Identifying grants to apply for

SFU and major external awards

Information about graduate student funding and awards from SFU, as well as major external funding sources such as the Social Sciences ahd Humanities Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is maintained by SFU Graduate Studies Scholarships and Awards.

External & Governement Funded Awards
External and government awards are funded through private, provincial, or federal sources.

Internal and Donor Funded Awards
Internal and donor funded awards are funded through the University’s Scholarship, Bursary and Award funds, Departmental, School, Academic Unit and/or Faculty funds or through donors.

Other funding sources

Grant Connect
Canadian fundraising database with more than 3,000 listings of foundations, corporations, and funding agencies. Allows you to search by funding agency, view the types of projects they have funded in the past, and current calls for proposals. Aimed primary at charitable organizations, so check to see if your project or research meets the organization's funding criteria.

Help with scholarship, award, and funding application writing

Read Ahead Service 

SFU graduate students from all disciplines can submit drafts of writing-in-progress—including grant and scholarship applications—to a Graduate Writing Facilitator to get written feedback. This is the Read Ahead service, which is offered as a part of Graduate Writing Services in the Research Commons. 

Examples of successful applications

SFU Graduate Studies has created a useful sample document library of successful applications. Please note that you must log in using your SFU computing ID to access the Sample Document Library. 

Quick tips

Award Application Resources
Application tips and other useful resources from SFU Graduate Studies.

Lorusso, J. R., Morrison, H. J., & Johnson, A. M. (2023). Ten top tips on scholarship and grant writing for graduate students in physical and health education. Revue phénEPS/PHEnex Journal, 13(3).
Offers a list of ten top tips gathered from faculty members and graduate students of the Physical and Health Education Canada Research Council who have a record of success in scholarship and grant applications.

Grant Proposals (or Give me the money!)
Handout produced by The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The Art of Grantsmanship
Paper by Jacob Kraicer, Department of Physiology, University of Toronto

Ten Simple Rules for Getting Grants
Science-focused, but applicable to all types of grants

Tips for applying for Canada Tri-Agency funding 

SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR, collectively called the Tri-Agency, provide funding for university research in Canada. Graduate students in Canada can receive scholarships via the Tri-Agency. Check this section for s writing resources specific to the funding agency for your research area. SSHRC funds research in the humanities and social sciences, NSERC funds science and engineering research, and CIHR funds health research. 

The Art of Writing a CIHR Application
CIHR tips on writing a successful funding application. Aimed at faculty. 

On the art of writing proposals
Tips for applications to the U.S. Social Science Research Council, relevant for SSHRC grants

A guide for proposal writing
Guide from the U.S. National Science Foundation, recommended by NSERC

Guides and handbooks

To locate books and other resources on grant writing, search the Library Catalogue using these subject headings:

• Proposal writing for grants
• Research grants
• Research grants -- Handbooks, manuals, etc

Videos

These brief but highly informative videos are included in the Library's subscription to Sage Research Methods Video:

• The grant writing process step 1 : Grant selection & networking.  [18:58]
• The grant writing process step 2 : Project planning & design.  [12:31]
• The grant writing process step 3 : Evaluation & submission.  [13:33]

Grant workshops and courses

Upcoming scholarships workshops, SFU Graduate Studies
Held mainly in the fall term, workshops focus on major graduate funding sources, including SSHRC/NSERC/CIHR awards