ISM Scholarships Policy

  1. Every year the ISM in collaboration with the participating Departments, offers scholarships to students registered in a mathematics graduate program at one of the participating universities. The stipend and total number of scholarships granted will vary according to budgetary constraints and the modalities outlined below.
  2. The ISM's contribution to each scholarship will not exceed $10,000. The student's host department must guarantee to contribute at least the same amount as the ISM. This financing can come from individual, team, or institutional research grants, remuneration for teaching or marking, or other scholarships.
  3. In the case of a foreign student, the host department must do everything in its power to ensure that the student receives a differential fee waiver, if the fees are not covered by another source.
  4. For each student, the total financing provided by the ISM, the host department and other scholarships or bursaries cannot exceed $29,000.
  5. A scholarship recipient cannot spend more than 450 hours per year (an average of 10 hours per week) on remunerated work.
  6. If the scholarship recipient receives another scholarship after having been awarded an ISM scholarship, he or she must inform the host department as well as the ISM. The ISM Steering committee can then modify the amount of the ISM scholarship: the total value of the scholarships cannot be less than the original ISM scholarship, and cannot be more than $29,000.
  7. The ISM Director selects the scholarship recipients based on ranked lists of the candidates provided by the participating Departments, and taking into account the program groups' recommendations.
  8. For a candidate to be eligible, the host department must guarantee in advance that it will provide its share of the funding, and outline the steps taken to obtain a differential fee waiver, if applicable.
  9. The criteria for awarding scholarships are the following:
    • an excellent academic record,
    • research aptitude and experience.
  10. Candidates for a scholarship must submit the following documents to their host departments:
    • up-to-date university transcripts (including undergraduate and graduate),
    • a curriculum vitae, including research achievements and interests,
    • two letters of recommendation, including one written by the current or future supervisor.
    A preliminary selection is made in each participating department and a ranked list of candidates is prepared. This list, along with the ISM form, is submitted to the ISM by the department chair. Program groups are invited to involve themselves in this process by preparing a ranked list of their candidates, which they will send to the department chairs and to the director of the ISM.
  11. Usually a renewal is given only once, but in certain cases it can be given twice. In order to obtain a renewal, the Scholar must submit the following documents to his or her host department:
    • an annual report
    • a letter of recommendation from the supervisor
    This report is forwarded to the ISM via the chair of the host department, along with the new applications. To receive the renewal, the student's progress must be judged satisfactory, and the funding must still be available.
  12. Only students intending to complete a Ph.D. are eligible for an ISM scholarship.
  13. The ISM will fund students beyond the fourth year of a PhD only in exceptional cases.
  14. An ISM Scholar must be a full-time graduate student at one of the ISM universites.
  15. Dates:
    • March 15: Deadline for the program coordinators to submit a ranked list of their candidates to the department chairs.
    • Department chairs must submit the ranked lists and applications, including renewals, to the ISM any time between March 15 and June 1.
    An application for a scholarship by a student who is applying for admission can, in exceptional cases, be awarded earlier or later at the chair's request, if the decision is justified and the funds are available.