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Scholarships

External Scholarships

External scholarships operate on a predictable schedule: keep an eye on email throughout the year as the Grad Admin will send reminders as applications open and deadlines approach. The department strongly encourages you to apply for whatever external scholarships you are eligible for (typically through NSERC or, in some cases, CIHR). Note that, if you win one of these major awards, the department assigns you less TA work and gives you a “top up” to acknowledge your achievement (in other words, you work fewer hours and earn more money than the basic funding package).

  • For MSc students
  • Apply directly to the Tri-Agency portal – the deadline is December 1st
  • If you apply for the CGS-M, you are automatically considered for the OGS
  • For more information see: CGS-M Information
  • For PhD students
  • Apply to McMaster for a preliminary internal competition – the internal deadline is usually mid-late September
  • PhD students are not considered for OGS awards at this stage
  • For more information see: CGRS-D Information
  • The NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship is open to Canadians and Permanent Residents, if you are currently registered as a graduate student at McMaster you will likely apply through McMaster (no matter where you intend to complete your postdoc)
  • For more information see: NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • The Banting Postdoctoral is open to Canadians, Permanent Residents and Visa Students; you apply at the school where you will do your postdoc, which will have its own internal application procedures and deadlines (often in July)
  • For more information see: Banting Information

Internal Scholarships

There are multiple awards available at the department level.  As with external awards, there is a predictable pattern to the due dates of these awards.  Start look for AwardSpring options at the end of the Fall term.  Departmental Awards are announced in Winter term.

AwardSpring is an online scholarship application portal available to you in Mosaic. In order to find out which awards you are eligible for, you should complete the AwardSpring common application every year. Watch out for emails in late fall for deadlines to apply for need-based, donor-funded and travel awards scattered. Make sure to specify your areas of study in the common application since some awards are earmarked for specific kinds of research.

In addition to other awards you may be eligible for, there are four donor-funded awards earmarked specifically for Chemistry students:

The James A. and Irene D. Morrison Scholarship
This award was established in 1987 in memory of professor emeritus James A.  Morrison, who until 1987 was professor of Chemistry and director of the Institute for Materials Research from 1969 to 1986. The award will be  given to a graduate student in the department of Chemistry by the School of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the chair of the department. Preference will be given to students undertaking research in the area of physical chemistry.
Max. Value: $4000

The Gregory Bahun Award for Excellence in Chemistry
Established in 2018 by Paul and Veronica Bahun in honour of their son Gregory, BSc, PhD (Class of 2017). To be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies to full-time master’s or doctoral students based upon the recommendation of the department of Chemistry. Students must be enrolled in the department of Chemistry and demonstrate excellent academic performance.
Max. Value: $1000

The Brian McCarry Graduate Chemistry Scholarship
Established in 2014 by friends, family, colleagues, and industry partners in memory of Brian McCarry, a past chair of the department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology. To be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies to a graduate student currently enrolled in the Chemistry graduate program. Preference will be given to students pursuing industry-related research.
Max. Value: $1500

E. G. Brooman Scholarship in Chemistry
The E.G. Brooman Scholarship in Chemistry was established in 1995 with funds from the estate of Mr. E.G. Brooman, a staff member in the department of chemistry from 1967 to 1987. This scholarship is to be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the chair of the department of chemistry, to a graduate student registered in a graduate program in chemistry.
Max. Value: $500

Manske-MacLean Bursaries in Chemistry
These bursaries are to be awarded to graduate students in chemistry by the School of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the chair of the department of chemistry.
Max. Value: $2500

Department Awards recognize the excellence of our graduate students in several areas. The call for applications for Travel, Impact, and Leadership Awards typically goes out in the middle of Winter term.

Chemistry Graduate Travel Awards

  • Ed Hileman Awards: These awards are meant to offset the cost of travel to a domestic conference for MSc students.

Value: $500

  • Russell Bell Awards: These awards are meant to offset the cost of travel to an international conference for PhD students.

Value: up to $2000

Chemistry Leadership Award

The Chemistry Leadership Awards are given by the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology to Chemistry graduate students based on three main criteria:

  1. Leadership and interpersonal skills as assessed based on citizenship and participation in the graduate program or extracurricular activities. Examples of such activities include volunteering for outreach activities, leadership in graduate student associations, mentoring of younger researchers, etc.
  2. Academic excellence as gauged based on course grades.
  3. Research potential as gauged based on research publications.

Value: $500

Chemistry Impact Award

This competition is for high impact papers published in a given calendar year.  The Impact awards are meant to reward students for significant research accomplishments, and more specifically for the publication of a single particularly high-impact paper. Emphasis will be placed on quality of the paper, impact factor of the journal, and significance of contribution by the student.

Value: $500

The Dr. Ronald J. Gillespie Prize in Inorganic Chemistry

The Dr. Ronald J Gillespie Prize in Inorganic Chemistry was established in 2009 by friends and colleagues in honor of Professor Ronald J Gillespie, F.R.S., F.R.S.C., F.R.S.C (U.K.), F.C.I.C., C.M., in recognition of 50 years of significant contributions to research and scholarly teaching in the Department of Chemistry at McMaster University. The scholarship is to be awarded by the School of Graduate Studies to a student enrolled in a Ph.D. program in inorganic chemistry, who in the judgment of a selection committee comprised of the Associate Chair of Chemistry responsible for graduate studies and inorganic chemists within the Department of Chemistry, demonstrates outstanding scholastic achievement and innovative research that embraces elements of fundamental inorganic chemistry.

Value: $1500

Department OGS Awards (Canadians and Permanent Residents) 

  • Once the OGS recipients from the fall competition have been announced (Winter Term), there is a second OGS competition administered directly by the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology.
  • If you applied for CGS-M or CGRS-D but did not receive an award, you are automatically considered
  • You may send updated application materials if you wish – these are typically due early in the Spring

International Excellence/OGS Awards (Visa Students)

  • The department holds a spring competition for international students; the highest ranked application will be entered into the International Faculty of Science OGS competition
  • The department will also use the rankings from this competition to determine the winners of the departmental International Excellence Awards
  • These applications are typically due early in the Spring