The Weston Family Doctoral award is for two years of study at $25,000 per year, while the master's award is for $15,000 for one year. There is also the possibility to apply for additional funding through the "Extended Stay" program, where you can engage with communities you work with or in proximity to. The scholarship is awarded through Scholarship Partners Canada which has a portal to submit your documentation. I was able to apply for the doctoral award while I was still a Master's student, but could only accept if I was a PhD student by the allocation date. Ultimately, I was awarded the scholarship. As I changed to a PhD program in May, I was able accept but if I had stayed as a Master's student I would not have been able to accept or "shift" the offer to a master's award.

As I already had the applications for the NSERC fall cycle on hand, I could re-write these documents for the Weston application which was quite handy. I did take more of a "policy" spin on this application, and had a post-doc who has policy experience look the application through which was very helpful. For this award, a northern resident along with two academics are required to write reports. I had my graduate supervisor and undergraduate supervisor as my academic references, and had a GNWT scientist who had previously worked closely with my graduate supervisor as my northern reference. The application deadline was January 27, 2020 and I received word on May 3, 2020.

The way NSERC's PhD scholarship works: one application goes into the system, and there are multiple "tiers" of allocations. The base tier is the NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship - Doctoral (PGS-D), valued at $21,000 per year for three years - this can be held at Canadian universities or taken internationally. Highest ranked candidates will be considered for the first tier Tri-Council Canada Graduate Scholarship - Doctoral (CGS-D), valued at $35,000 per year for three years, which can only be held at Canadian universities. If awarded the CGS-D, you can potentially apply to the Michael Smith Foreign Supplement, which is valued up to $6000 for research abroad during your doctoral program. Ultimately, I was awarded a PGS-D scholarship at the University of Alberta. The selection criteria is weighted equally between "research ability and potential" and "relevant experience and achievements obtained within and beyond academia." In my application, my experiences within and beyond academia received a higher merit score than my research ability and potential.

The application process will differ depending on if you are applying through your institution (I applied through the University of Alberta) or as an independent (if you are not sure which program you will attend, etc). Make sure you double and triple check your institutional deadlines and process - I had to submit a preliminary application before the University of Alberta decided to forward my full application to NSERC.

I applied to the NSERC PhD scholarship and Vanier Scholarship in the Fall of 2019, while I was still in a Master's program and not 100% sure if I was going to upgrade my program to a PhD. Yet, I had always been told by mentors to apply early as possible, so if you were not allocated an award, you could try again. I had the benefit of being in NSERC's system during my undergraduate (I was granted an Undergraduate Student Research Award), and when I was initially a Master's student (grant information below). NSERC's application system takes some getting used to. Prepare to spend a lot of time on this!

Follow NSERC's instructions carefully. A panel will evaluate your proposal, so it is essential to minimize jargon as they may not be familiar with your area of study. If you have peers applying, it is beneficial to read each other's application and ask around for examples of previously funded proposals. Even better, if one of your peer evaluators is not familiar with your area of study - they can identify where your descriptions are unclear to a fellow scientist who is not specialized in your field.

I had my Master's supervisor and undergraduate thesis advisor as my references. I provided a brief outline of my research and my CV to my undergraduate thesis advisor to bring them up to speed for my proposed project. These references were also part of other applications for the same cycle (Vanier, Weston), so I was in contact with them frequently.

I received word on April 16, 2020, and applied on October 31, 2019.

The way the Tri-Agency Vanier scholarship works: You can apply to this scholarship valued at $50,000 per year for three years in addition to the PGS-D in the same cycle; you cannot accept both if you are offered both, and if you take other Tri-Council PhD funding (PGS-D, CGS-D), you cannot apply for the Vanier scholarship again. This scholarship can only be held at Canadian universities, although applications are open to both Canadian and International students. If awarded the Vanier scholarship, you can potentially apply to the Michael Smith Foreign Supplement, which is valued up to $6000 for research abroad during your doctoral program.

The application process will differ depending if you are applying through your institution (I applied through the University of Alberta) or as an independent (if you are not sure which program you will attend, etc). Make sure you double and triple check your institutional deadlines and process - I had to submit a preliminary application before the University of Alberta decided to forward my full application to NSERC.

Follow the instructions closely. A panel will evaluate your proposal, so it is important to minimize jargon as they may not be familiar with your area of study. If you have peers applying, it is very helpful to read each other's application and ask around for examples of previously funded proposals. Even better if one of your peer evaluators is not familiar with your area of study - they can identify where your descriptions are unclear to a fellow scientist who is not specialized in your field. It is also important to spend a lot of time on your personal leadership statement. At the University of Alberta, we were allowed a session with a Graduate Writing Specialist at the Academic Success Centre which gave me some helpful feedback.

I applied to the NSERC PhD scholarship and Vanier Scholarship in Fall of 2019, while I was still in a Master's program and not 100% sure if I was going to upgrade my program to a PhD. Still, I had always been told by mentors to apply early as possible, so if you were not allocated an award you could try again. I had the benefit of being in NSERC's system during my undergraduate (I was granted an Undergraduate Student Research Award) and when I was initially a Master's student (grant information below). ResearchNet's application system takes some getting used to. You also need to tackle the Canadian Common CV (CCV), which is notoriously clunky to use. I had to use CCV for my NSERC CGS-M application, so I was somewhat familiar, but prepare to spend a lot of time on this!

I had my Master's supervisor and undergraduate thesis advisor as my references. I provided a brief outline of my research and my CV to my undergraduate thesis advisor to bring them up to speed for my proposed project - these references were also part of other applications for the same cycle (PGS-D, Weston), so I was in contact with them frequently. For my leadership references, I had my former downhill skiing coach and president of a student club I was involved with write letters. Although you cannot see the academic references, they are sent directly through the system, you submit the leadership references yourself - so you can communicate with your referees and be more involved in shaping the letters. I'll admit that this scholarship application was quite taxing. I submitted the application on October 20, 2019 and received word of the outcome on April 6, 2020.

Ultimately, I was not awarded a Vanier scholarship at the University of Alberta. While the PGS-D application selection criteria is weighted equally between "research ability and potential" and "relevant experience and achievements obtained within and beyond academia", the Vanier selection criteria is split between "Academic Excellence," "Research Potential," and "Leadership." My highest scores were in Academic Excellence and Leadership; like the PGS-D application, I scored lower on Research Potential. Although not receiving an award is not fun (and it did knock my confidence as an aspiring researcher to be marked lower on this), it is important to remember that the application pool is highly competitive, and that the experience of grant writing is still highly valuable!

The way the NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship -Master's (CGS-M) works: This is a $17,500 one year scholarship that allows you to apply to up to three institutions through the Tri-Council Research Portal. If awarded the CGS-M, you can potentially apply to the Michael Smith Foreign Supplement, which is valued up to $6000 for research abroad during your doctoral program. Ultimately, I was awarded a CGS-M scholarship at the University of Alberta. The criteria and weight is Academic Excellence (50%), Research Potential (30%), and Personal characteristics and interpersonal skills (20%). I did not receive feedback from the application, unlike the PGS-D and Vanier awards.

I applied to the NSERC Master's scholarships in the fall of 2018 before I joined the University of Alberta in January of 2019. That was the only institution that I applied to, although I could have added two other institutions. This was my first major scholarship application, and it was a little bit daunting - read the instructions carefully. My undergraduate supervisor was very encouraging and suggested that I apply early, and it ended up being great advice. The Canadian Common CV system was complicated to navigate, in my opinion, so I spent a lot of time working through that part of the application. I had two trusted peers read over my proposals and was provided an example of a previous application by another friend which was very helpful through the process. Now reading back on my application, my research scope has changed so much - and that is okay! The main thing that they want to evaluate is how you can propose research. Two academic references were required who are not your proposed supervisor (unless you have previously worked with them). My undergraduate thesis supervisor and another PI who worked closely with my supervisor were my references. You are not able to see what they write about you as it goes right into the system - but don't hesitate to provide your CV and a brief overview of your proposed research. And don't be afraid to nudge them to get the letters in on time!

I applied on December 1, 2018, and received word on March 26, 2019.

University of Alberta North allocates research funding for graduate students at the University of Alberta who work in the North. UANRA and NSTP are awarded through UAlberta North - a common application is provided for both, but those who can apply to NSTP must also fill out an online form. For Canadian students, you can request up to $4000 for UANRA and $4000 for NSTP funding; for international students, you can request up to $8000 for UANRA funding. You apply in October and grants are allocated around April.

I was lucky to be prodded by lab mates to apply in September/October 2018 before I joined the University of Alberta to acquire funding in the 2019 field season. I similarly applied in 2019 for the 2020 field season, which has been modified due to COVID-19.

UAlberta North puts out a call for funding at the beginning of the fall semester which contains instructions for the application. A panel will evaluate your application so keeping jargon to a minimum is ideal. Your supervisor will need to provide a reference letter, and it is best to team up with graduate students you will work with to split the costs of research between your applications. As you can apply over a series of years, it is good to a) get involved in the Northern research community (for example, join the Circumpolar Students' Association and attend Northern Research Day), and b) update your application package every year and include your progress.

I applied to the NSERC student ambassador grant, valued up to $1000, in February 2020 for a community engagement workshop. This application is very quick as you simply fill out the application form and submit via a submission site. There is no fixed deadline, as long as you are at least 2 months before your proposed activity, and you are notified within one month. I had the intention of facilitating a science workshop and field activity at an elementary school near the field sites I work at in the summer of 2020. I was awarded the grant but due to COVID we have tentatively rescheduled the event to 2021.