Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science & Technology

Award Overview

Purpose

The Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII‐GSST) program is designed to encourage excellence in graduate studies in science and technology. The program is supported through funds provided by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities and funds raised by the University of Toronto from the private sector.

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;
  • Be registered or intend to register in an eligible program on a full-time basis in 2024-2025​;
    • An eligible program is defined as a full-time program of study of two or three terms at the University of Toronto leading to a graduate degree. 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;
    • In addition, to be considered for a QEII-GSST award, a student must be enrolled in a research master’s or doctoral program in a participating graduate unit (see list below);
  • Have not exceeded the lifetime maximum of government-funded support or maximum QEII-GSST support available for their current level of study (see the section 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 competed two years 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 (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.

Eligibility to Hold a QEII-GSST Award

To hold a QEII 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 QEII-GSST 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 term, will be required to repay any 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 QEII-GSST from the University of Toronto.
  • Cannot hold a QEII award in the same session (overlapping) or from the same award year as a scholarship from SSHRC, NSERC, CIHR, OGS or another QEII-GSST.
  • Enrolled in a postgraduate MD training program and simultaneously registered in a full-time doctoral graduate program may hold other awards that, together with the QEII-GSST award, do not exceed the current level of funding for clinical training provided by the Ontario Ministry of Health.

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

Eligible Graduate Units

Graduate units participating in the QEII-GSST competition at the University of Toronto are listed below. Please note the list is not comprehensive and students should consult with the graduate unit to confirm eligibility.​

  • Arts and Science (Faculty) at Mississauga campus
  • Aerospace Studies
  • Astronomy & Astrophysics
  • Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering
  • Cell & Systems Biology
  • Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Dentistry
  • Earth Sciences
  • Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  • Electrical & Computer Engineering
  • Forestry
  • Geography & Planning
  • Health Policy, Management & Evaluation
  • Immunology
  • L​aboratory Medicine & Pathobiology
  • Materials Science & Engineering
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
  • Medical Biophysics
  • Medical Science
  • Molecular Genetics
  • Nursing Science
  • Nutritional Sciences
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Pharmacology & Toxicology
  • Physics
  • Physiology
  • Public Health Sciences
  • Rehabilitation Science
  • Statistical Sciences​​​

Maximum Support

Students are limited in the number of years that they may hold a QEII-GSST.

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, 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 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)

Application Process

Applicants must submit an OGS application to their proposed graduate unit using the U of T OGS Online Application and select “Yes” that they would like to be considered for other graduate award competitions in the “Governmental Award Applications in Progress” section of the Awards and Financial Aid step of the application.

Applicants applying for other awards that use the OGS application form may upload additional application documents as an attachment to the application form’s “Awards and Financial Aid” page. Note: Any unit who wishes to use the new attachment function for their QEII-GSST or other awards competitions will need to instruct their applicants to select “Yes” on the form that they are applying for other awards and attachment(s) are required.

Each graduate unit will have its own internal submission deadline to which applicants must adhere. Once completed and submitted online, the entire application will be available to the proposed graduate unit(s) for review and consideration. As QEII-GSST awards are not transferrable from one graduate unit to another, prospective students must submit an online application to each graduate unit to which they apply for admission.

For Temerty Faculty of Medicine (TFOM) applicants only: There are three types of QEII-GSST’s through TFOM (please visit the Office of the Vice Dean, Research & Health Sciences Education website for details, which will be updated once the competition opens):

  1. Awards through graduate units – applications are submitted directly to the graduate unit. Check graduate unit deadlines through unit websites;​
  2. Awards through clinical/surgical departments – applications are submitted directly to the clinical/surgical departments; check the appropriate departments’ website for deadlines and application details;
  3. Awards through TFOM, Research & Health Sciences Education (RHSE) – deadline and submission details to be communicated by RHSE, TFOM and as posted on their website. For additional information, contact RHSE by email at rhse.awards@utoronto.ca.

For detailed instructions on how to complete the OGS Application, please see the OGS Application Instructions​.

Award Holder Information

Please consult the OGS/QEII Award Holder’s Guide​.​

Contacts & Resources

Please direct questions regarding the QEII-GSST competition or nomination process to your graduate unit.

Questions regarding the administration of the award at the SGS and technical support for the application may be directed to:

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