Department of National Defence MINDS Scholarship Initiative

2023-24 competitions

On this page

• Description
• Research Areas
• Value and duration
• Eligibility
• Application process
• Merit review
• Conditions of funding
• Regulations, policies and related information
• Contact information

Description

The Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) program of the Department of National Defence (DND) is committed to fostering the next generation of security and defence scholars in the Canadian academic community and to encouraging a strong Canadian knowledge base in contemporary defence and security issues. To this end, the MINDS program has partnered with SSHRC to deliver the MINDS Scholarship Initiative.

This initiative offers research training awards and supplements to master’s and doctoral students and to postdoctoral researchers in the social sciences and humanities whose work is related to one or more of the MINDS Policy Challenges.

Research areas

For details on the research areas relevant to the MINDS Scholarship Initiative, applicants should consult the MINDS Policy Challenges, which represent key issue areas where DND and the Canadian Armed Forces could benefit from external expertise to challenge or complement their thinking.

Critical research perspectives, which may challenge or invite a reformulation of the policy themes and terms outlined in the MINDS Policy Challenges, are welcome.

The MINDS program is committed to reflecting key Government of Canada priorities in the work it delivers, ensuring the incorporation of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+). GBA+ requires the incorporation of diverse viewpoints. This means that deliberate efforts should be made to mitigate unintended bias related to intersecting identity factors (including, but not limited to, age, gender, ethnicity, race, disability, religion and geographic region). Applying a GBA+ lens to research ensures the issue is considered from multiple perspectives, supporting more inclusive research questions and results.

In Memoriam Scholarship: Nathan Alexander Sears, 1987-2023

Nathan Alexander Sears was the epitome of a committed scholar. A graduate of Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and 2020 MINDS funding recipient, Sears defended his PhD dissertation at the University of Toronto in October 2022. By the time of his tragic death in March 2023, he had established himself as a leading voice on global existential threats to humanity. His publications, including influential articles in Journal of Global Security Studies and Global Policy, introduced a new security framework for understanding global existential threats and catastrophic risk. Specifically, Sears’s work examined why great powers struggle to address civilizational threats such as nuclear war, the risk of bioengineered pathogens and “unaligned” artificial intelligence. His work continues to be an inspiration for scholars globally.

As well as an accomplished academic, Sears was an engaged policy practitioner who bridged the gap between academia and policy. In 2018, he was among the winners of Global Affairs Canada (GAC’s) International Policy Ideas Challenge. In 2019-20, he was the Government of Canada’s Cadieux-Léger fellow, an honour awarded annually to an exceptional doctoral student. This fellowship brought him to Ottawa to work at GAC’s Foreign Policy Research Division where his innovative ideas helped shape government decision-making. Sears continued to work for the federal government after defending his dissertation, making significant contributions to Canada’s national security in a short time. Sears left an indelible mark on all he encountered as kind, passionate, intellectually courageous and deeply committed to making the world a better and safer place.

In recognition of Nathan Sear’s legacy of scholarship and public service, MINDS is proud to offer a one-time MINDS scholarship in his honour. The Nathan Alexander Sears memorial scholarship will recognize one exceptional scholar working at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and national security, broadly conceived. The successful applicant will address one or more of the following themes: the threat posed by unaligned AI and how to address it; the causes and consequences of great power competition and AI; the threats and opportunities of AI for national security; or the responsible use of AI in the military domain.

Value and duration

This initiative has four streams of funding:

• MINDS Master’s Scholarships for Indigenous Students: $17,500 for 12 months, in addition to the value of the Canada Graduate Scholarships—Master’s (CGS M) award;
• MINDS Initiative Doctoral Awards: $35,000 per year for a maximum of 36 months;
• MINDS Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowships: $45,000 per year for 12 or 24 months; and
• MINDS Scholarship Initiative Supplements: $10,000 for 12 months, in addition to the value of the CGS M award, the SSHRC Doctoral Award (which can be a Canada Graduate Scholarships—Doctoral (CGS D) award or a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship) or the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply to each of the funding streams, applicants must be working in research areas that are related to one or more of the MINDS Policy Challenges.

The eligibility requirements listed below for each stream also apply.

For the MINDS Master’s Scholarships for Indigenous Students, applicants must:

• first be eligible to apply to the CGS M competition, under the “social sciences and/or humanities field of research” stream; and
• self-identify as Indigenous.

For the MINDS Initiative Doctoral Awards, applicants must:

• first be eligible to apply to the SSHRC Doctoral Awards competition.

For the MINDS Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowships, applicants must:

• first be eligible to apply to the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships competition.

For the MINDS Scholarship Initiative Supplements, applicants must:

• first be eligible to apply to one of the following funding opportunities:
  • CGS M competition (under the “social sciences and/or humanities field of research” stream);
  • SSHRC Doctoral Awards competition; or
  • SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships competition.

Application process

MINDS Master’s Scholarships for Indigenous Students

Applicants who meet the eligibility requirements for this funding stream must apply through the CGS M competition.

Applicants select “MINDS Master’s Scholarships for Indigenous Students” in the drop-down menu in the “Supplements/Joint Initiatives” section of the application form, under the “social sciences and/or humanities” field of research.

Applicants must also submit a personal statement and a statement of thematic relevance.

• In their personal statement, applicants must describe how their proposed research project, career, and/or education goals have been informed by their experience as a First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis individual. If appropriate, applicants can discuss their existing connection, or efforts to develop or re-establish a link, with their Indigenous community.
• In their statement of thematic relevance, applicants must describe how their proposed research project is related to one or more of the MINDS Policy Challenges.

MINDS Initiative Doctoral Awards

Applicants who meet the eligibility requirements for this funding stream must apply through the SSHRC Doctoral Awards competition. They must select “MINDS Scholarship Initiative” from the drop-down menu in the application form. They must also provide a one-page justification that explains how their proposed research project is related to one or more of the MINDS Policy Challenges.

MINDS Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowships

Applicants who meet the eligibility requirements for this funding stream must apply through the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships competition. They must select “MINDS Scholarship Initiative” from the drop-down menu in the application form.

They must also provide a one-page justification that explains how their proposed research project is related to one or more of the MINDS Policy Challenges.

MINDS Scholarship Initiative Supplements

Applicants for the CGS M competition who meet the eligibility requirements for this funding stream must apply by selecting “MINDS Scholarship Initiative Supplements” in the drop-down menu in the “Supplements/Joint Initiatives” section of the application form, under the “social sciences and/or humanities” field of research.

Recipients of a SSHRC Doctoral Award (CGS D or SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship) or SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship who applied for a MINDS Initiative Doctoral Award or Postdoctoral Fellowship will be considered for the MINDS Scholarship Initiative Supplements, to the limit of available funding. These applicants have no separate application process for the MINDS Scholarship Initiative Supplements.

Merit review

Applications to the CGS M competition are reviewed first by institutional merit review committees, as outlined in the selection process for the CGS M competition.

Applications submitted to the SSHRC Doctoral Awards and the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships competitions are reviewed first by the relevant SSHRC merit review committee.

Merit review committees do not review the documents (statements, justifications) submitted as part of the MINDS Scholarship Initiative application.

After this merit review phase, the review processes outlined below are followed for each funding stream.

MINDS Master’s Scholarships for Indigenous Students

To be considered for a MINDS Master’s Scholarship for Indigenous Students, applicants must first be successful in the CGS M competition.

SSHRC staff will review personal statements and statements of thematic relevance to ensure that applicants have provided the requested information, in line with the application process instructions.

MINDS Initiative Doctoral Awards and Postdoctoral Fellowships

To ensure that applicants have provided the requested information, in line with the application process instructions, SSHRC staff will review the one-page justifications of applications that were judged meritorious through SSHRC’s merit review process.

MINDS Scholarship Initiative Supplements

To be considered for a MINDS Scholarship Initiative Supplement, applicants must first be successful in the CGS M competition, the SSHRC Doctoral Awards competition or the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships competition.

SSHRC staff will review statements of thematic relevance or justifications to ensure that applicants have provided the requested information, in line with the application process instructions.

Review by DND

After validating that applicants’ statements align with the instructions, SSHRC will forward to DND eligible applications for a relevance review and ranking.

MINDS Scholarship Initiative awards and supplements will be offered to eligible applicants whose proposals DND deems to be the most relevant to its research areas. The awards and supplements will be offered to the limit of available funding.

Conditions of funding

All MINDS Scholarship Initiative award and supplement holders must accept the terms and conditions of their MINDS award or supplement, as set out in the notice of award (including attachments). They must also adhere to all the terms and conditions attached to their SSHRC or CGS award.

To maintain eligibility for MINDS Scholarship Initiative funding, award and supplement holders’ research must remain within the priority areas of the MINDS Policy Challenges.

Reporting requirements for each funding stream will be outlined in the notice of award and letter of offer.

MINDS Master’s Scholarships for Indigenous Students

To hold a MINDS Master’s Scholarship for Indigenous Students, recipients must hold an active SSHRC-funded CGS M award. The MINDS Master’s Scholarship for Indigenous Students does not replace the CGS M award.

MINDS Initiative Doctoral Awards and Postdoctoral Fellowships

A MINDS Initiative Doctoral Award or Postdoctoral Fellowship cannot be held simultaneously with a SSHRC award. If a SSHRC award holder accepts a MINDS Initiative Doctoral Award or Postdoctoral Fellowship, this award will replace their SSHRC award.

MINDS Scholarship Initiative Supplements

To hold a MINDS Scholarship Initiative Supplement, recipients must hold an active SSHRC-funded CGS M Scholarship, a SSHRC Doctoral Award (CGS D or SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship) or a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Regulations, policies and related information

SSHRC reserves the right to determine the eligibility of applications, based on the information included. SSHRC also reserves the right to interpret the regulations and policies governing its funding opportunities.

For descriptions of SSHRC terms, see Definitions of Terms.

All fellowship and scholarship applicants and holders must follow the applicable policies, regulations and guidelines governing fellowship and scholarship applications, as well as the regulations set out in the Tri-agency Research Training Award Holder’s Guide.

Contact information

For more information, contact:

Email: fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
Toll-free: 1-855-275-2861

Date modified:

2023-07-20