Governor General’s Gold Medal and Medal of Merit for Graduate Studies

Each academic year, the Governor General’s Gold Medal is awarded to the graduate student with the highest academic standing overall and a Medal of Merit is awarded to the student in each graduate program with the highest academic standing in that program.

To be eligible, nominees may include those who convocated in the Fall 2025 or who will convocate at the Summer 2026 Convocation ceremony, and who have their thesis/project signed off by their examiners by nomination deadlines (the Recommendation of the Award of the Degree is submitted).

​From the list of students graduating in the Fall 2025 or Summer 2026 Convocation ceremony:

• Each Graduate Program Committee will recommend to the Medal Committee (Graduate Council Executive) the recipient of that program’s Medal of Merit;
• The Medal Committee will make the final selection for any Medal of Merit where there are nominations from multiple Graduate Program Committees;
• The Medal Committee will select the recipient of the Governor General’s Gold Medal from the pool of successful Medal of Merit recipients.

Medal recipients are selected based on Confidential Appraisal Form and a letter of reference. A separate appraisal form and reference letter are required from each of the following, as applicable:

Supervisor(s)
Supervisory Committee Members
Other Faculty Members
External Examiner

Committee members must communicate with one another in advance to confirm their shared intention to nominate the same student. The Graduate Program Office does not contact committee members to request nomination forms or letters; it is the responsibility of the nominating individuals to request submission of all required materials.Each completed appraisal form and accompanying reference letter is automatically routed to the appropriate Graduate Program Office, where all submissions are compiled.

In addition, supervisors are required to submit:

An up-to-date CV
The student’s current contact information
A 5-8 sentence summary statement highlighting the student’s strengths and accomplishments

All documents are to be submitted electronically using the DocuSign links below; upon completion, your submission will be sent to the appropriate email.

The respective Graduate Program Office​ will pull the following information from the system to complete the application:

• Transcripts ;
• Thesis Abstract ;
• Thesis/research or project report.

It is the Supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that all required documentation (listed above) for a nomination for the Medal of Merit is provided to the respective Graduate Program office by the respective deadline. Having nominations submitted from the entire supervisory committee will provide a stronger nomination package.