Competition Details

AWARD OVERVIEW

PURPOSE
OSOTF and Other Endowed Awards provide financial support for registered graduate students (primarily thesis-based M.Sc. and Ph.D.) in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. These funds contribute towards the annual base funding for doctoral-stream students.

Students in professional masters programs with significant coursework and internship/practicum/clinical placement components are generally not eligible for these awards.

Most of the funds for OSOTF and Other Endowed Awards come from interest income earned from endowments donated by various donors.

The Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund (OSOTF) awards were established in 1996/97 by the Provincial Government. The donor provides 1/3 of the funding, matched by 1/3 from the Province and 1/3 from the University.

ELIGIBILITY
Awards are allocated on the basis of academic excellence; however, OSOTF type of awards are restricted to individuals who must meet the OSOTF eligibility criteria (listed below). In addition:

• The award holder must be a full-time student for at least 14 weeks in any term during which they hold the award.
• Funding decisions will be given to students in year 1-2 of their M.Sc. or year 1-5 of their Ph.D. Students beyond these years will only be considered under exceptional circumstances. Each individual award has additional specific eligibility requirements, listed under the Awards section.
• PhD students transferred from Masters have their PhD registration back-dated to the date of entry into the MSc program for calculating their year of study. For example, a 2022-23 MSc student in year 1 transferring to PhD in 2023-24 will be considered PhD year 2 in 2023-24.

WHAT ARE THE OSOTF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS?
To apply for awards categorized as “OSOTF” (Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund), you must first meet the following criteria:

1. Demonstrate financial need for the upcoming academic year through the completion of the OVDRHSE OSOTF Financial Needs Assessment online form. Click here for further information on demonstration of financial need.
2. Are Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada or protected persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) at the time of the application; and
3. Are residents of Ontario at the time of the application, as defined by one of the following criteria:

If student is married/common-law, student can be considered an Ontario resident if:

• Spouse has always lived in Ontario; or
• Ontario is the last province in which spouse has lived for 12 months in a row without being a full-time postsecondary student; or
• Both of these statements are true:

If student qualifies as a dependent student, student is considered an Ontario resident if:

• Ontario is the last province in which parent(s) have lived for at least 12 months in a row; or
• Both of these statements are true:

The above requirements are established by OSAP to determine Ontario residency for OSAP purposes.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Most Other Endowed Awards are not limited in regard to legal status. It is best to review the individual award conditions of each Other Endowed award, under the Awards section.

LEVEL OF SUPPORT
Amounts available from OSOTF and Other Endowed Awards offered through the Temerty Faculty of Medicine are generally limited by the amount of income from the endowments. There is a Temerty Faculty of Medicine Graduate Awards Committee with both faculty and graduate student representatives who:

• Sets the award amounts.
• Takes into account departmental and University-wide funding policies.
• May provide OSOTF and/or Other Endowed award funding on top of the external and/or internal awards, up to the amount of the total student base funding offered by the student's Graduate Unit.

Note: Should the student's financial or academic circumstances change, the Office of the Vice Dean, OVDRHSE, may request some or full return of the award(s).

TOP-UP AWARDS
Depending on the policies of the applicant's Graduate Unit, OSOTF and Other Endowed Awards may be used as top-ups for major external award holders. This decision is dependent on the funding available and the number of applicants for the competition.

LENGTH OF SUPPORT/RENEWABILITY
The length of support for these awards is up to one year and they are not automatically renewable; however, students may re-apply in subsequent years, if eligible. The award may begin in September 2023 or January 2024.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Certain awards have very specific additional criteria, including, for example a requirement that the supervisor be associated with a specific institution and/or that the research fit specified criteria. Please ensure that you understand the terms of each award to which you apply.

In the event an applicant is offered more than one OSOTF and/or Other Endowed award, the total combined value cannot exceed the minimum student base funding level.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENT

The application requires the following items to be completed online:

• Application Form.
• Curriculum Vitae.
• Research Description.
• Two letters of recommendation, including 1 letter of support from current supervisor (total of 2 letters).
  Note: Letters of Reference are completed online and an automatic email will be sent to your referee with instructions and award criteria information from "utoronto.gradawards@mail.knowledge4you.com". Please ask your referees to check their spam folder if they cannot find it in their inbox.
• All graduate and undergraduate level transcripts are required.
• OSOTF Financial Needs Assessment Form, if applying for an OSOTF award.
• Additional information is required for Hunter Studentships and Toronto Rehab OSOTF applications. Details are available in the online application.

PAYMENT INFORMATION
The funding period is for the 2023-2024 academic year, generally September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024, or as determined by the Committee.

Payments are only processed if the student has active registration and an up-to-date mailing address ACORN/ROSI.

Awards are generally paid to recipients in three equal installments, September, late-January and late-May. September installments are directly paid to the recipients. Subsequent installments are deducted from the student's account (tuition). If the student's account is already paid in full, the installment will either be sent directly to the student's mailing address or direct deposited into the student's bank account as requested by the student.

Students may review their account balance through ACORN/ROSI.

It is recommended that students sign up for direct deposit of award payments to their bank account. Students who opt for direct deposit receive their installment a few days earlier, as compared to mailing. To set-up direct deposit, students can enter their banking info on ACORN/ROSI.

All student awards paid through ACORN/ROSI are recorded as T4A (non-taxable) income.

Note:

• Incomplete applications will not be considered. All applications and supporting materials become the property of University of Toronto, and as such, will not be returned. Reference letters are only reviewed by the Graduate Unit, OVDRHSE and Graduate Awards Committee
• To ensure a fair and objective review process, the Awards Committee does not comment on the deliberation of the adjudication. Thus, the OVDRHSE is unable to provide written or oral evaluations to applications after the decisions are made.