TORONTO, ON - World-class graduate research at the University of Toronto received a major boost today as the federal government announced almost three dozen top-tier students will receive funding through their new Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships.

The prestigious scholarships - valued at $50,000 each per year for up to three years - are being lauded as Canada's answer to the Rhodes scholarships. They are awarded to leading Canadian and international students in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health fields.

In this inaugural year, U of T students won 34 of the 166 scholarships, doubling the amount received by any other Canadian university. Of the 34 recipients, eight were international students.

"The new Vanier scholarship program highlights the federal government's commitment to recruiting and retaining top-flight graduate students," says President David Naylor. "The fact that so many of these prestigious awards went to U of T students underscores our unparalleled strength in graduate research and education."

University of Toronto scholarship recipients - who passed through a rigorous and highly competitive selection process - represent a range of academic disciplines, from medical biophysics and medieval studies to astronomy and anthropology.

"The Vanier awards represent an innovative approach to graduate scholarships in Canada, and we are delighted that our U of T doctoral students are so well-represented among recipients. We are especially pleased that our students from international backgrounds were considered, as well as Canadian students," says Susan Pfeiffer, dean of graduate studies and vice-provost of graduate education. "This generous federal funding ensures our high-calibre students can continue doing the groundbreaking scholarly work that ensures Canada's role as a strong contributor to new knowledge, globally."

The goal of the scholarships is to strengthen Canada's position as a global leader in higher education research by drawing top doctoral students from around the world. Funding is administered through Canada's federal granting agencies: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC); and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

"This scholarship provides an exceptional opportunity for me to research and develop innovative, nanotechnology-based therapies for breast cancer under the mentorship of internationally renowned leaders in pharmaceutical sciences and radiation medicine," says scholarship recipient Niladri Chattopadhyay, a second-year doctoral student in pharmaceutical sciences who recently came to U of T from Mumbai, India.