Global Health Graduate Scholarships at York University 2026: How to Win up to 30,000 CAD for Your Masters or PhD

If you are serious about a career in global health and not just collecting nice-sounding lines on your CV, the Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarship Program 2026 at York University deserves your full attention.

This is not a token “here is 1,000 dollars and a certificate” award. Individual scholarships range from 5,000 to 30,000 CAD per year, with the possibility of multi year support depending on your degree. For a graduate student, that is the difference between scrambling for extra jobs and actually having time to think, write, and do meaningful research.

Even better, this program is built around a real intellectual community. You are not just handed money and forgotten. Scholars are integrated into the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, one of York University’s hubs for work on planetary health, humanitarian crises, and the future of global health systems. Think weekly seminars, a recognized scholar title, workspace, and access to researchers who actually care what you are working on.

The competition will be tough. It is open to both domestic and international students, including those from Africa and other regions who want to be part of a Canadian research environment with a global focus. But if your work sits anywhere near planetary health, global health and humanitarianism, or global health foresighting, you have a real shot – provided you approach the application like a serious research proposal, not a rushed scholarship form.

Let’s walk through what is on offer, who fits, and how to give yourself the best chance of hearing “Congratulations, you are a Dahdaleh Graduate Global Health Scholar.”

Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarship 2026 at a Glance

Always check the official page for the most current deadline and any updates. Scholarship timelines can shift, and you do not want to miss a changed date by trusting a secondary description.

What This Global Health Scholarship Actually Offers

Let’s unpack what you are getting, beyond the headline number.

1. Significant financial support

The award ranges from 5,000 to 30,000 CAD per year. You will not know exactly where you will land on that range until decisions are made, because it depends on:

• Your academic excellence and research strength
• The quality and feasibility of your proposed work
• Your financial need and the program’s available funds

But even the lower end of that range is meaningful as a top-up. The higher end can cover a large portion of tuition or living costs for a year in Canada, especially if paired with teaching assistantships or other awards.

2. Multi year potential

This is not necessarily a one-and-done award. The structure is tied to program length:

• 1 year Masters: up to one year of funding
• 2 year Masters: up to two years of funding
• PhD (years 1–3): up to four years of funding

That last point is key: if you are applying to a PhD or currently in your first, second, or third year, you can potentially receive support across multiple years. Fourth year and beyond PhD students are not eligible.

3. A formal scholar title and recognition

Selected students will be named “Dahdaleh Graduate Global Health Scholars.” Titles matter more than most people admit. This kind of named scholarship signals to supervisors, committees, and future employers that your work stood out in a competitive process.

4. Intellectual community and visibility

As a Scholar, you:

• Join the Dahdaleh Institute’s weekly global health graduate seminars
• Present your graduate research at least once a year, ideally at the Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholars Symposium
• Get invited to workshops and special events at the Institute
• Have access to the Dahdaleh Institute open workspace, which is handy if your home department is crowded or you want to be physically closer to global health colleagues

Translation: you will be in the room where global health ideas are discussed regularly, not just tucked away in your department.

5. Alignment with real-world themes

The program is not limited to one discipline. Instead, it is oriented around three big thematic areas:

• Planetary health – where environmental systems and human health intersect (climate change and infectious disease, air pollution and respiratory health, food systems and nutrition, etc.)
• Global health and humanitarianism – everything from conflict-related health crises to refugee health, emergency response, and ethical dimensions of humanitarian aid
• Global health foresighting – thinking strategically about future health scenarios, policy, and preparedness (for example: “What does antimicrobial resistance look like in 2040 and how do we prepare now?”)

If your work ties meaningfully into one or more of these themes, you are not just eligible – you are exactly who they want.

Who Should Apply (And Who Probably Should Not)

This scholarship is targeted, but in a good way. It is not restricted to people with a degree label that literally says “Global Health.” Instead, it spans an impressive spread of faculties at York University:

• School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change
• Faculty of Health
• Lassonde School of Engineering
• Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
• Osgoode Hall Law School
• Faculty of Science

If you are entering or continuing a Masters or PhD program in one of these faculties at York, and you are doing or planning to do research with a clear global health angle, you should be paying close attention.

Concrete examples of strong fits

• A PhD student in Environmental and Urban Change studying heat waves in African cities and their impact on informal settlements from a planetary health perspective.
• A Masters student in Osgoode Hall Law School focusing on international legal frameworks for access to essential medicines.
• A Lassonde School of Engineering student developing low-cost sensors for water quality monitoring in low-resource settings.
• A Faculty of Health student researching community-based mental health models in post-conflict settings.
• An Arts, Media, Performance & Design student exploring how digital storytelling can shift public attitudes on vaccine acceptance in different regions.

All of these sit comfortably within the Institute’s themes.

Eligibility in plain language

You are eligible if:

• You are entering or already enrolled in a Masters or PhD program at York University in one of the listed faculties.
• You are full time, or at least primarily full time. Part time situations may be considered, but only on a case by case basis, and you should be ready to explain your circumstances.
• You are either:
  • Applying to a 1 year Masters (eligible for up to one year of funding); or
  • Applying to a 2 year Masters or currently in your first year (eligible for up to two years of funding); or
  • Applying to a PhD, or currently in PhD years 1, 2, or 3 (eligible for up to four years of funding).
• You have a clear global health research plan that matches one or more of the Dahdaleh Institute themes.

You are not eligible if:

• You are a PhD student in year 4 or beyond.
• Your research has no realistic connection to global health, planetary health, humanitarianism, or foresighting, and you are trying to twist a topic like pure algebraic geometry to fit. Reviewers will see through that.

Citizenship wise, this is open to both domestic and international students, including those from African countries and elsewhere, as long as you meet York’s admission requirements and are in (or entering) an eligible program.

Insider Tips for a Winning Application

This is a competitive scholarship. You cannot treat it as a quick online form you fill out between classes. Use these strategies to stand out.

1. Build a coherent global health story

Your application should make it painfully obvious how your work relates to global health, not just health or policy in general.

Instead of saying:

“My research looks at air pollution in Toronto.”

Say something like:

“My research examines the health impacts of urban air pollution on low income neighbourhoods and situates Toronto within a comparative study of rapidly urbanizing cities, contributing to planetary health and global urban health equity debates.”

The reviewers want to see how your work speaks to transnational or global issues, even if your field site is local.

2. Tie yourself clearly to one or more Institute themes

Name the theme(s) explicitly and be specific:

• If you are in planetary health, describe how your work connects ecosystems and human health.
• If you sit in global health and humanitarianism, explain the humanitarian context and ethical challenges.
• If you are doing global health foresighting, show how you are anticipating and modelling future scenarios or policies.

Do not just drop the words in and hope they land. Show the substance of the connection.

3. Make your research potential obvious

The committee reviews applicants on academic excellence, research potential, and excellence of the proposed research. That means:

• Show prior work: a strong undergrad or Masters thesis, publications, conference presentations, or substantial projects.
• Make your methods believable: you should sound like someone who can actually carry out what they are proposing, within the time and context of your degree.
• Spell out your research questions and why they matter.

If you have limited experience, emphasize strong mentorship and a clear learning trajectory: how this project will develop your skills and position you for future contributions in global health.

4. Demonstrate leadership and initiative

The committee explicitly looks at innovation, leadership, and initiative. This does not mean you must have founded an NGO at 19. It does mean you should give concrete examples of:

• Projects you initiated or drove forward, not just followed.
• Teams or student groups you helped lead.
• New approaches you tried – for example, bringing participatory methods into a data heavy project, or starting a reading group on decolonizing global health.

Reviewers want to see that you take ownership of ideas and follow through.

5. Get your supervisor on board early

A lukewarm or generic supervisor reference can quietly sink an otherwise solid application. Talk to your supervisor (or prospective supervisor) as soon as you decide to apply:

• Share a draft of your proposal and ask for feedback.
• Make sure your supervisor understands the themes of the Dahdaleh Institute so their letter can echo the alignment.
• Confirm that your planned project is realistic within your degree timeline.

6. Be brutally clear and concise

Many global health proposals drown in jargon. Reviewers are busy and will reward clarity. Write as if you are speaking to a very bright colleague not in your exact subfield:

• Define specialized terms the first time you use them.
• Use concrete examples to explain your aims.
• Avoid padding your proposal with buzzwords that say nothing.

If a friend from another department cannot paraphrase your proposal in 2–3 sentences after reading it, it is probably too vague or too dense.

7. Respect the timeline like your funding depends on it (because it does)

Do not aim to submit “just before the deadline.” Systems go down. References are late. Documents are missing. Give yourself a buffer of at least 48 hours before the official cutoff, and build a personal deadline around that.

Application Timeline: Working Backwards from the Deadline

There is a slight confusion in the raw info between January 16, 2025 and January 16, 2026. Your first step should be to verify the current active deadline on the official page. Once you have that date, here is a realistic backward plan using January 16 as the anchor.

6–8 weeks before the deadline

• Finalize your research focus and how it aligns with one or more Dahdaleh themes.
• Talk to your supervisor about the scholarship and confirm their support.
• Start drafting a 1–2 page concept note of your proposed project.

4–6 weeks before the deadline

• Expand your concept note into a fuller description: questions, methods, significance, global health relevance, and feasibility.
• Request any required transcripts or official documents if you do not already have them.
• Ask referees (usually your supervisor and possibly another academic) if they are willing to support your application.

2–4 weeks before the deadline

• Polish your proposal draft and send it to at least one person you trust for feedback.
• Tighten your CV, highlighting research experience, publications, presentations, and any global health or humanitarian work.
• Double check that your plan fits your program length – reviewers hate timelines that obviously exceed degree periods.

1 week before the deadline

• Finalize all text.
• Confirm that references have what they need (your CV, proposal draft, deadlines).
• Upload documents into the online form and check that every required field is completed.

48 hours before the deadline

• Hit submit. Do not wait for the final hour; the internet is not your friend under pressure.
• Save confirmation emails or submission receipts somewhere safe.

Required Materials and How to Prepare Them

The exact form fields are on the application portal, but based on similar scholarships and the criteria described, you should expect to assemble at least the following:

• Research proposal or project description
  This is the core. Explain the problem, why it matters in a global health context, your research questions or objectives, your methodology, expected outcomes, and how it fits one or more Dahdaleh themes. Keep it focused; reviewers are not grading volume, they are judging clarity and feasibility.

• Academic CV
  Emphasize anything that shows research ability: theses, dissertations, publications, conference papers, research assistantships, lab or field experience, relevant professional or volunteer work in health, humanitarian, or development settings.

• Transcripts
  Official or unofficial, depending on what the portal requires, but make sure they are legible and complete. Do not hide weaker grades; instead, let your overall record and proposal speak for you.

• Letters of reference
  Usually from your supervisor and possibly one other professor or research mentor. Choose people who know your work well and can talk about your research potential, academic excellence, and initiative with real examples.

• Statement of fit or motivation
  If there is a field asking why you are applying for this scholarship specifically, treat it seriously. Connect your work to the Dahdaleh Institute and explain how being a Scholar would accelerate your research and career.

Before uploading anything, read it as if you were a slightly impatient reviewer reading their 30th application of the day. Would you understand who this person is, what they want to do, and why they are worth funding?

What Makes an Application Stand Out to Reviewers

The Dahdaleh Global Health Research Scholarship Committee reviews applications using these core criteria:

• Academic excellence
• Research potential
• Excellence of the proposed research
• Existing and potential innovation, leadership, and initiative

Here is what that means in practice.

Academic excellence is not only about straight As, though grades help. It is about a consistent record of strong performance, intellectual curiosity, and growth. If you have done something unusual (like switching fields or returning to study after work experience), frame that in a way that shows maturity and purpose.

Research potential is your trajectory. Reviewers look for signals that you are on your way to becoming someone who will keep contributing to global health knowledge:

• Have you engaged in prior research?
• Do you ask good questions and propose realistic ways to answer them?
• Are you working with supervisors and teams that can support you?

Excellence of the proposed research is about the project itself:

• Is the problem well defined and genuinely important in a global health context?
• Is the methodology appropriate and feasible?
• Does the project clearly connect to one or more Institute themes?

You do not need to cure malaria in one Masters project. You do need to show that your project will add something real to ongoing global health conversations.

Innovation, leadership, and initiative are where many good applications separate themselves from the merely decent. Reviewers want scholars who:

• Notice gaps and act on them.
• Show creativity in methods, partnerships, or perspectives.
• Take responsibility rather than waiting to be told what to do.

Be specific. “I led” means nothing without the story behind it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid (and How to Fix Them)

1. Vague “global health” claims

Writing “this research is important for global health” is not enough. You need to explain who, where, and how. Who is affected? Where does this play out? How exactly does your work shift understanding or practice?

Fix: Include at least one concrete scenario or example showing the global relevance of your topic.

2. Overambitious projects

Trying to redesign global health governance in a 1 year Masters is a good way to get rejected. Reviewers are allergic to proposals that clearly cannot be completed within the degree or by one student.

Fix: Right size your project. Aim for a solid, achievable piece of work that contributes to a bigger question, not for the final word on that question.

3. Ignoring the Dahdaleh themes

If you never mention planetary health, global health and humanitarianism, or global health foresighting – or your connection to them is extremely thin – reviewers will wonder if you even read the call.

Fix: Explicitly reference the relevant theme(s) and show, with specifics, how your project sits within them.

4. Last minute, sloppy submissions

Typos, missing sections, vague answers, or half-thought-out ideas tell reviewers that you are not treating the opportunity seriously.

Fix: Build in time for at least one full edit and an external review. Ask a friend or colleague, “Does this sound like someone you would fund?”

5. Generic references

If your reference letters could easily be reused for a totally different scholarship, they will not help you much.

Fix: Brief your referees properly. Share the scholarship description, your proposal, and bullet points they might highlight (global health interests, leadership, initiative, etc.).

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this scholarship only for students in a formal Global Health program?

No. It is for Masters and PhD students in selected faculties at York University whose research aligns with global health themes. You could be in law, engineering, education, the arts, or science, as long as your work fits the Dahdaleh Institute focus areas.

Can international students (including from Africa) apply?

Yes. The scholarship is open to both domestic and international students. Your main constraints are: admission to an eligible York University program, alignment with the Institute themes, and being in the right stage of your degree (Masters or early PhD).

I am a PhD student in year 4. Am I eligible?

No. The scholarship is only for doctoral students in years 1, 2, or 3, or those newly applying to a PhD program. If you are beyond year 3, you will need to look for other funding sources.

What if I study part time?

The preference is for full time students. However, the program notes that part time situations may be considered case by case. If you are part time for good reasons (for example, immigration or caregiving responsibilities), be ready to explain your situation clearly and show that you can still make strong research progress.

Do I need to have started my research already?

You do not have to be deep into data collection, but you must have a clear research plan. Early stage students can outline planned questions, methods, and significance. More advanced students should be able to show what they have already done and what comes next.

Can I reapply in future years?

Policies can vary by cycle, so you should check the exact rules on the current application page. In many graduate funding schemes, it is common to be able to reapply if you remain eligible (for example, moving from Masters year 1 to year 2, or PhD year 1 to year 2). Use any previous feedback or experience to strengthen a new application.

How competitive is it?

The program is for “exceptional” students and emphasizes academic excellence and research strength, so you should assume it is highly competitive. That is all the more reason to treat your application like a mini research grant proposal.

How to Apply and Next Steps

Your next steps are straightforward – but you have to actually take them.

1. Read the official call carefully
   Start at the source and verify the current deadline, eligibility, and any updated requirements. Here is the official application page:
   https://dighr.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=103908

2. Confirm your program eligibility
   Make sure you are in (or applying to) a Masters or PhD program at York University in one of the listed faculties, and that your timing (year of study) fits the rules.

3. Clarify your global health angle
   Before writing anything, draft a one paragraph summary that explains how your work connects to global health and which Dahdaleh theme(s) it aligns with. Use this as your anchor.

4. Talk to your supervisor or prospective supervisor
   Share your interest in the scholarship, your draft project description, and ask for their support, feedback, and (most likely) a reference letter.

5. Prepare and polish your materials
   Draft your proposal, update your CV, gather transcripts, and line up referees. Give yourself time for at least one full round of revision with feedback from someone you trust.

6. Submit early
   Complete the online application form and upload your documents well before the deadline. Check for confirmation emails and keep copies of everything.

Ready to move? Visit the official opportunity page and start your application here:
Apply for the Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholarship Program 2026

If you are a serious global health researcher in the making, this is the kind of support and community that can shape not just your degree, but the way you think and work for years to come.