SSHRC 2016-2017

This page is for tracking SSHRC awards to be held during the 2016-2017 academic year.

SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships proposals are expected to respond to the objectives put forward in the call for proposals for the Talent program.

SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships support the most promising Canadian new scholars in the social sciences and humanities and assist them in establishing a research base at an important time in their research careers.

SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships provide stipendiary support to recent PhD graduates who are: undertaking original research; publishing research findings; developing and expanding personal research networks; broadening their teaching experience; preparing for research-intensive careers within and beyond academia; and preparing to become competitive in national research grants competitions.

Fellowships will normally be awarded to candidates affiliated with a university other than that which awarded the PhD. SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship awards are tenable at Canadian or foreign universities and research institutions.

SSHRC welcomes applications involving Aboriginal research, as well as those involving research-creation.

Value: $40,500 per year

Duration: 12 to 24 months

Application deadline: (8 p.m. eastern) September 23, 2015

Results announced: February 2016

APPLY

Stats
Applying as an ABD: 16

Applying with a PhD (0-1 years out): 7

Applying with a PhD (2-3 years out): 1

Total: 24

Applying to hold at a Canadian institution: 16

Applying to hold at a non-Canadian institution: 7

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Pages from Previous Years
SSHRC 2011-12

SSHRC 2012-13

SSHRC 2013-14

SSHRC 2014-15

SSHRC 2015-2016

SEE ALSO: Humanities and Social Sciences Postdocs 2015-16

Acknowledgement of application received

 * Submitted on Monday Sep. 22nd, marked as forwarded. Tuesday Sept. 23rd marked as received. No e-mail confirmation as of yet.
 * Submitted on Wednesday, Sept. 23rd; marked as forwarded, marked as received Sept. 24. No email confirmation yet.
 * Submitted Sunday, Sept 21; by Sept 23 marked as received. No email confirmation yet.
 * Submitted Wednesday, Sept. 23rd; Marked as received Sept. 24th. No email confirmation. Nail-biting now pathological.
 * Submitted Wednesday, Sept 23rd; marked as forwarded first and then as received. No email confirmation yet as of Sept 26th.
 * Submitted Wednesday, Sept 23rd; No email confirmation yet as of Sept 29th.


 * Anyone receive an email confirmation yet? Last year I got an acknowledgement email on Sept. 30th.**
 * No, as of October 8th, I haven't received email confirmation yet. Should I be worried about this?
 * I don't have anything either.
 * I got an email confirmation on October 9th.
 * As of Oct. 15, no confirmation either.
 * I haven't received confirmation either...as of Oct. 28th.
 * no confirmation as of Nov 1
 * Nothing as of Nov 9.. Should I be worried? Everything checked out on the portal.
 * I wrote to SSHRC on Nov 12 to ask about the email confirmation and they said that I was in fact sent a confirmation on Sept 24th, and they sent me the text of the email (but did not resend the actual email). It was apparently sent to my current email address. I have no idea why I didn't receive it.
 * I emailed SSHRC on Nov. 16 to inquire about the lack of confirmation and they responded saying that they had indeed emailed me. As with the previous comment, I have no idea where that alleged email went.
 * Adding one more voice to the discussion just above: I emailed them finally on November 18th to ask about confirmation and they wrote back saying that it had been sent to the email address listed in my profile. The text of the supposed original email was copied into the reply. It never arrived in my inbox and did not get spam-filtered. Glad to hear I'm not the only one. If you haven't received an email, I'd suggest contacting them; the confirmation includes your application number, which is probably handy to have on file.
 * Same deal as person above. No confirmation email, but supposedly was sent one.
 * I also emailed them yesterday (December 3rd) inquring about confirmation, since I received no email. I got a reply almost instantly with the text of the email they supposedly sent, along with my application/file number. It seems like there is a problem with their system, as I've colleagues who applied for this round and received their confirmation emails without problem. (I didn't, for the record, receive any such email.) If anyone is still wondering about this I would recommend emailing fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca.
 * I had a confirmation e-mail on October 8, 2015.


 * I read all of your comments, so I emailed SSHRC to ask for my application number on Jan 4, 2016 and received a reply the day after. I was told I was sent a confirmation email... but as many of you, I didn't actually receive such confirmation. Anyhow, I was given the application number, so all is good.
 * I also emailed SSHRC at the beginning of January because I had never received a confirmation. The response I got back said that I should have some news about my application "sometime this month". But the subject line of the email reads: "sshrc postdoc:Accepted". Might this be an unofficial way of indicating that I can expect some *good* news later this month, or am I reading in?
 * I wouldn't bank on it.. but, do report back on this.
 * "Sometime this month", as in January? Wouldn't that be nice..
 * That's what they said! But who knows... I'm predicting a Valentine's Day rejection, so as not to set myself up for disappointment.
 * I spoke to someone at SSHRC this week, they said letters will be mailed sometime in the first or second week of Feb.
 * I would love for this to be true, rather than waiting until the end of February like last year.
 * I have no doubt that SSHRC said that, but don't they have a long history of repeatedly saying they'll be out "in the next week" over and over again? I'm betting that those of us in Canada will receive the letter the week of Feb. 22-26.


 * Feb 1 - Let the obsessive checking of mailboxes begin.
 * Feb 8 - ....and this wiki.


 * Email from SSHRC:  The results will be mailed probably tomorrow or on Monday February 15.
 * What were the details of the e-mail, if you don't mind me asking?
 * That was it... a simple response.
 * Exciting! Except Monday is a holiday in Ontario. I love all of the "probably" statements from SSHRC!
 * Mail would still be delivered as its a provincial not a federal holiday. Post office would close only on federal holidays.


 * On behalf of everyone else waiting and biting their nails, thanks for calling and trying to get some information out of them.
 * Yea, you the real MVP.


 * Results were mailed out Friday, February 12th by regular mail - confirmed in an email from SSHRC. [posted Feb. 15]
 * That's good news! I've been watching their Twitter feed as for the last several years they've tweeted to indicate when letters were mailed and they haven't (yet) this year so I thought not.
 * I agree, it's strange they wouldn't also post on twitter since they have for the last few years at least. Are you sure it was the post-doctoral results that were mailed on the 12th?


 * Feb.16 - Has anyone received their results?
 * No, not yet. I'll post as soon as I do.
 * No letter in London ON as of 8pm on Feb. 16
 * Still no letter in London, ON on Feb. 17.
 * Nothing yet for me (located in GTA, if that helps). I will also post as soon as I do.
 * No (in Toronto); I expect tomorrow (the 17th) will be the day...
 * I'm in Toronto as well. Having a hard time finishing my article revision!
 * Just received my letter in Toronto - a rejection. Results below.


 * The exact wording of the email was: "The results for the SSHRC Postdoctoral competition were sent out by regular mail on Friday February 12, 2016."
 * Cool! Thanks!


 * Letter Received: Feb 16th, Southwestern Ontario. Will post full results later. Good luck to you all!
 * Letter received in Montreal on Feb 16th, awarded and to be held at McGill University, details later. Good luck guys.
 * Anyone receive a letter in BC yet?
 * Haven't even received letter in Mississauga yet, so BC unlikely.
 * I was about to ask the same: anyone with a response in BC yet? But apparently, no. Nothing as of Feb 17. :(
 * Have all of you in Toronto now received your letters? (Feb 17th)
 * Letter Received: Feb. 17th, Toronto (x2)
 * Letter Received: Feb 17th, Northeastern United States
 * Letter Received: Feb 17th, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
 * Letter Received: Feb 18, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
 * Letter Received: Feb 18th, California
 * Letter Received: Feb 18th, BC

Results received (successful)

 * FORMAT: Score. Discipline. Selection Committee (eg, 3/7563, 6/7566). Location: (eg, Canada, US). Status: (eg, ABD, 1yr, 2yr). Qualifications: (eg, pubs, presentations).
 * Score: 4.83/6 (4.7, 4.8, 4.9). Discipline: Philosophy. Committee: 7562. Location of Tenure: UK. Status when applied: ABD at Ontario University. Qualifications: 2 peer reviwed articles, numerous refereed conferences, some published translations. 3 previous SSHRC awards and other scholarships. Good luck everyone!
 * Score:5.25/6 (challenge 5.05/6, feasibility 5.17/6, capability 5.38): Discipline Geography, to be held at McGill. PhD in 2014, worked as a post doc since then at UdEM. 18 peer review papers, two books and more than five papers on review. Previous SSHRC doctoral award.Award from FRQSC and numerous other awards.Good luck all....
 * Score: 4.71/6 (challenge 3.95/6, feasibility 4.27/6, capability 5.27/6): Discipline Geography, tenure at Windsor. PhD in 2014, worked as postdoc since then at two universities. 10 peer reviewed papers, 15+ conference presentations, SSHRC doctotal award (declined), Other awards from conferences and graduate studies. Good luck everyone!
 * Score: 4.18/6 (challenge 3.80/6, feasibility 3.90/6, capability 4.50/6): Discipline: History, tenure at U of T. ABD from a B.C. university. Several peer reviewed papers, a couple of book chapters, 14 grants, awards and fellowships (none from SSHRC). Going to decline. Good luck!

Results received (waitlisted)
. Number of applications evaluated: 131 . Minimum score that qualified for funding: 4.34 . Maximum rank that qualified for funding: 25th
 * FORMAT: Score. Discipline. Selection Committee (eg, 3/7563, 6/7566). Location: (eg, Canada, US). Status: (eg, ABD, 1yr, 2yr). Qualifications: (eg, pubs, presentations).
 * Score: 4.21/6 (4.45; 4.40; 4.00).  Political Science.  Selection Committee 4. Location: Ontario ABD and applied for in Ontario as well. Qualifications: 1 chapter in edited volume (Routledge), 2 very recent R&Rs from top tier journals (1 single author, 1 co-authored), 20+ conference/invited presentations, and only limited previous funding (2 years OGS and smaller awards/grants).  I am not entirely surprised at the results, although disappointed - I will give it a shot next year with more publications and hope for the best with this lotto.  But, I am curious what the score threshold was for an offer of support, given that 4.21 did not make the cut this year and seems higher than some/most of the waitlisted scores for last year. Thanks for any info! My letter was dated February 12, 2016 and arrived (Southern Ontario) February 16, 2016 by the way. EDIT: If people are interested, here is some info for Committee 5.
 * Committee 5
 * Score 4.16/6. History: Committee 2. Applying 1 year out. PhD in Canada and to hold in Canada. 2 Peer-review articles in top field journals; multiple conference presentations; multiple pieces in popular press; and at the time of application, I had secured a book contract for my PhD dissertation, which is now in peer-review. SSHRCs for both PhD (CGS) and MA. Similar project and same tenure place as last year; score is close (I assume) to the funding line, but for those who have yet to see their letter, the competititon gave out quite a bit less awards this year. Last year, it was around a 22% success rate, and this year it was an 18.5% rate (156/841). For those on the bubble, this likely means the difference. UPDATE: I got in touch with SSHRC, and I obtained my committee (2) data. Here it is:
 * Committee 2  

 ·           Number of applications evaluated: 83

 ·           Minimum score that qualified for funding: 4.18

 ·           Maximum rank that qualified for funding: 15th

 ·           Your rank: 17th


 *   My hope is for a bump up, because last year a couple people got bumped up from the #2/3 waiting spot, as did one of my colleagues.

. Just received the results: 4.18/6 (history); looks like I am the 15th. I'm going to decline (have a better postdoc), so you are one position closer to getting it!
 * Who did you contact to find out the committee information? The helpdesk email?


 * Score: 3.95/6 (3.8;3.8;4.1). English Literature. Selection Committee: 1 (Humanities and Arts). Location: Canada ABD, applied to hold fellowship in US. Qualifications: 1 major journal publication, 1 submitted; a half-dozen conference papers; SSHRC CGS and multiple OGS awards. Not suprised, but disappointed - might move into non-academic pursuits since I'm not that portable and sessional life doesn't appeal. Letter arrived Feb 16.
 * Score: 3.90/6 (4.00; 3.75; 3.95). Communication. Committee 6 (7566). Location: USA currently, applied to Canada. Status: ABD 4yr. Qualifications: 3 edited special issue journals (pretty good journals), 6 solo author pubs (okish journals), 3 proceedings/reports, 1 book chapter (open access), 4 book reviews (pretty good journals), 28 conference presentations, 2 fellowships (non-SSHRC), and a bunch of small bursaries/awards. [UPDATE 1: I also got in touch with SSHRC and obtained my committee (6) data. Find it below.] [UPDATE 2: Just an FYI, most profs I've talked to say they don't imagine the qualifying rank reaching higher than 25th (the first 5 people on the wait list), so everyone below that (including me) shouldn't be holding their breath.]
 * Committee 6   ·
 * Number of applications evaluated: 109  ·
 * Minimum score that qualified for funding: 4.24
 * Maximum rank that qualified for funding: 20 th
 * Your rank: 31 st


 * Score: 3.84/6 (3.7; 3.75; 3.95). History. Location: Canada. Status: 1yr. Qualifications: 2 pubs in mediocre PR journals; 4 pubs forthcoming; 17 conference papers; MA and PhD SSHRCs.  Sessional for hire!
 * Score: 3.51/6 (3.9; 3.85; 3.15). Political Science. Location: Canada ABD, applied to hold in US. Qualifications: 1 co-authored journal; 2 R&Rs; 5 conference papers; OGS and other awards. Letter arrived Feb. 16.
 * Score 3.25 (3; 3; 3.5). Sociology. Location: Applying from Canada to Ivy League university in the US. Status: ABD. Qualifications: 4 co-authored peer-reviewed journals, multiple book chapters, book reviews, encyclopedia articles; 14 conference presentations; previous doctoral SSHRC and multiple OGS. Pretty disappointed since the scholars in my field were so excited about this project!
 * Score: 3.7 (3.8; 3.8; 3.6). Sociology. Location: Canada ABD, applied to hold in Canada. Qualifications: 1 first-author in decent journal. 1 co-authored chapter. 2 policy reports. Several book reviews. ~8 conference presentations. Multiple OGS/external policy-research grants.
 * Score: 3.18 (Challenge 3.25; Feasibility 3.00; Capability 3.25). Art History. ABD McGill, applying to Toronto. At the time of application: 1 peer-reviewed article; 1 peer-reviewed article accepted; another under review + 1 chapter in an edited volume; 20+ conference and workshop papers. PhD fully funded throughout, though not by SSHRC.
 * Score: 3.63/6 (Challenge: 3.55; Feasibility: 4.55, Ca[pability: 3.10). Politics Science. ABD Southern Ontario. Applying to be in Ontario. At the time of application: 1 book chapter, several prestigious national and international conference papers; non-SSHRC PhD fellowship and various smaller SSHRC and instituional awards.

Results received (unsuccessful)

 * FORMAT: Score. Discipline. Selection Committee (eg, 3/7563, 6/7566). Location: (eg, Canada, US). Status: (eg, ABD, 1yr, 2yr). Qualifications: (eg, pubs, presentations).
 * Well, here it goes. Pretty stunned by my awful score. 2.35/6 (Challenge - 2.2/6, Feasibility 2.45/6, Capability 2.35/6). Fine Arts. Location: Canada (U.S. PhD). Status: PhD in 2014. Qualifications: 2 articles in good journals (1 was in press at time of application), 13 conference presentations, decent funding record (no prev. SSHRC)
 * Also surprised and disappointed by my low score. 2.71/6 (Challenge- 2.58/6, Feasibility 2.65/6, Capability 2.80/6). Gender and Women's Studies. Committee 3. Location: Canada. Status: ABD. Qualifications: 1 article, 5 book chapters, 2 co-edited volumes, 1 sole edited volume, various conferences and guest lectures (no prev. SSHRC).
 * Fucking stunned, and frankly enraged, at my score, for a project that continues a funded fellowship i am currently on, wherein the proposal was read OVER AND OVER and EDITED AND EDITED FOR MONTHS by a Canada Research Chair, and with 6 peer reviewed articles, two book chapters, Bombardier AND a Fulbright during grad school and i got 2.6/6 for capability. Sorry but that's nonsense. I'm out. Academia is a cesspool, not to mention a sinking ship. Med school, here I come. good luck to everyone else.

DISCUSSION

 * Anyone else have trouble with the application form this evening? I tried to verify a few minutes before 8pm and the verify button had disappeared. Does anyone have any experience with this?
 * Hi there. Can the same individual send two post doc fellowship applications for the same academic year, one for SSHRC and the other for CIHR? Thanks for the feedback..!
 * No, you can't - you're only allowed to submit one postdoc application to SSHRC, CIHR, or NSERC per year. See details under eligibility: http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/fellowships/postdoctoral-postdoctorale-eng.aspx#a4


 * Plan B - What is everyone doing if they don't get this? I plan on avoiding sessional work like the plague (currently ABD). Got a decent government research gig/visiting research position lined up. Not sure what else I will do with myself.
 * I'll go the sessional route, supplemented with non-profit contracts...
 * Hey, your view of sessional teaching may change once you finish your PhD and find yourself in a very crowded and very competitive job market. Mine did. I am less than a year out, and am pretty happy to be teaching right now, while I wait for these results.
 * Luckily, my specialization lends itself/has already produced alternative opportunities. If it keeps doing so, I will continue to avoid sessional work. It is grossly underpaid, undervalued and time consuming. Ever heard of the sessional trap?


 * An offer of a Banting Fellowship came on Thursday (Feb 4).
 * Congrats! I was rejected a Banting on Thursday.  If I may, can I ask your "Results Received" information like is asked for above, for this award?
 * Thanks! Overall average score: 7.67 (8+8+7). History. Canada. ABD (still have to defend the thing). Qualifications: quite a bunch of publications + professional experience before the PhD programme.


 * Feb. 16 - Can anyone confirm whether these committees are from the current competition? I just came across this page, but am surprised SSHRC would make these commitee lists available so soon. I am unclear what "October 2015 competiton" refers to. Ie, applications received in September 2015?  - * At the bottom of that site it says date modiefie: 2015-10-26, so those are the committees for an old competition, not this year's. [this not necessarily true, see below]
 * It's quite possible since the names were released after the application deadline. SSHRC is quite active on Twitter so I'm sure they'd let you know if this is correct if you tweet at them.
 * You're right, my mistake, it's perfectly possible those are the names of the committee members for this year's competition given the date. Although in the past details like this are usually only released after the results of teh competition are. In any case, as the previous post says, the best bet would be to ask SSHRC.
 * Honestly, the committees do not change significantly from year to year - you can easily see previous years' committees and they're often composed of the same group of people. It's unfortunate, as some committees are so multidiscplinary and do not have a member that covers each of the disciplines.


 * For those of you who had many research contributions, how did you fit them within the 2-page limit? I don't have my results yet, but I'm wondering if I should have had a line that said something like "Plus X additional conference presentations between 2008-2015." I only added the word "Selected" to my headings when they wouldn't all fit. :S
 * Small font, small margins, little space between lines :-)
 * Darn, I could have sworn that I read that there were font, margin, and spacing restrictions. Can't find them now, but that's why I didn't try those tactics. Still don't have my results yet, but if I don't get it I know what I'll be doing next time around (if there is a next time)!
 * Who are people contacting at SSHRC to get information about their committee/ranking, etc?