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External scholarships

There are a number of national and provincial granting agencies that annually fund graduate students and their research. These are merit-based fellowships that must be applied for individually. Most of the agencies have specific application guidelines and deadlines.

The funding opportunities below all require an internal pre-selection process coordinated through the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Transcripts required for external competitions

Most external scholarship competitions require official transcripts for all your completed post-secondary studies. It is your responsibility for ensuring that transcripts are official or unofficial (if allowed for the competition) and are either attached to the application or delivered to FGS, depending on the requirements of the competition. Make sure you are aware of the deadlines for any external scholarships you are applying for. Transcripts must be complete, official copies. Make sure to order transcripts very early and have them sent directly to you, not to a UVic office.

*If your transcript includes any transfer credits from another post-secondary institution, you must include an original official transcript from that institution or your application will be ineligible. It your responsibility to ensure transcripts are uploaded or sent to FGS (check application instructions) by the required deadlines.

If you have any questions or concerns about transcripts, please contact Donja RobertsKathy McCarthy or Lisa Pender.

Other external funding opportunities

There are many external funding competitions that you can apply for directly. These do not involve an extra pre-selection step at the university level. As we find out about opportunities, we forward the information to departmental graduate secretaries across campus. They'll send out the announcements through their student email distribution lists. Make sure that you have your preferred email address on your graduate secretary's email list.

Available to all

Name Deadline Amount Audience Department
Sara Spencer Foundation Graduate Scholarship
One or more scholarships, to a maximum of $3,000 each, are awarded to academically outstanding graduate students who are doing research in applied Social Sciences focusing on cultural, environmental, or social studies within/encompassing the Capital Regional District (CRD).
TBD for 2024 up to $3000 PhD Masters External awards Gender-based Indigenous students Hispanic and Italian Studies Health Information Science Biology Biochemistry and Microbiology English Music Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education Business Medieval Studies Geography Pacific and Asian Studies Library Linguistics Philosophy Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health History Human and Social Development Environmental Studies Mathematics and Statistics Greek and Roman Studies Public Administration Chemistry Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies Gender Studies Physics and Astronomy Visual Arts Psychology Education Computer Science Humanities Earth and Ocean Sciences Public Health and Social Policy Theatre French Economics Nursing Fine Arts Sociology Science Engineering and Computer Science Writing Anthropology Law Child and Youth Care Political Science Social Work Social Sciences Germanic and Slavic Studies Art History and Visual Studies
Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement (MSFSS)
The MSFSS program supports active Tri-Council master's and doctoral CGS award holders with travel supplements of up to $6,000. These supplements are available to help offset the costs of undertaking research studies outside of Canada for a defined period.
June or October Up to $6,000 PhD Masters External awards Computer Science Human and Social Development Science Chemistry Humanities Sociology Theatre Library Business Linguistics Psychology Biology Medieval Studies Art History and Visual Studies Child and Youth Care Public Health and Social Policy Political Science Earth and Ocean Sciences Economics Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education Mathematics and Statistics Hispanic and Italian Studies Philosophy Music French Health Information Science Education History Social Work Anthropology Fine Arts Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health Pacific and Asian Studies Gender Studies Visual Arts Writing Nursing Social Sciences Environmental Studies English Law Biochemistry and Microbiology Geography Greek and Roman Studies Physics and Astronomy Public Administration Germanic and Slavic Studies
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships
Prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) of $50,000/yr are available to Canadian and international graduate students who demonstrate both leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement and are pursuing doctoral study at a Canadian university.
September 01, 2023, by 12:00pm (noon). Application by invitation only. Annual Value $50,000/year for 3 years PhD External awards Masters Anthropology Medieval Studies Environmental Studies Greek and Roman Studies Gender Studies Library Chemistry Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health Education Music Biology Fine Arts Child and Youth Care Economics Theatre Pacific and Asian Studies Business English French Hispanic and Italian Studies Public Administration Health Information Science Visual Arts Computer Science Psychology Earth and Ocean Sciences Human and Social Development History Mathematics and Statistics Germanic and Slavic Studies Writing Science Geography Law Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education Sociology Humanities Political Science Social Work Public Health and Social Policy Nursing Art History and Visual Studies Biochemistry and Microbiology Social Sciences Physics and Astronomy Linguistics Philosophy
Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master's
The objective of the Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master’s Program (CGS M) 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.
December 1, 2023 by 20:00 (Eastern Time) $17,500 External awards Masters Theatre Philosophy Art History and Visual Studies Visual Arts Pacific and Asian Studies Law Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education Germanic and Slavic Studies Writing Business Social Work Health Information Science Music Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health Anthropology Sociology Linguistics English Gender Studies Geography Human and Social Development Public Health and Social Policy Library Earth and Ocean Sciences Physics and Astronomy Hispanic and Italian Studies Public Administration Nursing Biochemistry and Microbiology Biology Chemistry French Mathematics and Statistics Social Sciences Economics Science Greek and Roman Studies Fine Arts Environmental Studies Humanities Medieval Studies Political Science Education Computer Science Psychology History Child and Youth Care
Google PhD Fellowship
Google PhD Fellowships directly support graduate students as they pursue their PhD. Fellowships provide financial support as well as connecting recipients to a Google Research Mentor.
Spring 2024 Full tuition and fees (enrollment fees, health insurance, books) plus a stipend to be used for living expenses, travel and personal equipment. PhD External awards Psychology Linguistics Education Gender Studies Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education Philosophy Hispanic and Italian Studies Library Science Germanic and Slavic Studies Chemistry Public Health and Social Policy Law Pacific and Asian Studies Political Science Physics and Astronomy Earth and Ocean Sciences Theatre Nursing Social Work Greek and Roman Studies Writing Fine Arts Human and Social Development Computer Science History French Biochemistry and Microbiology Biology Environmental Studies Economics Art History and Visual Studies Geography Mathematics and Statistics Humanities Public Administration Visual Arts English Child and Youth Care Anthropology Health Information Science Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health Business Social Sciences Music Medieval Studies Sociology
Rhodes Scholarship
A Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom includes course fees, an annual stipend, a settling in allowance, and two economy class flights for the beginning and end of studies in Oxford.
Varies by Rhodes constituency. Refer to the How to apply section below. Varies External awards Masters PhD Undergraduate Biochemistry and Microbiology Fine Arts Art History and Visual Studies Law Writing Human and Social Development Business Germanic and Slavic Studies Humanities History Hispanic and Italian Studies Library French Nursing Environmental Studies Social Work Public Administration Social Sciences Economics Public Health and Social Policy Education Theatre Science Pacific and Asian Studies Physics and Astronomy Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health Anthropology Computer Science Music Earth and Ocean Sciences Greek and Roman Studies Gender Studies Geography English Mathematics and Statistics Sociology Political Science Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education Philosophy Child and Youth Care Medieval Studies Visual Arts Health Information Science Psychology Biology Chemistry Linguistics
Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral (CGS D) program
The Canada Graduate Scholarships – Doctoral (CGS D) program is a federal program of scholarships awarded through national competitions by the granting agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
CIHR and NSERC: UVic internal deadline October 4, 2023 at 12:00pm (PT) Up to $35,000 PhD Students with disabilities External awards Sociology Public Health and Social Policy Social Work Environmental Studies Writing Political Science Mathematics and Statistics French Nursing Gender Studies Health Information Science Business English Greek and Roman Studies Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health Art History and Visual Studies Computer Science Geography Music Humanities Education Visual Arts Philosophy Fine Arts Theatre Pacific and Asian Studies Public Administration Physics and Astronomy Child and Youth Care Linguistics Library History Biology Chemistry Earth and Ocean Sciences Medieval Studies Hispanic and Italian Studies Economics Anthropology Human and Social Development Psychology Social Sciences Science Law Germanic and Slavic Studies Biochemistry and Microbiology
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
The German Academic Exchange Service/Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) provides study and research scholarships to highly qualified graduate students.
UVic internal deadline Friday, October 20, 2023 (midnight Pacific Time). DAAD external deadline Friday, November 3, 2023 (midnight Central European Time). Varies External awards Gender-based Masters Nursing Library Physics and Astronomy Fine Arts Biochemistry and Microbiology Child and Youth Care Philosophy Engineering and Computer Science Linguistics Sociology Psychology Public Administration Hispanic and Italian Studies Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education History English Medieval Studies Writing Pacific and Asian Studies Biology Theatre Business Gender Studies Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health Geography Political Science French Art History and Visual Studies Visual Arts Humanities Germanic and Slavic Studies Economics Chemistry Computer Science Science Earth and Ocean Sciences Education Health Information Science Social Work Greek and Roman Studies Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies Public Health and Social Policy Human and Social Development Anthropology Music Social Sciences Environmental Studies Law Mathematics and Statistics

Application help

We have many resources to help you apply to external funding competitions.

Our resources include tips for scholarship referees. You can give this information to the academic professionals who are contributing letters of reference to support your funding application.