Filling Out the Canadian Common CV for a Tri-Agency Scholarship Application
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Sep 18, 2026 • Updated Sep 18, 2026 • Scholarships & Funding, Canadian Universities & Colleges
Every CGRS-M and CGRS-D application needs a completed Canadian Common CV (CCV), built with the exact template your program requires, then attached to your Research Portal application by its confirmation number. A pilot narrative-style CV covers some other tri-agency grant competitions, but student scholarships still use the standard CCV.
🎓 Use the CGRS-Master's or CIHR Academic CV template that matches your program. Other templates will not attach.
📩 Complete your CCV before your internal deadline, then upload its confirmation number to your Research Portal application.
⏱️ List only entries relevant to your application. A shorter, targeted CCV reads stronger than a maximal one.
💵 Reviewers cannot tell your role on a listed publication or project unless you state it yourself.
The CCV is separate from your Research Portal application
The Canadian Common CV is a standalone web tool, not a section inside your Research Portal application. You build it once, in its own system, then attach the resulting confirmation number to your CGRS-M or CGRS-D application. Complete it early. Waiting until your deadline week to build it for the first time leaves no room to fix a wrong template or a locked module.
Pick the exact template your program requires
The CCV is entry-based and modular, and different funding opportunities pull different templates from the same stored data. A CGRS-M application needs the CGRS-Master's CCV template specifically. A CGRS-D nomination needs the CIHR Academic CV template. Other CCV templates do not attach to these applications, so selecting the wrong one at the start means redoing the selection, not editing a few fields.
Where applicants lose points without noticing
Listing every publication or activity rather than the ones relevant to this specific application. A shorter, on-point list reads stronger than a padded one.
Leaving out your own role on a listed paper or project. A reviewer cannot infer whether you led the work or contributed a small piece unless you state it directly.
Copying entries from an old CV format without checking they fit the CCV's own fields and character limits.
Forgetting to generate a fresh confirmation number after your last edit, so your application pulls an outdated version.
A narrative CV exists too, but not for your scholarship yet
CIHR has piloted a new narrative-style tri-agency CV, capped at five pages in English or six in French, built around three sections, a personal statement, up to ten significant contributions or experiences, and supervisory/mentorship activities, instead of a running list, according to CIHR's tri-agency CV page . That format applies to select grant competitions for the 2026-27 cycle, not to CGRS-M or CGRS-D student scholarships, which still require the standard CCV template. Confirm which format your specific competition asks for on its own instructions page before you start building either one.
Getting help from NSERC's own instructions
NSERC publishes step-by-step instructions for completing the Canadian Common CV , module by module, including which fields the CGRS-M and CGRS-D templates require. Read these before you start, not after your first attempt gets stuck on a field you did not expect.
Before your internal deadline
Finish your CCV and generate your confirmation number several days before your university's internal deadline, not the national one. Your graduate studies office needs time to check that the number matches your file and that you selected the right template. A locked or incomplete CCV module at your internal deadline blocks your whole application, even if every other document is ready.