Graduate Scholarships & Awards

Applications for the 2023 award cycle is now closed. Please check back at a later time for the 2024 application instructions

Graduate Scholarships & Awards Application Instructions

Registered graduate students pursuing the Master of Environment & Sustainability (MES) or one of the School of the Environment’s Collaborative Specializations applying to one or more of the School’s graduate scholarships and awards must submit a separate application package for each award consisting of:

  • A cover letter naming the award and an explanation on how they meet eligibility requirements, including details about why they should be considered. 
  • A current resume/CV.
  • A copy of their U of T ACORN transcript. Students can download their Academic History (unofficial transcript) through ACORN.
  • A research paper or research abstract, as required by the award criteria. 

The documents must be submitted in that order only, as a single PDF file that includes the applicant’s surname and the name of the award in the filename. (e.g., Smith_Labatt_application_2024.pdf).
 

Students applying for an award or scholarship that requires demonstration of financial need in accordance with the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund (OSOTF) criteria must submit the Financial Need Assessment Form or complete the Financial Aid Estimator

Students who are applying for awards that require letters of support should notify their supervisor/referee to send them directly in confidence to the Graduate Administrator

 

Graduate Scholarships & Awards Descriptions and Criteria

To see the description, the value, and the required criteria for each award, please scroll down and open the award you are applying for. Students must ensure they meet all eligibility requirements. Only complete applications will be considered.

The value of the award is approximately $1,100. However, the amount may vary depending on the funds available for disbursement.

The late Dr. John R. Brown was a professor in the Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Medicine, an associate member of the former Institute of Environmental Studies (now the School of the Environment) and a principal investigator of many research projects at IES during the 1970s. Under the terms of an endowment generously contributed by Mrs. Helen M. Brown, an annual award is given to a qualified graduate student for the best-applied research project dedicated to the analysis and improvement of occupational and environmental health.

Eligibility & Requirements

Eligibility to apply to this award is restricted to full-time graduate students enrolled in the Division of Occupational & Environmental Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health of the Faculty of Medicine, or the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, the Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) program, or Collaborative Specializations offered by the School of the Environment.

If you are applying as a School of the Environment graduate student, the requirements are as follows:

  1. Applicants must be formally enrolled in the MES program, or a Collaborative Specialization at the School of the Environment. This means the student has submitted the Collaborative Specialization Confirmation Form (signed by you, your home department, and the School). If you are uncertain about your enrollment status, please check your ACORN record and/or contact the School’s Graduate Office.
     
  2. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environmental Studies stream, you must have either successfully completed ENV1001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     
  3. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environment and Health stream, you must have either successfully completed ENV4001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.

Applicants must submit the following documents:

  • A cover letter naming the award and an explanation on how they meet eligibility requirements, including details about why they should be considered. 
  • A current resume/CV.
  • A copy of the U of T transcript (ACORN print-out accepted).
  • An abstract of your research (5 double-spaced pages maximum).

The value of the award is approximately $1,500. However, the amount may vary depending on the funds available for disbursement and number of awards given in a particular year.

This award commemorates Professor Sperrin Chant, a member of the University Lodge, who graduated from the University of Toronto and returned to teach here in the Department of Psychology before moving to the University of British Columbia where he became Dean. He was involved in several Royal Commissions, one of which gave rise to Simon Fraser University. His son, Dr. Donald A. Chant, was Chair of Zoology, then Provost of the University of Toronto. His lifetime research dealt with biological and integrated control of pests as an alternative to chemical pesticides.

Eligibility & Requirements

  1. Eligibility to apply to this award is restricted to master’s and doctoral students doing research in toxicology and who demonstrate academic excellence, strength of character, and financial need.
     
  2. All applicants must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Applicants must be formally enrolled in a Collaborative Specialization at the School of the Environment. This means the student has submitted to the School the Collaborative Specialization Confirmation Form (signed by you, your home department, and the School of the Environment). If you are not sure about the enrollment status, please check your ACORN record and/or contact the School’s Graduate Office.
     
  3. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environmental Studies stream, you must have either successfully completed ENV 1001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     
  4. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environment and Health stream, you must have either successfully completed ENV 4001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.

Applicants must submit the following documents:

  • A cover letter naming the award and an explanation on how they meet eligibility requirements, including details about why they should be considered. 
  • A current resume/CV.
  • A copy of the U of T transcript (current ACORN print-out accepted).
  • An abstract of the toxicological/environmental toxicological component of your research (5 double-spaced pages maximum).
  • Financial Need Assessment Form or complete the Financial Aid Estimator

Students applying for this award must meet the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund (OSOTF) criteria.

The value of the award is approximately $2000. However, the amount may vary depending on the funds available for disbursement and number of awards given in a particular year.

This scholarship was established through the generosity of the Estate of Marjorie Bolton to honour the memory of Marjorie Gillespie Bolton and Mabel Gillespie Norris. This scholarship is awarded annually to a graduate student at the University of Toronto with demonstrated financial need and whose academic focus is on sustainability, environmental justice, biodiversity, and/or conservation. Preference will be given to a student enrolled in the School of the Environment’s graduate programs.

Eligibility & Requirements

Preference will be given to a masters or doctoral student enrolled in the Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) program, or one of the graduate Collaborative Specializations at the School of the Environment.

  1. For Collaborative Specialization students in thee Environmental Studies stream, you must have successfully completed ENV1001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     
  2. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environment and Health stream, you must have either successfully completed ENV4001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.

Applicants must submit the following documents:

  • A cover letter naming the award and an explanation on how they meet eligibility requirements, including details about why they should be considered. 
  • A current resume/CV.
  • A copy of the U of T transcript (ACORN print-out accepted).
  • An abstract of your research (1 single-spaced page maximum) that is in sustainability, environmental justice, biodiversity, and/or conservation.
  • Financial Need Assessment Form or complete the Financial Aid Estimator

The value of the award is $500. However, the amount may vary depending on the funds available for disbursement and number of awards given in a particular year.

This fellowship honors the late Eric Krause who passed away in May 2002 after a courageous battle with cancer. In 2003, Eric’s former colleagues at the City of Toronto and the University of Toronto came together to fundraise for a scholarship in his memory.

Eric earned both a BA and a BSc at U of T then continued his studies in the Department of Geography and the former Institute for Environmental Studies (now School of the Environment), completing an MA in 1997. As part of his graduate studies, Eric participated in a summer internship placement with the City of Toronto and completed a thesis titled Ecological Footprints, Climate Change and Sustainable Development in the Greater Toronto Area. Eric took the Ecological Footprint model to the City of Toronto where he became an environmental planner, playing an important role in developing the City’s environmental plan. He also operationalized the Footprint for the City and developed a website that allowed anyone to calculate their own footprint.

The fellowship is awarded to a graduate student enrolled in the Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) program, or a School of the Environment graduate Collaborative Specialization. Preference is given to students who have obtained their undergraduate degree from the former University of Toronto Division for Environment or, presently, School of the Environment. 

Eligibility & Requirements

Eligibility to apply to this award is restricted to master’s and doctoral students enrolled in the Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) program, or one of the graduate Collaborative Specializations at the School of the Environment. The selection is also based on the applicant’s record of financial need and academic excellence. Preference will be given to students who have obtained their undergraduate degree from the School of the Environment.

  1. Applicants must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Applicants must be formally enrolled in the MES program or a Collaborative Specialization at the School of the Environment. 
     
  2. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environmental Studies stream, you must have successfully completed ENV1001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     
  3. For the Environment and Health stream, students must have either successfully completed ENV4001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.

Applicants must submit the following documents:

  • A cover letter naming the award and an explanation on how they meet eligibility requirements, including details about why they should be considered. 
  • A current resume/CV.
  • A copy of the U of T transcript (current ACORN print-out accepted).
  • An abstract of your research (5 double-spaced pages maximum).
  • Financial Need Assessment Form or complete the Financial Aid Estimator

Students applying for this award must meet the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund (OSOTF) criteria.

The value of the award is approximately $5,000. However, the amount may vary depending on the funds available for disbursement.

Through a generous donation from Arthur and Sonia Labatt, a Graduate Fellowship was established and is awarded on an annual basis to support students enrolled in the Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) program or one of the graduate Collaborative Specializations of the School of the Environment. Preference will be given to students who are exploring practical based solutions to environmental issues and/or examining marketplace for solutions to environmental issues. Selection of the final winners is based on the applicants’ record of academic excellence and financial need.

Eligibility & Requirements

Eligibility apply to the Labatt Fellowships is restricted to master’s and doctoral students enrolled in the MES, a Collaborative Specialization in Environment and Health or Environmental Studies, OR the JD/Certificate Program offered by the Faculty of Law and the School of the Environment.

  1. All applicants must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Applicants must be formally enrolled in the MES program, or a Collaborative Specialization at the School of the Environment. 
     
  2. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environmental Studies stream, you must have either successfully completed ENV1001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     
  3. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environment and Health stream, you must have either successfully completed ENV4001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     
  4. For Collaborative Specialization students in the JD/Certificate Program offered by the Faculty of Law and the School of the Environment must have either successfully completed ENV1001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.

Applicants must submit the following documents:

  • A cover letter naming the award and an explanation on how they meet eligibility requirements, including details about why they should be considered. 
  • A current resume/CV.
  • A copy of the U of T transcript (current ACORN print-out accepted).
  • A paper that explores practical solutions to environmental issues and/or examines the marketplace for solutions to environmental issues (20 double-spaced pages maximum). Applicants are not required to produce a paper solely for this award. Students can use a paper that has been previously submitted for a course. Please note that thesis abstracts will not be accepted.
  • Financial Need Assessment Form or complete the Financial Aid Estimator

Students applying for this award must meet the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund (OSOTF) criteria. 

The value of the award is $500. However, the amount may vary depending on the funds available for disbursement. 

This award is named in honour of Dr. George Burwash Langford, the founder and first Director of the Great Lakes Institute, which became the Institute for Environmental Studies and is now the School of the Environment. It is the result of generous donations from family, friends, and colleagues of George Langford. The purpose of the award is to provide support and encouragement for student research and service to the School of the Environment. The award is given annually to a graduate student, registered in the Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) program, or a School of the Environment graduate Collaborative Specialization, who best combines excellence in research in environmental studies and contributes to the work of the School. 

Eligibility & Requirements

Eligibility to apply to this award is restricted to master’s and doctoral students enrolled in the MES program or the Collaborative Specialization in Environment and Health or Environmental Studies offered by the School of the Environment, University of Toronto. Preference will be given to a student who combines excellence in research in environmental studies/environment and health and contributes to the work of the School of the Environment. 

  1. Applicants must be formally enrolled in the MES program, or a Collaborative Specialization at the School of the Environment. 
     
  2. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environmental Studies stream, you must have successfully completed ENV1001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     
  3. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environment and Health stream, you must have either successfully completed ENV4001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.

Applicants must submit the following documents:

  • A cover letter naming the award and an explanation on how they meet eligibility requirements, including details about why they should be considered. 
  • A current resume/CV.
  • A copy of the U of T transcript (ACORN print-out accepted). 
  • An abstract of your research (5 double-spaced pages maximum).

The value of this award is approximately $500. However, the amount may vary depending on the funds available for disbursement.

This Award was established by the Leman family, friends and colleagues of Alexander B. Leman, an architect and urban planner who founded his own architectural firm (1958) as well as Leman Group Inc., (1972) an urban development and planning consulting company. To be awarded to a graduate student enrolled in the Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) program, or the Collaborative Specialization at the School of the Environment and the Department of Geography’s Program in Planning, based on academic merit and financial need. 

Eligibility & Requirements

Eligibility to apply to this award is restricted to master’s and doctoral students enrolled in the MES program, or the Collaborative Specialization at the School of the Environment and the Department of Geography’s Program in Planning only. 

  1. Applicants must be formally enrolled in the MES program, or the Collaborative Specialization at the School of the Environment and the Department of Geography’s Program in Planning. 
     
  2. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environmental Studies stream, you must have either successfully completed ENV1001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     
  3. For Collaborative Specialization students in the Environment and Health stream, you must have either successfully completed ENV4001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.

Applicants must submit the following documents:

  • A cover letter naming the award and an explanation on how they meet eligibility requirements, including details about why they should be considered. 
  • A current resume/CV.
  • A copy of the U of T transcript (current ACORN print-out accepted).
  • Financial Need Assessment Form or complete the Financial Aid Estimator

Approximately $3,000 will be available per award, depending on the annual availability of funds. Allowable expenses include travel and accommodation, registration fees for conferences or summer schools, and related costs. Graduate student stipend support is not an allowable expense. Award recipients may be required to give a presentation on the results of their project as part of the School’s Environment Seminar Series or Annual Research Day.

This fellowship, created by the family of Beatrice and Arthur Minden, was established to honour their memory and philanthropic spirit. Arthur Minden (1910-1966) journeyed as a child with his family from Zhitomir, then part of the Russian Empire, to Hamilton, Ontario. In 1912, Canada became his home. The first of his family to attend university, he always remembered his student days at U of T as filled with opportunity and possibility. He graduated from Osgoode Hall in 1935 and established a law practice that grew to become a prominent firm. (Toronto’s Minden Gross LLP was founded in 1950 by Arthur Minden, with Edwin J. Pivnick and Morris A. Gross.) Well known for his enthusiasm, love of life and the assistance he extended to others, his generous character developed into an active public-spiritedness and commitment to philanthropy. Beatrice Minden, née Spiegel (1910-2009) was born in Toronto to immigrant parents from Galicia. She married Arthur Minden in 1934 and shared his exuberance for life, the arts and community philanthropy supporting many of Toronto’s cultural and health care organizations throughout her long life. 

Eligibility & Requirements

To be awarded to one or more PhD students enrolled one of the School of the Environment’s Collaborative Specialization to provide them with support during the research stage of their dissertations, including enabling their involvement in conferences, summer schools, field work and collaborative visits to research groups across Canada and around the world. Preference will be given to graduate students who have demonstrated academic excellence and whose PhD research is specifically focused on environmental issues, and to projects that open new intellectual avenues and/or foster interdisciplinary activity related to the environment.

  1. Applicants must be formally enrolled in a Collaborative Specialization at the School of the Environment.
     
  2. For the Environmental Studies stream, students must have successfully completed ENV1001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     
  3. For the Environment and Health stream, students must have either successfully completed ENV4001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.

Applicants must submit the following documents to the School of the Environment:

  • A one-page proposal describing the proposed use of the fellowship funds and how this is related to the student’s PhD research.
  • A one-page budget and budget justification.
  • A resume/CV.
  • A letter of support from the student’s graduate supervisor. Submit the letter of support in confidence by email directly to the Graduate Administrator

The value of this award will be approximately $3,000. However, the amount may vary depending on the funds available for disbursement. 

This fellowship was established at the University of Toronto by Robena C. Weatherley to honour the memory of her husband, Professor Emeritus Alan H. Weatherley, and to reflect his personal interest, deep concern, and life-long commitment to environmental issues. Alan Weatherley (1928-2012) was Professor of Zoology at the University of Toronto from 1975 to 1993. He was the author of more than 75 research articles and three books on fisheries biology and continued to work in conservation after his retirement. A short biography of Alan Weatherley will be distributed to each recipient, along with a copy of his book titled A Conservationist Perspective

Eligibility & Requirements

To be awarded annually to one PhD student enrolled one of the School of the Environment’s Collaborative Specializations, to encourage their research and academic achievement. The fellowship should be awarded to a student who demonstrates exceptional academic and/or practical leadership in environmental issues. A student can only receive the award once during their PhD studies.

  1. Applicants must be formally enrolled in a Collaborative Specialization at the School of the Environment. 
     
  2. For the Environmental Studies stream, students must have successfully completed ENV1001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     
  3. For the Environment and Health stream, students must have either successfully completed ENV4001H or be currently registered in this course and display excellent participation.
     

Applicants must submit the following documents to the School of the Environment:

  • A cover letter that describes the applicant’s achievements in academic and/or practical leadership in environmental issues.
  • A resume/CV.
  • Academic transcripts.
  • A letter of support from the applicant’s graduate supervisor or someone else familiar with their achievements. Submit the letter of support in confidence by emaill directly to the Graduate Administrator

 

Federal & Provincial Scholarships

The Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master's (CGS M) program aims to help develop the research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who are early in their graduate studies.

Value: $17,500 for 12 months, non-renewable
Funded by: government-funded (federal)
Application deadline: December 1st, 2023
Eligibility: Canadians & permanent residents of Canada only
 

Prospective MES students:

  • Those applying to the MES are welcome to apply for CGS-M. Applicants should apply for CGS-M at the same time they are applying to the MES. 
  • Those nominated by the graduate unit for the CGS-M are not guaranteed admission into the MES program.
  •  Award results will be released early April.
  • Note: Due to being a new program, the MES program is not listed in the CGS-M application system for the Fall 2023 award cycle. The current workaround is to select “Earth Science” for Department and “School of Environment" for the Faculty. 

Application includes:

  • Completed three-part online application
  • Outline of proposed research (as PDF attachment)
  • Official transcripts from undergraduate and graduate degrees
  • Canadian Common CV 
  • Two references 

Please see the School of Graduate Studies website and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada website for additional details on applying. 

The Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) program recognizes academic excellence in graduate studies in all disciplines of academic study.

Value: $5,000 per session for 2 or 3 consecutive sessions
Funded by: government-funded (provincial)
Application deadlines: 

  • International Departmental Deadline: April 1, 2024
  • Domestic Departmental Deadline: April 22, 2024

Prospective MES students:

  • Those applying to the MES are welcome to apply for OGS. Applicants should apply to the MES prior to applying to OGS. 
  • Award results will be released late May for the international competition and early July for the domestic competition. 
  • Applicants who self-identify as a Black or Indigenous applicant in their OGS application may be considered for the Inclusive Excellence Admissions Scholarships for Master’s Students.

Application includes:

  • OGS application form
  • Transcripts from all post-secondary institutions 
  • Previous awards/publications/conference/research experience
  • Plan of study (Maximum 2 pages with 1 page dedicated to the Plan of Study and 1 page for references/citations).
  • Two academic references