What do we do?
The Biology Graduate Students Association is the students group for all graduate students in the Biology Department at McGill University. We organize social events such as wine and cheeses and graduate student retreats, as well as educational and research events such as symposia and workshops.

Who is a part of BGSA?

All graduate students in the Biology department of McGill University are members of the BGSA.
Graduate Contact List

Click HERE to read our constitution!

Monday, September 19, 2011

NSERC Info Session, Biology Department

Here are the slides for from the information session on applying for an NSERC.

Good luck!

NSERCBiologyInfoSession2011

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Contact Information for Grant Proposals

Dear BGSA Students,

We are working on getting you the most up to date information, so keep an eye out on the ListServ for more information, but for the moment, here is some contact information for NSERC and some general information for FQRNT and CIHR.

FOR NSERC

Deadline to submit application to department is Sept 21!!

The government website
http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Students-Etudiants/PG-CS/index_eng.asp

The GPS
http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/fellowships/nserc

The Mcgill Bio page
http://biology.mcgill.ca/grad/grad_gen_awards&scholarsh.html

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Person to submit COMPLETE application to
Maria Colonna

Person to list for transcript requests
awards.biology@mcgill.ca
If a name is required, put Dr. Laura Nilson

NSERC Online Application Help
wepapp@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
(613) 995-4273 (this info is from 2010)
Include your email and telephone number

FQRNT
If you plan on applying for an FQRNT, the application is through the agency itself, NOT through McGill. You will complete your application and submit supporting documents directly to FQRNT.

FQRNT application deadline is October 5th.
http://www.fqrnt.gouv.qc.ca/en/bourses/index.htm

CIHR
According to the GPS office, if you are applying for a CIHR masters, you apply through McGill. If you are applying for a CIHR Doctoral award, applications are done directly through the agency.

http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/fellowships/cihr

Master's deadline is OCTOBER 27, 2011. Doctoral deadline, please see the CIHR website:
http://www.cihr.ca/

Keep an eye out on the ListServ for more information.

Vanier
If you would like to apply for a Vanier, you will fill out the required application form and compile necessary supporting documents and that will be submitted to the Biology Department. The Biology Department then ranks the applicants and recommends the top ranked students to the university. We are working to find out when the deadline is. this post will be updated as soon as we know. You will have to fill out the entire application on Research Net. For more information:

Information from McGill: http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/fellowships/vanier

The Vanier website: http://www.vanier.gc.ca/

Departmental deadline for the Vanier application submission is September 26th!!!



Good luck!
The BGSA

Monday, September 12, 2011

NSERC Information Session

Hello fellow Bio students!

It's grant application season, and things are a bit more chaotic this time around due to the strike. In an effort to streamline everything and make sure all the applicants are processed properly, the department will be having a brief meeting to explain what YOU need to do to make sure your application goes through.

The meeting will be THIS THURSDAY at 11am in W4/12 and run for about one hour. If you are planning on applying to NSERC, it would be in your best interest to come to this information session.

Also, some things to get you started from Ria's email last week:

Hi all,

I have some really important information for all the students who will be applying for an NSERC this year. Here is what we know so far:

1. TRANSCRIPTS: ORDER YOUR TRANSCRIPTS NOW!!! It might take a while to process your McGill ones, so do it yesterday!

2. REFERENCES: Make sure your referees print a copy of the letter they will give you in a sealed envelope BEFORE they press submit - once the letter has been submitted it is lost to the internet gnomes forever and cannot be printed.

3. ORGANIZED SUBMISSION: Now more than ever, it is important that your application is submitted as an organized, complete unit. Do not submit bits and pieces of it at a time - they will require your full application, transcripts (sealed, stamped), and two letters of reference (sealed, signed) together and properly organized. Any haphazard method of submission will be detrimental to the probability of your application being processed while the department is understaffed.

4. SUBMISSION DATE: The department has requested we submit our applications WELL BEFORE the Sept 28 deadline, to allow time for them to scan and upload transcripts, and photocopy the documents in time. Please try your best to submit your full application package by Sep. 21 to ensure processing by the internal deadline.

5. BGSA MEETING: We will hold a meeting next week (stay tuned!) to address all the questions or concerns you may have about the NSERC application. We will make sure we have the most up-to-date information available to you there. If you are applying for NSERC this year, it will be imperative that you attend this meeting.



--------------------------
Cheers,
The BGSA

Thursday, September 1, 2011

BGSA Student Orientation Fall 2011

Hello new and returning bio grad students!

We all hope you had a fantastical summer dodging hurricanes, taking in sunshine, enjoying jazzfest, battling the perils of field sites (and animals!) and are back and refreshed for another semester!

As always, we are hosting an orientation for all new bio grad students. We know what it's like to be starting grad studies. New place, new faces, new papers to fill out, new labs, new advisers - it can all be very intimidating. But fear not! The BGSA will be hosting a fun filled and adventure packed orientation afternoon!

Events start at 1pm in room W4/12 of the Stewart Biology building where speakers will give a brief overview of some of the things McGill has to offer you in including information on the Post-Graduate Student Society (PGSS), Career and Placement Services (CAPS), the biology department and us, the Bio Grad Student Association (BGSA).

Following, teams of you will head off on a photographic scavenger hunt to help you learn a little bit about McGill and where to find some essential things. You just have to take a picture of the items as described on the clue sheet each team will receive. Don't worry - a bio grad student veteran will accompany you to help you decipher clues and figure out where to find things. The winning team will receive a prize!

The scavenger hunt will end at Redpath Museum, where, at 3pm, Dr. Howard Rundle from the U. Ottawa will be giving the organismal seminar. It will be a great talk, and a great way to see how seminars work in the bio department.

After the seminar, everyone is invited to the reservoir for our welcome back bbq. Yunny food will be served, and beer will be available for purchase (at cost).

We hope to see you all there!!
Cheers
the BSGA

BGSAFall2011Orientation