QEII Awards Administered by RHSE

• Up to $15,000 per year ($5,000 per session for 2 or 3 consecutive  sessions).
• The scholarship is awarded for one academic year, which may consist of two or three consecutive terms. It is not automatically renewed; students must apply annually.
• The award may begin in September 2025 or January 2026.

Eligibility to Apply:

• 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.
• Applicants must be registered or intend to register in a full-time* research thesis-based MSc or PhD program in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; students pursuing a professional or course-based Master’s program (e.g., MHSc) and clinician/surgical scientist trainees are NOT eligible for the awards offered through this competition.
• Applicants entering the 1st or 2nd year of graduate studies at the time of application must have achieved an overall average of at least A- (or equivalent) in each of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent).
• Applicants entering the 3rd year or beyond of graduate studies at the time of applicant must have an overall average of at least A–, or the equivalent, on all graduate courses completed.
  • Note: If marks used for calculating an applicant's grade point average (GPA) are not available (for example, courses were graded on a pass-fail basis), then the next most recent available undergraduate or graduate marks should be used to determine eligibility.
• Applicants must exhibit overall academic excellence. Applicants should also exhibit research ability or potential, excellent communication skills, and interpersonal and leadership abilities.
• Applicants 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. Students who have never applied for OSAP are in good standing. Those with an OSAP restriction may still apply for the QEII. However, if awarded, they must have the restriction cleared within 30 days of notification to accept the award
• Starting 2024-25: 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.
• Starting 2024-25: The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) Special Statement form for OGS/QEII-GSST must be completed by graduate units electing to award highly meritorious candidates who do not meet the minimum A- average requirement. These forms must be included with the submission form by the graduate unit deadline to SGS.

To be eligible to hold the QEII-GSST:

• Recipients must be registered and remain enrolled as a full-time student in a graduate program in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto for the complete duration of the award. 
• Recipients who withdraw, transfer to part-time status, complete degree requirements prior to the end of their award, or fail to complete the full term, will be required to repay any funds received for the incomplete term.
• Recipients cannot hold a QEII-GSST award at the same time (or during any session) as a scholarship from SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR, OTS, OGS, or another QEII-GSST.
• Recipients 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. Students holding full-time paid employment are not eligible to receive a QEII-GSST from UofT.

*A full-time student is registered in at least a 60% full course load (40% for students with a permanent disability)

• Students are limited in the number of years that they may hold a QEII-GSST, as outline below.
  • Master's students may receive the scholarship for a maximum of two years - OGS/QEII-GSST awards.
  • Doctoral students may receive the scholarship for a maximum of four years - OGS/QEII-GSST awards.
  • Both master’s and doctoral students are subject to a lifetime maximum of six years per student.
• In addition, QEII-GSST guidelines restrict students to a lifetime maximum of six years of government- funded awards and prohibit students from holding a QEII-GSST and another government-funded award concurrently.
• Awards under the following programs below 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)

Deadline: April 21, 2025 (5:00 pm)

Instructions

1. Applicants must submit an OGS application using the U of T School of Graduate Studies centralized online Ontario Graduate Scholarship application. Please note the same application is used for both the 2025-26 OGS and QEII-GSST.
2. Applicants must also complete an online Temerty Medicine QEII-GSST cover page. The QEII-GSST award name(s) must be identified on this cover page. 

Notes:

• If the applicant wishes to submit a different plan of study for his/her QEII-GSST application than what is outlined in his/her OGS application, it should be emailed to rhse.awards@utoronto.ca
• The online OGS application requires:
  • List of academic achievements (scholarships and academic awards received), if applicable. 
  • List of research contributions, including publications, presentations posters, or other significant work that was submitted to an external organization (e.g., a consulting report).
  • Plan of study/research description/statement of intent (in easily understandable terms, including hypothesis, methods, and expected outcomes). 
  • Two academic references. For currently registered students, one of the academic references should be completed by the current graduate supervisor. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure their academic references are submitted online before the deadline of April 21, 2025. The U of T OGS online application can only be submitted after both references are complete. Contact your referees well in advance.
  • Transcripts (all university transcripts including current program). Detailed online application instructions are available on the SGS website.

For additional information, contact rhse.awards@utoronto.ca