Terms of Reference

1. The C.D. Nelson Memorial Graduate Entrance Scholarship is currently valued at $15,000 for Master's and $18,000 for doctoral students per annum. Tenure of the award is up to a maximum of two years at the masters level and up to a maximum of three years at the doctoral level, commencing in the following Summer, Spring or Fall term. The number of scholarships and the value of the scholarships to be awarded each year are subject to available funding.
   
2. To be eligible for consideration, a student must be planning to enter a master's or doctoral program at Simon Fraser University. New students who began their graduate program in the current Spring term (January 1) are eligible for consideration. If a student is already enrolled in their graduate program (as of January 1), the university reserves the right to review eligibility for the C.D. Nelson Scholarship in light of other SFU awards the student may already have received or will receive.
   
3. During tenure of the C.D. Nelson scholarship, the recipient must be registered full-time in their graduate program at Simon Fraser University. In programs where fees are assessed on a per-credit basis, the successful candidate must be taking at least six credits to be eligible to hold the award.
   
4. The C.D. Nelson Scholarship must be held during consecutive academic terms. If a recipient registers “on leave” during tenure of their award, it will be interrupted until the student is registered full-time and payments will be reinstated at that time. No deferment of award payments to future academic terms will be permitted, except under 'extenuating' conditions with the permission of the Chair of the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee (SGAAC).
   
5. The criteria for this award are:
   
   1. a minimum CGPA of 3.50
      
   2. demonstrated academic excellence at the undergraduate level and, if applicable, at the graduate level;
      
   3. evidence of outstanding achievement at the graduate level, with particular emphasis on intellectual ability, originality and ability in research.
      
6. C.D. Nelson Scholarship recipients may accept scholarship support from other sources including SFU’s ‘private’ awards (derived from annual and endowed funds) provided they are consistent with SFU’s general funding policies. Recipients should be aware that some external awards may restrict students from holding a scholarship at the same time as the external award.
   
7. There is no restriction on C.D. Nelson Scholarship recipients receiving income for work performed during tenure of the scholarship.
   
8. Entering students who meet the criteria are eligible for consideration. Students must be nominated for the C.D. Nelson Scholarship by the Graduate Program Chair of the academic unit to which the student will be admitted. Nominations from the Graduate Program Chair must be submitted to the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies by February 15.
9. Awards are made by the Senate Graduate Awards Adjudication Committee after a University-wide competition in which departmental nominations are considered. The Committee will take into account whether nominees are admitted to Master's or Doctoral Programs, and the expectations of different academic disciplines.
   

Revised: February 2011/ GUSE001