Vanier Scholarship Replaced: Canada’s New CGRS-D PhD Award
- Deadline
- October 17, 2026
- Country
- Canada
- Institution
- Any eligible Canadian institution (you must already be registered there)
- Value
- CAD $40,000 per year for 36 months
- Level
- phd
- Eligibility
- International Students
- Field
- Any/All fields of study
About
Quick answer: The famous Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship no longer exists — its last competition ran in 2024, and vanier.gc.ca now redirects applicants to its successor. Canada’s doctoral awards (Vanier, CGS-D, NSERC PGS-D, SSHRC doctoral) have been merged into one programme: the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS-D), worth CAD $40,000 a year for 36 months.
For Nigerians, the key rule: you cannot apply from Nigeria before admission. International applicants must already be registered in a doctoral programme at a Canadian institution by the deadline, and at most 15% of awards go to international students. The agency deadline is 17 October (8:00 pm ET) each year, but your university’s internal deadline comes first and is often much earlier — check with your graduate school as soon as you arrive.
Eligibility
- Open to Canadian citizens, permanent residents and international students (capped at 15% of awards).
- International applicants must be registered in a PhD programme at an eligible Canadian institution by the application deadline — admission first, scholarship second.
- Applications go through your Canadian university’s internal nomination process.
- You cannot already hold a CIHR/NSERC/SSHRC doctoral award (including a past Vanier).
Additional Information
How to apply: secure PhD admission (many Canadian departments fund international PhD students independently of CGRS-D — ask about funding packages when applying), register, then apply via your university before its internal CGRS-D deadline. If a blog tells you the “Vanier 2026 application” is open, it is recycling a dead programme — use the official NSERC CGRS-D page instead.