Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have additional questions? Contact us at cgpd@utoronto.ca. You can also register to attend our upcoming information session here.

Eligibility

• This program is open to all registered PhD students at the University of Toronto. They must be enrolled students in good standing throughout the 2025-26 program duration (i.e., from September 2025 to August 2026).
• Anyone who meets these criteria (including international students and students in the post-funding cohort) is eligible to apply.

Can international students apply to the fellowship?

• Yes. Before applying, international students should also determine how receiving this award will impact their other sources of funding. Some external funding agencies have restrictions on students having additional funding.

Can I apply for this award if I am a scholarship recipient or have access to other sources of funding (e.g., stipend, grants)?

• Yes. The this fellowship is intended to be held in addition to students’ current funding; all students should have access to the fellowship and not be restricted based in their current funding level.
• However, you should confirm that the terms and conditions of your existing sources of funding that you are able to apply to additional awards.
• With respect to funding from the University of Toronto, this award should be held in addition to the regular funding that supports student’s personal research.
• If you have questions about navigating this process and your existing awards and sources of funding, please connect with your Graduate Administrator regarding the specific conditions of your funding package

When is the best time to apply for the fellowship program?

• The best time is when you can best frame a strong application and have the time to benefit from this fellowship program. Please connect with your supervisor around this.
• Fellows are required to participate in monthly meetings and the annual showcase. If changes to your situation make that impossible (e.g., taking a full-time job), you may need to decline the fellowship.

Does my thesis defense date and graduation date affect my eligibility?

• Yes, you must be registered for the duration of the fellowship (i.e., September 2025 to August 2026).

What if I have a leave of absence?

• Students on an approved leave of absence may interrupt the fellowship for the duration of the leave; payments will be suspended during the leave and prorated based on the approved leave date. Depending on the timing and duration of the leave, students may be required to join the next cohort of the fellows.

Application process

Should my public scholarship initiative be connected to my thesis research, or can it involve a side project I’m working on?

• Most public scholarship initiatives will be connected to ongoing thesis research in order to ensure adequate focus.
• If, however, you have a well-defined secondary area of research interest, your public scholarship initiative may be connected to that.

What does “public impact” mean?

• For the purposes of this fellowship, public impact refers to the commitment to communicating scholarly research to the public. Each fellow will create a public scholarship initiative that will enable their research to have impact on the broader community.

What types of collaboration and ethics approvals come with the fellowship?

• The exact opportunities will depend on the nature of your research.
• Connect with your supervisor to determine if your research and its dissemination requires ethics approvals.

Are in-text citations and a full reference included in the word counts?

• Yes. Since in-text citations are important in acknowledging source material and upholding academic integrity, including them in the word count aligns them at the same level of importance as the rest of the information in the work.
• A separate bibliography page or reference list is not required for this application.

I am having trouble accessing the supporting documents. What should I do?

• Please log in using your UTORid and password. Please make sure that you are also signed in with your U of T email.
• If you’re still having issues, make sure you clear the cache and cookies from your web browser.

Selection

Will my application be competitive without prior public engagement work?

• Yes. You are not required to have prior experience with public scholarship; however, prior engagement with public scholarship could strengthen your application.
• The focus of the adjudication will be the strength of your proposed public scholarship initiative. Please review the full application requirements for more information.

Is there a preference for specific types of research or quota from specific graduate units?

• We are committed to ensuring disciplinary diversity among each cohort of fellows. To that end, we will do an initial prescreen to ensure that we are sending qualified applicants from the humanities, social sciences, life sciences, and physical sciences to the adjudication committee.
• In selection, the committee will consider multiple factors in selecting applicants to build the final cohort. The committee will also aim for representation of diverse projects, perspectives and disciplines across the cohort of fellows. The final cohort will normally include a minimum of two fellows from each of the four SGS divisions, and a maximum of two fellows from any given graduate unit. 

I am a previous Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellow. Am I eligible to reapply this year?

• No, you may not hold the fellowship more than once. However, if your application was not selected, you are encouraged to reapply (as long as you are still eligible).