Choosing Referees for a CGS or Tri-Agency Scholarship Application

Why your choice of referee decides the application

SSHRC, NSERC and CIHR run the Canada Graduate Scholarships program jointly through a shared online system called the Research Portal. Since the fall 2025 competition, the master's scholarship goes by a new name, the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship-Master's (CGRS-M), worth $27,000 for one non-renewable 12-month term. The doctoral scholarship became the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship-Doctoral (CGRS-D), worth $40,000 a year for up to three years. Both replace older agency-specific programs, but the referee process stayed close to what it was before, according to UBC's graduate awards office .

Every application, master's or doctoral, needs exactly two reference assessments completed inside the portal. You cannot submit without both linked to your file, so the people you pick and how you manage them directly affect whether your application goes in at all.

Who to ask at the master's level

For a CGRS-M application, referees rate you on three criteria: academic excellence, research potential and personal characteristics or interpersonal skills, according to NSERC's instructions for referees . Each rating sits on a scale from top 2 percent to below top 25 percent, backed by written commentary of up to 2,400 characters per criterion.

Pick one referee who taught or supervised your undergraduate research directly, someone who watched you work on a thesis, capstone or lab project. Pick a second referee who can speak to a different angle, a course instructor who saw your writing and analysis, or a research assistant supervisor who observed your work habits. Avoid two referees who will say the same three things.

Who to ask at the doctoral level

A CGRS-D application also needs two letters, but the roles are defined more strictly. According to SSHRC's instructions for the Letter of Appraisal , one referee must know your research and abilities in depth, normally your current or most recent research supervisor. The second only needs to know your research and abilities well enough to comment with substance.

Referees address your research proposal, your training and technical skills, the quality of your work against others in your field, your judgment and independence, your communication, and your grasp of ethical research conduct. A referee who has only seen your coursework, with no direct exposure to your research, struggles to fill this out convincingly.

How much lead time to give

NSERC's own guidance tells referees to submit at least 48 hours in advance, since portal traffic spikes near the deadline and no extension gets granted for a missing reference. Build that buffer into your own planning rather than trusting a referee to remember the exact date on their own.

What to send your referees

• Your current CV or resume

• Unofficial transcripts

• A draft of your research proposal or statement

• The specific scholarship level and competition year you are applying under

• Any prior feedback from supervisors you want them to reinforce

Both SSHRC and NSERC ask referees to write the applicant rather than your name and use gender-neutral pronouns unless you request otherwise, part of the agencies' equity screening process. Mention this to your referees in advance so the request does not surprise them mid-draft.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Asking a senior professor who barely knows you over a junior supervisor who worked with you closely

• Waiting until the week of the deadline to send the request

• Failing to confirm the referee's portal account works before the final days

• Choosing two referees who will describe the same project instead of complementary strengths