$98 million in federal funding for 2,300 of Canada's best and brightest
(Ottawa, September 15, 2006) The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) today announced a $98 million investment in master's, doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships and scholarships for Canadians.
"All Canadians stand to gain from this federal investment in advanced training for over 2,000 first-class Canadian graduate students and postdoctoral fellows," said Stan Shapson, interim president of SSHRC. "These award winners will become key players in Canada's knowledge economy-as leaders, innovators and researchers in business, the professions, politics, education, and many other fields."
The investment supports 1,198 master's students, 952 doctoral students and 120 postdoctoral fellows. The award holders, who come from every province and territory, won out over thousands of other applicants. They are among the country's top students in the arts, business, and social sciences.
As they pursue their degrees, the master's and doctoral award winners will be honing research skills in key areas of knowledge-from health policy to international trade, from urban violence to sustainability. The postdoctoral fellowships will support new PhD graduates at a key stage in their careers as they prepare to enter university teaching, research, and other professions.
"Research is a vital part of a university education," added Dr. Shapson. "SSHRC's support will enable these outstanding students and scholars to build the knowledge to better understand Canada's most pressing economic, political, social and cultural issues. This support also helps to maintain Canada's international reputation as a nation committed to excellence."
For many of the award holders, support from SSHRC means leaving their home university to study elsewhere in Canada or abroad-exceptional opportunities to learn from the best in their fields. Nearly 200 of the doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows will take their award to Harvard, Oxford, the Sorbonne, and other international centres of learning.
All SSHRC scholarship and fellowship recipients are chosen by independent juries of expert researchers who reward only the highest standards of academic achievement.
List
of successful candidates (pdf document 837 KB)
For additional information on this release and other SSHRC research projects, please contact:
Julia Gualtieri
Media Relations Advisor
Telephone: (613) 944-4347
E-mail: julia.gualtieri@sshrc.ca
