Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (AGES)

The value of the scholarship at University of Alberta is $12,000 and paid out to recipient as one-time payment. Students must have a Canadian bank account and Alberta address updated in Bear Tracks to be eligible to receive the award.

A student may only receive one Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship per year; these scholarships are NOT renewable. However, departments may nominate students for a new award in each year during which they meet the eligibility requirements.

To be eligible, students must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada,  or a protected person within the meaning of subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada)), or an International student with a study permit
• Open to course-based or thesis-based study programs
• Open to masters or doctoral students. Students registered in a graduate certificate that can ladder into a Master's degree program are also eligible
• Students must be living in Alberta while enrolled (taking classes remotely/online or in-person) at the institution
• Current students must be registered full-time in Fall 2024 and/or Winter 2025 terms. Newly admitted January 2025 students must be registered full-time in Winter 2025.
  • Students who are registered with Student Accessibility Services or have a documented need for accommodation, can apply if they are enrolled in at least 40% of a full course load
• Must demonstrate academic excellence, as evidenced by one or more of the following:
  • Current students have earned a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.3 or greater over the most recent 15 units of course weight in current program. Where there are less than 15 graded credits in the current program, the admission GPA (AGPA) is a weighted factor. For students newly admitted in Fall 2024 or Winter 2025 terms in which graded coursework is not yet available in the current program, the Admission GPA (AGPA) will be used.
  • Research and/or academic contributions that may include published manuscripts, presentations, posters, exhibitions, community engagement, performances; and,
  • Previous record of scholarly achievement through awards, scholarships, prizes, among others.
• Must be registered in years 1-4 of the master's program or registered in years 1-6 of the doctoral program during the tenure of the scholarship. If students transferred from a Master’s program to a Doctoral program, the number of months completed during the Master’s program will count towards the Doctoral Program.
• Qualifying students and students on academic probation are not eligible.

Students must be nominated to GPS by their home department; students cannot apply online in the GSMS Awards Portal. Students applying for Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (AGES) must complete the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (AGES) Student Declaration form and submit it to their home department by their internal deadline.

Students must consult with their department for their internal deadline and internal application process.

Departments determine the best way to select their AGES nominees. Departments are encouraged to set an earlier, internal departmental deadline to allow time for internal adjudication (if applicable).

Each department is assigned a funding allocation by GPS, and then selects nominees based on those allocations. The department then nominates students to GPS by submitting through GSMS Awards Portal (refer to Departmental Memo for details and submission instructions). Departments are to use the 'GPA Guidelines - Awards' procedures available in eClass for calculating the GPA on the last 15 credits.

Please see the departmental memo and allocation table below for more information:

• 2024 AGES Departmental Memo
  
• 2024 AGES Departmental Allocation Table
  

The value of the scholarship at University of Alberta is $12,000 and paid out to recipient as one-time payment.

A student may only receive one Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship per year; these scholarships are NOT renewable.

To be eligible, students must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Must have aboriginal ancestry and be Status Indian/First Nations, Non-Status Indian/First Nations, Métis, or Inuit
• Be a Canadian citizen
• Open to course-based or thesis-based study programs
• Open to masters or doctoral students. Students registered in a graduate certificate that can ladder into a Master's degree program are also eligible
• Students must be living in Alberta while enrolled (taking classes remotely/online or in-person) at the institution
• Current students must be registered full-time in Fall 2024 and/or Winter 2025 terms. Newly admitted January 2025 students must be registered full-time in Winter 2025. Note: Students who are registered with Student Accessibility Services or have a documented need for accommodation, can apply if they are enrolled in at least 40% of a full course load
• Must demonstrate academic excellence, as evidenced by one or more of the following:
  • Current students must have earned a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.3 or greater over the most recent 15 units of course weight in the current program. Where there are less than 15 graded credits in the current program, the admission GPA (AGPA) is a weighted factor. For students newly admitted in Fall 2024 or Winter 2025 terms in which graded coursework is not yet available in the current program, the Admission GPA (AGPA) will be used.
  • Research and/or academic contributions that may include published manuscripts, presentations, posters, exhibitions, community engagement, or performances
  • Previous record of scholarly achievement through awards, scholarships, prizes, among others
• Must be registered in years 1-4 of the master's program or years 1-6 of the doctoral program during the tenure of the scholarship.  If students transferred from a Master’s program to a Doctoral program, the number of months completed during the Master’s program will count towards the Doctoral Program.
• Qualifying students and students on academic probation are not eligible.

Students must apply directly to GPS by completing the online application in the GSMS Awards Portal; nomination by their home department is not required. Students may be nominated by their department for the AGES. Students who are successful in both AGES and AGES-Indigenous will be granted the AGES-Indigenous only.

Search for "Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship Indigenous" in GSMS to access the online application and for detailed instructions. It is students' responsibility to ensure their application is complete before submitting in GSMS. Students must click "submit" for GPS to access their application. Successfully submitted applications will indicate the status of "GPS Review".

For additional instructions, steps, and details of the application requirements, refer to the AGES Indigenous Help Sheet.  A complete application includes:

1. Up to date unofficial UofA Transcript (printed in Fall 2024)
2. CV (maximum 5 pages in length)
3. Research Proposal (thesis-based students), or Explanation of Courses and End Goals or Final Project-Capstone Project (course-based students) - maximum 1 page in length (and one additional page for references only, if applicable).
4. Completed AGES Student Declaration form
5. Academic Letter of reference (online request form is sent through the GSMS portal - refer to the Help Sheet)
6. Proof of Indigenous ancestry is required. A photocopy (front and back) of one of the following documents must be uploaded to the online application in the GSMS Awards Portal for accepted proof of ancestry. Students are to write their status (Status Indian/First Nations, Non-Status Indian/First Nations, Métis, or Inuit) at the top of the document:

• certificate of Indian Status, a status card or a band membership card
• letter from their band verifying the student's status
• membership card issued by a Métis organization that the student is registered with (Metis organization must be a legal entity)
• a certified copy of a Nunavut Trust Certificate card or Inuit beneficiary card
• letter of support from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada or Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated
• a letter of support from an First Nation, Metis or Inuit organization (must be a legal entity) confirming the student's aboriginal ancestry
• proof that an ancestor's name has been entered;
  • in the Indian Register according to the Indian Act; OR
  • as beneficiary of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement

Note: Students unsure about their residency or proof of Indigenous ancestry documents are to contact GPS Award Services.