Scholarship Awarding University:
Type of degree:
Master’s and PhD
Scholarship Deadline:
Applications for this scholarship will end on the
Scholarship Summary:
The Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST) programs encourage excellence in graduate studies for eligible students (domestic and international) at publicly-assisted universities in Ontario. Both programs are jointly funded by the Ontario government and participating institutions. The government contributes two-thirds of the value of the awards and the university provides the remaining one-third.
The differences between the OGS and QEII-GSST scholarships are as follows:
• OGS – merit-based scholarship program for Ontario’s best graduate students in all disciplines of academic study; available to Canadian Citizens/Permanent Residents and International students
• QEII-GSST – available specifically for students in a research-based graduate program in one of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines; only available to Canadian Citizens/Permanent residents.
Scholarship Applicant Criteria:
The following are the set criteria for consideration;
Citizenship
• Domestic applicants must be a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, or Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada;
• International students must hold a valid study permit under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada).
Minimum Academic Requirements
• Applicants must have achieved a first-class average (minimum of A-/80%), in EACH of the last two completed years of study (full-time equivalent).
- Eligibility averages are calculated using grades from your most recent academic history up to August 31, 2025, regardless of program or relevance to your current or proposed program. Waterloo is required to adhere to these parameters as dictated by Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU).
Registration/Admission Status
• International competition – International students must be currently registered in a graduate program at Waterloo or be on an approved leave of absence/inactive term by the deadline in order to be considered.
- Due to the limited quota of awards available for international students, prospective graduate students are not eligible to apply.
• Domestic competition – applicants must either be currently enrolled in a graduate program, or they must apply for admission to a graduate program by the deadline.
- apply for full-time graduate admission at Waterloo with a start term of either spring 2026, fall 2026 or winter 2027
Program of Study
• OGS awards are open to applicants in all disciplines of academic study (research-based AND course-based* programs).
• QEII-GSST awards are restricted to applicants in research-based graduate programs in a STEM discipline only (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
Value of Scholarship:
Each OGS and QEII-GSST is valued at $5,000 per term up to a maximum of $15,000.
Successful recipients will receive a President's Graduate Scholarship (PGS), valued at up to CAD$10,000 in addition to their OGS or QEII-GSST.
Awards are granted for a duration of up to one year and are non-renewable. Applicants must apply annually to be considered.
Scholarship Application Guide:
To apply;
i. Apply for admission
• Domestic students – Domestic students must apply for graduate program admission through the department/school that will be responsible for reviewing the OGS/QEII-GSST application.
• International students – This step is not applicable to international applicants due to the limited number of awards available. International students must be currently registered in a graduate program at Waterloo or be on an approved leave of absence/inactive term by the deadline in order to be considered.
ii. All applicants must submit an OGS/QEII-GSST Intent to Apply form by January 14, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. (ET).
iii. New for 2026-2027: applicants are responsible for collecting all official post-secondary transcripts (Waterloo and non-Waterloo) and must submit them to their Department with their OGS/QEII-GSST application form.
Steps to obtain transcripts:
- Applicants must complete the OGS/QEII-GSST Intent to Apply web form to determine whether an official Waterloo transcript will be emailed to them or if a previously obtained transcript should be reused.
- Applicants are responsible for obtaining all non-Waterloo official transcripts from previous institutions, including transcripts from institutions where they completed an exchange term and the courses do not have an actual grade showing on the Waterloo transcript.
iv. Applicants are required to obtain two academic references. Referees must email their letter directly to the department graduate co-ordinator of the applicant's current/proposed department by the deadline.
Applicants must provide their referees with the following details:
- Submission email address and deadline (Above deadline).
- Letters must be signed, on institutional letterhead (if available), and limited to 2 pages.
- Letters must be current; those from previous competition years will not be accepted.
- If content is reused from a tri-agency reference letter, it must be reformatted as a signed letter on letterhead (submission of the tri-agency referee form is not permitted).
- Each letter should include:
- Applicant’s full name
- Referee’s full name, affiliated institution, department, and title (if applicable)
- Description of what capacity they have known the applicant
- Applicant’s strengths with regard to the OGS/QEII-GSST evaluation criteria
v. Applicants are required to complete an in order to be considered for the scholarship.
- Applicants who identify as Indigenous on the application form must complete the Indigenous verification process, if they have not already done so, prior to submitting their application components to their department graduate co-ordinator.
- Applicants should review the OGS/QEII-GSST Application instructions while completing the application form.
Scholarship Website:
Find further information on this scholarship opportunity at the University of Waterloo Graduate OGS and QEII-GSST Scholarship Page.