Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program 2024

Have you been looking for an opportunity to further your education in Toronto? If yes, and you are seeking graduate admission into a Master’s Degree or Doctoral Degree, you have to take all the information that you are going to see in this article very seriously. The application for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program 2024 is currently ongoing.

Students in graduate studies at the master’s and doctoral levels can apply for a merit-based scholarship through the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) Program.

Awards are available to graduate students in all disciplines of academic study at participating schools in Ontario.

The Province of Ontario contributes two thirds of the funding for each award, while the school giving it provides the remaining third.

Table of Contents

How much can I get
- Lifetime Maximums
Ontario Graduate Scholarship Eligibility
Ontario Graduate Scholarship Participating Schools
How to Apply for Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program
- Application Requirements (All Components are online.)
Indigenous Scholars Award
Contacts & Resources

How much can I get

OGS awards are based on the number of terms of your consecutive studies within an academic year:

$10,000 for 2 consecutive study terms
$15,000 for 3 consecutive study terms

Each OGS award is issued for:

a minimum of 1 academic year (2 or 3 consecutive academic terms)
a maximum of 2 years (up to 6 consecutive academic terms).

Lifetime Maximums

The OGS award maximums are:

Master’s students: 2 academic years
Doctoral students: 4 academic years
Lifetime limit (all students): 6 academic years

Related Posts:

Ontario Graduate Scholarship Eligibility

Applicants must:

Be a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) by the student deadline as determined by each graduate unit; International students who are studying or plan to study at the University of Toronto under a temporary resident visa (student study permit) are eligible for a set number of OGS awards (valid study permits must be effective as of the graduate units’ OGS international application deadline);
- COVID-19 exception: Currently registered international graduate students who have not yet been able to obtain a study permit due to COVID-19 circumstances are eligible to apply. However, these applicants must have a valid study permit in order to receive the award.
Be registered or intend to register in an eligible program on a full-time basis in 2024–2025;
- A full-time program at the University of Toronto lasting two or three terms that culminates in a graduate degree is considered eligible. A full-time student is one who is in at least 60% of a full course load (40% for students with a permanent disability) or as defined by their institution. Program eligibility is determined individually by each graduate unit. Students should carefully review the information outlined by the graduate unit they intend to be registered in, to determine if their program is eligible for the graduate unit’s OGS competition.
Have not exceeded the lifetime maximum of government-funded support or maximum OGS/QEII support available for their current level of study (see Maximum Support below); and
Have achieved at least A- (or equivalent) in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent); or if the student has completed two years or more of graduate studies at the time of application, the student must only demonstrate an overall average of at least A- (or equivalent) on all graduate courses completed.
- NEW: At the graduate unit’s discretion, exceptions may be made for highly meritorious applicants who are below the required GPA minimum. Examples of cases in which a unit may consider granting an exception include (but are not limited to): applicants with documented medical issues or family care responsibilities; applicants who have pursued alternative career paths; or mature students with professional experience. Contact your proposed graduate unit(s) to confirm their use of this eligibility criterion.

Note: If marks used for calculating an applicant’s grade point average (GPA) are not available (e.g., courses were graded on a pass-fail basis), then the next most recent available undergraduate or graduate marks should be used to determine eligibility.

Apply for Queen Elizabeth Common Wealth International Scholarship

Eligibility to Hold an OGS Award

To hold an OGS award, recipients:

Must register and remain enrolled as a full-time student at U of T in an eligible program at the graduate unit from which the OGS was awarded;
Who withdraw, transfer to part-time status, complete degree requirements prior to the end of their award, or fail to complete the full session will be required to repay the funds received for the incomplete session;
Must be in good standing with the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). Applicants who have defaulted on a Canada or Ontario Student Loan, or have failed to make satisfactory repayment on a loan overpayment, are ineligible to receive the award. Those with an OSAP restriction may still apply for the OGS. However, if awarded, they must have the restriction cleared within 30 days of notification in order to accept and hold the award;
May accept research assistantships, part-time teaching positions, or other paid employment that does not affect their status as a full-time graduate student and is commensurate with the graduate unit policies. Typically, students holding full-time paid employment are not eligible to receive an OGS from the University of Toronto; and
Cannot hold an OGS award in the same session (overlapping) or in the same award year as a scholarship from SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR, QEII-GSST, or another OGS.

The eligibility criteria provided here are the minimum requirements only. Graduate units may impose additional criteria to apply, receive, or hold an OGS. Please inquire with your graduate unit regarding any additional requirements or conditions to those listed here.

Maximum Support

Students are limited in the number of years that they may hold an OGS.

Master’s students may receive a maximum of two years of OGS/QEII-GSST awards. Doctoral students may receive a maximum of four years of OGS/QEII awards. Both are subject to a lifetime maximum of six years per student.

In addition, OGS guidelines restrict students to a lifetime maximum of six years of government-funded awards and prohibit students from holding an OGS and another government-funded award concurrently.

Awards under the following programs are included in these restrictions:

Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS)
Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST) (formerly OGSST)
Ontario Trillium Scholarships (OTS)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS)

Ontario Graduate Scholarship Participating Schools

Brock University
Carleton University
University of Guelph
Lakehead University
Laurentian University
McMaster University
Nipissing University
OCAD University
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
University of Ottawa
Queen’s University
Ryerson University
University of Toronto
Trent University
University of Waterloo
Western University
Wilfrid Laurier University
University of Windsor
York University

Check:

How to Apply for Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program

Applicants must submit an OGS application to their proposed graduate unit using the U of T School of Graduate Studies centralized online OGS application. Each graduate unit will have their own internal submission deadline to which applicants must adhere. Prior to applying, applicants should review the OGS Application Instructions.

Once the entire application has been completed and submitted online, it will be made available to the proposed graduate unit for review and consideration.

Important note for prospective students: OGS awards are not transferrable between universities or between graduate units at U of T. Accordingly, students must submit an OGS application to each graduate unit for which they are seeking admission at U of T and to each Ontario institution if applying to multiple universities (each institution will have its own unique OGS application and process).

Important note for visa students: Applicants holding a valid study permit by the graduate unit’s OGS international application deadline are eligible to apply following the same application process and internal deadlines set by their current or proposed graduate unit. Graduate units will select and forward a limited number of applications to the School of Graduate Studies to compete in a centralized adjudication.

Application Requirements (All Components are online.)

OGS application form
Transcripts from all post-secondary institutions (unofficial and student-issued transcripts are permitted; e.g., ACORN screenshots).
Previous awards/publications/conference/research experience.
Plan of study (Maximum 2 pages: 1 page for Plan of Study, 1 page for references/citations).
Two academic references (referees will be required to submit online).

Indigenous Scholars Award

The Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) has permitted universities to offer a minimum of two (2) OGS awards exclusively to Indigenous graduate students with the aim to recognize excellence and promote equitable access and participation in the Ontario Graduate Scholarship program by Indigenous applicants.

Graduate students who are Indigenous to Canada* (recognized in the Constitution Act, 1982 as a person who identifies with First nations (Status/Non-Status), Métis, or Inuit) and have indicated this status on their OGS application will be eligible to be considered for one of at least three (3) Ontario Graduate Scholarship Indigenous Scholar Awards and other Indigenous awards offered by the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto, such as the McCuaig-Throop Fund and the newly created SGS Inclusive Excellence Graduate Scholarship each valued at $10,000.

*“Indigenous peoples” is a collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants. “Aboriginal peoples” is also often used as a synonym. For the purposes of this program, the University of Toronto uses the Canadian Constitution Act, 1982 definition of Aboriginal peoples as including the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.

Contacts & Resources

For step-by-step application process, click on the “Application Instructions” button at the top of this webpage.

Please direct questions regarding the OGS competition or nomination process to your graduate unit.
Questions regarding the administration of the award at SGS and technical support for the application may be directed to:

Debbie Chau, Graduate Awards Officer
Graduate Awards Office
School of Graduate Studies
ogs@utoronto.ca
416-978-2382

You May Also Like:

Kindly use the comment section in case of any other question about Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program 2024.

Do well to share this information if it has helped you.

Share on