SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship 2012-13

Deadline: October 6, 2011

Home page of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Fellowship Competition [www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca]

For information on last year's competition (2011-12): http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/SSHRC

See also: Humanities and Social Sciences Postdocs 2011-12

Stats
How many people are applying? 23

Are you applying to hold the award within Canada? 15

Outside Canada? 8

Where did the stats from last week go? ''This count was in the 30s the last time that I checked. ''

A: I think you might be getting the above confused with last year's page ... I don't believe the count has ever gotten so high on the 2012-2013 page (at least not yet).
 * earlier this week this page was at 35, then dropped back down yesterday. Not sure why though. Not that I check on an almost compulsive basis to see if people have heard yet or anything :)
 * I noticed the change. No idea why.
 * hmmm ... could have been an error ... not sure too much stock should be put in the self-reported numbers on this page in any event. From the award letter recorded below, the official numbers: "145 of 986 applications were successful."

Receipt of application
Has anyone received email confirmation of receipt? (posted 11/5)

Nope. (22)

Yes.

(02/02) Glad to hear others haven't received email confirmations......every now and then I have short bursts of panic that my application didn't go through.....

(03/02) I did not receive one at first; but I emailed to confirm my application had been received. I got a quick response with an application number in it!

Notification of Awards
(03/02) In response to an email asking when decision letters might be sent out, I received a reply that my letter was sent out today (with a confirmation of my mailing address). We should all hear soon!

(04/02) Let the sleepless nights begin......good luck to everyone!

(05/02) Good Luck everyone!

(06/02) Yes, good luck everyone! What discipline are you all in? (I'm in business.)


 * (06/02) Environment and Resource Studies
 * (07/02) English literature; Sociology of Education
 * (07/02) Sociology

(06/02) No letter yet. (Hamilton)

(06/02) No letter yet (Toronto) x 8

(06/02) No letter yet (Montreal) x 3

(06/02) No letter yet (New Brunswick)

(06/02) No letter yet (Unitet States)

(06/02) No letter yet (Waterloo)

(06/02) Nay. Still waiting (Edmonton)

(07/02) Not today (Hamilton)

(07/02) No letter today;( (Toronto) x 5

(07/02) No letter yet (Montreal) x 2

(07/02) No letter yet (Winnipeg)

(07/02) Received happy letter today (Ottawa):


 * Letter dated February 6th.

(08/02) No letter yet (Toronto - out in Western part of the city if that matters) x 2
 * 145 of 986 applications were successful.
 * My score was 29.25/30. I'm ABD in Sociology.
 * Wow! What an amazing score! Congratulations! I'm pretty sure I will not be even close to getting funded, but I can't give up hope until I get that letter....
 * Is that 145 of 986 apps total, or in your field? Congratulations, by the way, those are amazing scores!
 * Must be total applications. Official stats can be downloaded here: http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/results-resultats/stats-statistiques/index-eng.aspx. You can see that 175 awards were actually given from 877 applications in last year's competition. You can also see the breakdowns by committee and research area. They seem to have consistently given the same % of awards as there were applicants for each committee (e.g. if 22% applicants were literature and fine arts 22% of the awards went there). It does appear that a lower percentage of applicants are being granted awards this year though across the board if the numbers above are correct.
 * Confirmed. 986 total applications.

(08/02) Got the good news today! 26.2/30 History.

(08/02) No letter yet (Vancouver).

(08/02) No letter (Toronto-Downtown) x2

(08/02) No letter (Richmond Hill, ON)

(08/02) Received good news today in Toronto, 28.5/30 (History). [To hold in Canada, diff. university from home university. Track record was 14.4 w/ 4 peer-reviewed publications (plus one forthcoming), several book reviews, collaborative projects and numerous national conf. presentations.]

(08/02) No news yet (Vancouver)

''Obsessive question: What size was the envelope of the acceptance letter? Thanks!''
 * letters are standard sized. Thin - only 3 pages. About the size of your monthly utilities bill.
 * And the same for the rejection letter, I assume?
 * the rejection letter is only a single page, along with an additional page for the explanation of the process, so it should be thinner than the acceptance letter

Can those of you who have received good news share something about your proposed place of tenure (ie whether it's in Canada, whether it's far from your PhD university) and something about your track record and discipline?
 * Updated - I found this helpful in past years to get a view into the 'black box.'

Waitlistings
Got my letter today (Feb 7th- Ottawa) and I am on the waiting list with a score of 24.7 ....I am really not sure what my chances are of getting anything! Got my letter (Feb. 7--Montreal), Recommended but not funded. 21.6 in History. Track record was low (10.4) despite having a completed PhD, 1 published book (co-author), 1 published article, 2 OGS, 1 SSHRC, and a ton of conferences. Annoyed to say the least! (08/02) Montreal. 20.3 (political science) recommended for funding but not funded; on waiting list :(
 * I was second on the short-list in the 2011-2012 competition and never made it through. A friend was fourth on the short list in 2010-2011 and was offered an award in June. So it really depends.
 * That seems ridiculous! Why would you get that kind of track record score? SSHRC mystifies me.
 * ​I've always had a hard time with SSHRC. I was the only PhD student in my department with a book and somehow could never crack the top 3. I finally got it in my third year. 

(08/02) Toronto 20.2/30 Interdispclinary - recommended but on waitlist - track record low at 9.4 - ABD, 1 SSHRC CGS, 1 OGS, numerous other departmental and external organizations, 3 peer-reviewed, 1 forthcoming, invited papers (2), invited talks, creative publication, presentations, and a book review. Not holding my breath - may have applied through the wrong stream.

(08/02) Score 23.8 "recommended but not funded" (Toronto; Religious Studies)

Rejections
(07/02) Letter dated Feb. 6 2012. Score 23.6/30. Recommended for funding but not funded. (08/02) Score 19.4/30. Not recommended for funding. (Montreal)
 * Sorry to hear that; are you on the waitlist now? What discipline?

(08/02) Score 17.4. Not recommended for funding. (Toronto, history). My "track record" was abysmally low, only 7.9. What goes into that score? I had 3 OGS scholarships, and one SSHRC doctoral (1-year), and I finished in approximately six years. No publications (at the time of application), however.
 * Ah, that is really too bad to hear. It seems to be a bit of a blackbox, but based on past wiki discussions for previous years, I think it's pretty scattershot (i.e. ppl w/ many awards - like you - and even publications recieving low scores, while others w/ seemingly less accomplished track records get higher). With a record like that I hope something else is sure to come up soon!
 * Last year I received the same track record score (7.9), and I finished in 5.5 years (including a mat leave), had 2 previous SSHRCs, a bunch of other scholarships, 1 publication, and 10 conference papers, including a refereed one. I'm not sure why my score was so low - I know I haven't published a book or anything, but I was just finishing my doctorate! I wish we knew more about their reasoning. 

(08/02) Score 17.9. Not recommended for funding. (Hamilton)

(08/02) Score 18.6. Recommended for funding but not funded. On waiting list - how and why is a mystery given the score. (History)

(08/02) Scoe 19.6 Recommend for funding but not funded (Toronto; Philosophy).

(08/02) Score 20.1 and Not recommended for funding and not on waiting list (???? can anyone explain?) (Toronto; Psychology) My track record score was 9.6 despite having the following: 3 first-authored peer-reviewed pubs, 2 ogs, 1 sshrc (doctoral for 2 years), 10+ conference presentations. What does it take to have a higher track record score, enough to get funded? How do I have a higher score but not on the waitilist with some of the people who posted above me with lower scores? (08/02) Score 17.5, not recommended for funding (Toronto, Comp Lit)
 * That's too bad, sorry to hear about that. It just shows some of the rediculous judgments involved here. I think waitlist positions are determined by committee not overall..
 * All scores are relative scores within committee, not absolute scores. So if you got a low score it doesn't mean they thought you were bad, just other applicants for that committee they thought were better. Note there were over 100 more applicants overall this year and about 30 fewer awards handed out.
 * Sorry to hear that. What adds to the total score? (Sorry for this beginner's question) Track record score,, and???
 * Track record score plus program of work score, both out of 15 for a total score of 30.
 * Thanks. 
 * I understood that the references are important in the application. Would stronger references add some points to track record score?

Questions & Discussion
(05/02) Does anybody know if having been put on the waitlist for the 2011 application makes a difference for this application? (Nope, makes no difference. Everybody starts the next year with a clean slate.)

(07/02) Is there a bias towards funding students who will take the money to Canadian vs. international institutions? ''Not officially, but for the past few years at least, you have a better chance if you're taking your SSHRC out of the country. ''

What evidence are you basing that claim on? ''Check out the annual stats on the SSHRC website. It's pretty interesting.''

(07/02) Any idea if decisions on the Bantings are likely to be announced earlier than last year, as well? Seems like SSHRC is pretty on the ball this year. Be nice not to have to wait until early April.

(08/02) Will the decision letter also go directly to our proposed supervisor?

''No, she/he will not know. I know this because I applied last year.''