FGSR.
  

  Important Notes

  If you receive a master's level Alberta Innovates GSS and then switch into a doctoral program, conversion of your funding to the PhD level is not guaranteed.
  
  If you were awarded a multi-year renewal Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship:
  • Ensure that you are full-time registered in the renewal year
  • Ensure that you maintained a GPA of 3.5 or higher in the past year
  • Submit a renewal form to FGSR 6 weeks in advance of your funding ending.
  
  Students who have been awarded an Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship need to complete final reports.
  For more information, complete eligibility and binding rules for holding Alberta Innovates GSS, please see the 2017 Alberta Innovates GSS Program Guidelines and Handbook.

Alberta Innovates - Distinctive Awards 

• Bill Bridger Awards of Excellence

  Value

  The Bill Bridger Awards of Excellence consist of a conference grant of up to $3,000 to attend an international conference of the recipient’s choice.

  Eligibility

  Awarded annually to one exceptional Graduate Student Scholarship recipient in any eligible research area who has demonstrated outstanding achievement at each of the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, and University of Lethbridge.

  Adjudication Procedures

  One recipient is chosen by their university annually from the current Alberta Innovates GSS competition and the awards are administered directly by Alberta Innovates. 
• Len Bolger Memorial Scholarships

  Value

  The Len Bolger Memorial Scholarship consists of a yearly stipend of $13,000 in addition to the Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship, for as long as the student receives the Graduate Student Scholarship.

  Eligibility

  Awarded annually to one exceptional Graduate Student Scholarship recipient conducting energy–themed innovation research at each of the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, and University of Lethbridge.

  Adjudication Procedures

  One recipient is chosen by the respective university annually from the current Alberta Innovates competition and the awards are administered directly by the respective universities alongside the recipient's Graduate Student Scholarship.