Highlights of Last Decade (2013-2023)

C4: Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom welcomes pilot opportunity – An award-winning, immersive, experiential, and interdisciplinary opportunity: this graduate pilot is a unique space where students are actively working on real-world, research-design projects with community and industry partners.

Faculty of Graduate Studies Council undergoes major revisioning – FGS Council’s mandate and membership was revised to to include DEDI considerations and represent more fully, effectively, and efficiently the range of stakeholders in graduate and postdoctoral educational development to facilitate positive change for the campus community.

In support of the York University Sustainability Strategy, the FGS Council passed a wide-ranging policy update to help curb emissions by ensuring that distant external examiners be asked to participate remotely via videoconference unless there is a demonstrable benefit to in-person participation.

Meta endowed a prestigious $250k fellowship, establishing the first-ever corporate-sponsored graduate fund for sustaining vision research at York. SDG #9 (Industry, innovation, and infrastructure) emphasizes how important it is to promote innovation in order to enable positive change and foster a successful community.

FGS partnered with the Office of the University Registrar (OUR) and the Indigenous Council to build an Indigenous Queue in Grad Adjudication. This new feature enables the review and contextualization of Indigenous applications by Indigenous Faculty members and responds to the Indigenous Framework’s call to increase the recruitment and admission of Indigenous applicants.

The number of Indigenous Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) Awards increased annually for Indigenous graduate scholars. The additional resource will enable Indigenous researchers to access much needed funding, promote culturally responsive research and engage in collaborative initiatives.

FGS partnered with UIT to build an online portal for graduate petitions. Digitizing the petition process eliminates a paper based and manual process, allowing submission tracking and online access for ease of file review, contributing to student experience and sustainability.

Choose Grad York initiative is launched– the first ever graduate conversion event, helping new grads navigate the process and their new home at York.

Postdoctoral researchers have access to a customized Individualized Development Plan (IDP). The IDP is employed to structure conversations with one’s supervisor concerning professional skills development and to provide a framework for navigating various opportunities at the institution. This resource acts as a valuable tool for postdocs that can enable them to build a successful career.

Established a mandatory academic integrity training requirement for incoming graduate students.

FGS launches a Guide for Supervisors Supporting Applications for Externally funded Postdoctoral Fellowships to advance research collaboration opportunities and improve the quality of external research funding for postdoctoral fellows.

With the support of the Academic Innovation Fund, FGS established an Individualized Development Plan (IDP) – a tool to assist graduate students in identifying and developing their goals during their studies – and corresponding resources to enhance professional skills development offerings at a pan-university level.

In collaboration with the Office of the Provost & Vice-President Academic, FGS announced the four inaugural recipients of its new Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowships for Black and Indigenous Scholars: Godwin Dzah, Don Davies, De-Lawrence Lamptey and Ruth Murambadoro.

The Faculty of Graduate Studies continues to press forward despite new challenges with the COVID-19 Pandemic.

FGS developed the Graduate Student Risk Assessment Guidelines and corresponding procedures to enable students to identify appropriate health and safety considerations and preventative efforts prior to departing for field activities.

The Faculty of Graduate Studies hosts inaugural Experience Grad York – an open house for future students and leads interested in graduate studies at one of our campuses. Both FGS staff, decanal members, and graduate program representatives came out on a Saturday to showcase our student and academic services, and wide arrange of degree and diploma graduate programs offered.

FGS’ Thesis and Dissertation regulations aligned with the University’s sustainability policy concerning printing processes, embodying sustainability principles into an important facet of the graduate experience.

York University hosts 3MT Ontario. On April 2018, York welcomed 20 remarkable grad researchers from across the province. Three Minute Thesis is an international research competition where grad students have 3-minutes to present their research and its impact to a panel of non-specialist judges and peers. Along with special guest Rob Baker of The Tragically Hip, FGS invited several alumni to serve on the judging panel. With close to 150 attendees, including a celebratory dinner with the Council of Ontario Universities and the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies.

The Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) is excited to announce the results of the 2018 Award for Excellence and Innovation in Enhancing the Graduate Student Experience (GSE Award), selecting FGS at York University as the winner of this year’s award. CAGS seeks to recognize the outstanding achievements of the Wellness Consultation Service, which provides graduate students at York University with access to specialised mental health resources, consultation, and counselling services.

Manager, Graduate Student Wellness Services Position Created. The Manager’s primary objective is to lead the development and management of wellness services for graduate students and to identify opportunities to collaborate and create wellness-related programs to support the needs of graduate students.

The Senate Policy on Postdoctoral Research at York University was approved on April 27, 2017, creating a shared understanding of the value of postdocs at the university, terms of reference for their roles, as well as the university’s obligation to postdoctoral scholars as part of our research community.

York sweeps Autism Scholars Awards from the Council of Ontario Universities. PhD student Rebecca Shine and Master’s student Karen Black, both from Psychology, received $20,000 and $18,000 respectively to support research into autism, one of the most common developmental disabilities in Canada.

Two York University scholars receive Women’s Health Scholars Awards. Postdoctoral fellow Rachel Barken (Sociology) and PhD student Komal Shaikh (Psychology) are amongst the ten province-wide scholars contributing to the improvement of women’s health through research.

Graduate Studies honours Professor Pat Armstrong with Inaugural Postdoctoral Supervisor Award. The newly-established award recognizes professors who demonstrate exemplary support for postdoctoral scholars at York.

Four York U grad students receive Nelson Mandela distinction for their research. Master’s student Raghed Charabaty, and doctoral students Kyla Baird, Matthew Robertshaw and Reena Shadaan, have received Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) in honour of Nelson Mandela.

TTC emergency simulation offered unprecedented experience for York grad students. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) held an emergency exercise Oct. 25 at the York University Station, which is one of two new subway stations on the Keele campus that will be opening Dec. 17.

In December 2017, GradConnect Wellness Services launched a unique, fast-access counselling and consultation service specifically for grad students. Wellness consultations help grad students with concerns about mental health, balancing life while progressing through one’s degree program, personal wellness goal setting, transitioning to grad school, difficulty coping with stress, exploring wellness resources at York or in the community.

Following extensive consultations and outreach through the formation of a Working Group on Graduate Supervision, FGS developed a new policy on graduate supervision, in addition to developing complementary tools to assist supervisors in their principal task: helping students realize their scholarly potential in a timely manner.

New Graduate Student Social: in partnership  with York Libraries in the Scott Library Collaboratory in September, FGS hosted 406 new graduate students at the event.

Inaugural year of York Postdoctoral Fellowships program (YPDF) welcomed three researchers. Maryam Hariri, Alina Cohen, and Vitaly Kiryuschenko held their fellowships in the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Kinesiology & Health Science, and in the Department of Philosophy respectively.

York University received $1M gift from Carswell Family Foundation for graduate student scholarships. The $1-million gift from Professor Emeritus Allan Carswell and the Carswell Family Foundation created a permanent endowment and an expendable fund to establish Carswell Scholarships for graduate students in the Faculty of Science and the Lassonde School of Engineering.

Three York U graduate students, Aytak Akbari-Dibavar, Gerard Kennedy and Jesse Thistle, were awarded the Trudeau Doctoral Scholarship, a prestigious award presented by the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation. This scholarship recognizes the most talented doctoral students in Canada and abroad studying in the humanities and social sciences.

Two York psychology grad students were among a group of 10 outstanding Ontario university scholars who share more than $370,000 through the Ontario Women’s Health Scholars Awards to improve women’s health through research. PhD student Komal Shaikh and Master’s student Shira Yufe were among the 10 researchers named by the Council of Ontario Universities.

YorkU’s world leading vision research program received Canada’s premiere grant. A $33.3 million Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) grant supported the Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) program. York’s VISTA program has contributed to the next generation of industry-ready highly qualified personnel for Canada, supporting 226 additional graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

Study of historical portrayal of Indigenous People won National Dissertation Award. “Stone of Power,” York History PhD Douglas Hunter’s study of how North America’s Indigenous people have been portrayed and their cultural history sometimes erased, was the ultimate choice by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS).

The Office of the Vice-President of Research & Innovation (VPRI) and FGS were awarded $100,000 of funding from York for a university–wide graduate student paid internship experiential education program. 22 graduate students in total were awarded funding for their innovative projects.

Donna Hewison, Student Affairs Assistant in the Office of the Dean, FGS, was awarded The President’s Voice of York Award – given to an individual who is a first-line-of-contact person at York University.

The Office of the Dean, FGS, was awarded The Harriet Lewis Team Award for Service Excellence.

Two York psychology grad students were among nine outstanding Ontario university scholars who shared more than $230,000 through the Ontario Women’s Health Scholars Awards. PhD sstudent Ami Tint and Master’s student Christina van den Brink were among the nine students announced by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) – York was the only university with multiple recipients.

York University graduate students Kayla Hamel, Travis Hay, Nadine Martin, Sabrina Paillé, Vanessa Tomasino Rodriguez, Jordana Waxman*, and Yolanda Weima were awarded Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Master’s Scholarships, with the distinction of Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) to Honour Nelson Mandela.

Three Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships awarded – York’s greatest success in the competition to date.

Graduate Professional Skills (GPS) – later, GPPS (explain) – program launched. GPS helps students map out their path through graduate school and beyond, and provides the training and skills they’ll need to succeed at every stage of their graduate and professional journey.

The 2014 winners of the Autism Scholars Awards, given annually to a student at a master’s and doctoral level, both hail from York University. Doctoral student Michelle Viecili and master’s degree student Azin Taheri will receive $20,000 and $18,000 respectively through Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to conduct research on autism.