NSERC Information Session for Physics Students

Dr. Sharon Morsink

Assoc. Chair Grad Studies

Department of Physics

Outline

• What is NSERC?

• Why apply?

• How to apply?

• Adjudication Process

• What goes into a winning application?

• Questions & (hopefully) Answers

NSERC

• NSERC = Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

• The main science funding agency in Canada• Professors get their main funding from

NSERC, who then use grants to buy equipment, hire students & postdocs

• NSERC also directly sponsors undergrads, graduate students & postdocs

MSc NSERC Scholarships• PGSM = Post Grad Scholarship MSc $17,300/year for 1

year. Scholarship can be taken to any University in Canada or Internationally

• CGSM = Canada Grad Schol. MSc $17,500/year for 1 year. Scholarship can only be held in Canada

• There is one application form for both programs - NSERC decides which scholarship you get.

• Students presently in 4th year undergrad can get a 1 year scholarship to cover 1st year of MSc

• Students presently in 1st year MSc can get a 1 year scholarship to cover 2nd year of MSc

• If you are accepted directly into a PhD program, you can get the 1 year MSc NSERC scholarship.

PhD NSERC Scholarships

• PGSD = $21,000/year for up to 3 years Scholarship can be held in Canada or Internationally

• CGSD = $35,000/year for up to 3 years Scholarship can be held only in Canada

• One application for both. NSERC decides which scholarship you get.

• Students can apply if they are:– presently in MSc program (or finished MSc).– in 1st or 2nd year of PhD.– In 3rd year of PhD iff directly BSc->PhD program.

Postdoctoral Fellowship

• NSERC PDF = $40,000/year for 2 years

• PDF may not be held at the same University where you were a PhD student

• Strongly recommend that you take fellowship outside of Canada!

• Apply directly to NSERC (by Oct. 15)

Statistics from Past Years2008/09

N. Apps

2008/09

N. Award

2009/10

N. Apps

2009/10

N. Awards

MSc 10 6 11 5

PhD 11 7 13 9

PDF ? 2 ? 0

N. Apps = Number of Students submitting apps to PhysicsPhysics adjudicates these and sends a smaller number to FGSR.FGSR then adjudicates and sends a smaller number to NSERC. For applications sent by FGSR to NSERC, success rate is ~ 70% to 80%

Advantages of NSERC

• Students with an NSERC scholarship will be accepted into any Canadian U

• You do not have to do your grad studies at U of A, but you will apply through us.

• Major Universities will give you top-up scholarships & funding to attract you

Example: U of A Physics

• MSc NSERC holders:– Tuition scholarship each year you hold

NSERC (approx value $4,000 per year)– $7,000 “signing bonus” for first year of MSc– Option of a 3hr per week Teaching

Assistantship. (approx. $4,000 over 8 months)

Most major Canadian Universities offer similar incentives

U of A Example continued

• PhD NSERC holders (PGS & CGS):– Tuition scholarship each year you hold

NSERC– $10,000 bonus for 1st year– Option of 3hr per week Teaching

Assistantship

NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship

• If offered a NSERC PDF, you can negotiate for extra top-ups or an extra year of funding etc…

• Talk to me for advice

Selection Criteria

• Academic Excellence: grades, scholarships– 50% for MSc, 30% for PhD, 0% for PDF– GPA minimum officially 3.5, but lots of published papers

can allow a lower GPA. – Higher GPA (3.7 or so) usually required for MSc level

• Research Achievements or Potential: research experience, papers co-authored, talks at conferences, quality of research proposal– 30% for MSc, 50% for PhD, 70% for PDF

• Communication & Leadership: talks at conferences, extra-curricular activities, volunteering, teaching awards– 20% for MSc, 20% for PhD, 30% for PDF

Adjudication for MSc & PhD• The Department of Physics adjudicates the

applications submitted on September 27.• We rank the applications and sometimes send the

applications back to students to ask for corrections/improvements.

• We have a maximum number of applications that can be sent to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR).

• FGSR then ranks applications from different department and sends the best to NSERC

• NSERC then ranks applications from different schools and selects the top ones for scholarships.

How to apply?• Log onto the NSERC online system:

http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/OnlineServices-ServicesEnLigne/Index_eng.asp• Logon and create Form 201.

Form 201• Most of this is easy to do• List schools attended and degrees granted• List work experience• List scholarships• Summarize previous thesis (if applicable) only for PhD

and PDF level• Justification for location of tenure is only for PDF level• MSc & PhD level scholarships do not require that you

be accepted into a program.• You can put down any University that you might want

to attend. The choice is not binding.

Transcripts• Order official paper copies of your transcripts (from all

universities that you have attended) and have them mailed to:

Sarah Derr, Graduate Student AdvisorRoom # 2-38 CEB 11322-89th AvenueUniversity of Alberta, Edmonton Alberta, Canada T6G 2G7

• UofA graduate students with transcripts from international universities can talk to Sarah Derr about getting official copies made.

• On the page “Transcripts - University” leave the “University Designate” box empty. You will be contacted with the correct name to be added later on.

The Research Proposal• The research proposal is very important• For students who have not yet done research, choose a topic that you

find interesting and write a one-page description of the research area. • For more advanced students, write a proposal that is about 1/3

general so that any scientist (outside of physics) could understand it and then go into more details so that any physicist could understand it. Don’t use jargon!!!!

• The person reading your proposal might not do research in your specialized field!

• Explain the importance of your proposed research in the context of your area of interest

• If you have a supervisor, ask him/her to read your proposal and give you comments about what to change.

• If you don’t have a supervisor, give me your proposal before Fri. Sept 24. I will read and make comments.

Contributions & Statement

3 parts1. Contributions to Research & Development =

papers*, patents, posters * = If you have a paper that might be submitted soon after the application

deadline, tell me the details.

2. Most Significant ContributionsDescribe importance of 3 most important papers. (for PhD & PDF only)Describe your contribution to collaborative work.

3. Applicant’s Statement (next slide)

Applicant’s Statement

• (a) Research Experience - Describe relevant experience that is not already listed

• (b) Relevant Activities - Describe talks, presentations, extracurricular activities, anything that shows “leadership” and communication abilities

• ( c) Special Circumstances - If your grades were low due to illness, etc…

• Don’t include ( c) if you don’t have any special circumstances.

Reference Letters• Ask two professors if they can write a reference letter for

you. Do this today!• Best if professor knows something about your research.• If a postdoctoral fellow is familiar with your research, you

can use the PDF as a reference.• Enter the name and email address of the 2 letter writers.• The NSERC application system will send them emails

requesting that they write a letter.• The professors must fill out the on-line form and then print-

out a copy and mail, email or fax it to me or Sarah Derr.• Letters are due (in Department of Physics) on Monday

Sept 27 for MSc and PhD level NSERC

Deadlines• September 27, in Sarah Derr’s Office CEB 238E for MSc & PhD level • You must print out a paper copy of your application and give it to

Sarah. • Make sure that Sarah Derr has a copy of your official transcripts. • Do NOT hit “submit” on the on-line NSERC application. Wait until the

FGSR (or I) tell you that it is ready to be officially submitted to NSERC. (You can’t make changes once you hit submit!!!!)

• Students who graduated before 2010 apply directly to NSERC• PDF applications are sent directly to NSERC by Oct 15. Students

apply for a postdoc can give me a paper copy of their application for comments.

• This talk (and information sheets) will be posted on my website at: www.ualberta.ca/~morsink