Governor General's Gold Medal
Deadline
Annual Value
Citizenship
Degree Level
One gold medal is awarded to the student who has achieved the most outstanding academic record as a doctoral student. A second gold medal is awarded to the graduate student who has achieved most outstanding academic record as a 惭补蝉迟别谤鈥檚 student completing a thesis. This is an opportunity to honour the best in the graduating class within the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, as there is only one award for more than 2,000 惭补蝉迟别谤鈥檚 graduates and one award for more than 500 doctoral graduates. Medals are presented on behalf of the Governor General of Canada by participating educational institutions, along with a personalized certificate signed by the Governor General. There is no monetary award associated with the medals.
Eligibility
Students must have submitted the final copy of their thesis to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024.
Evaluation Criteria
- One gold medal is awarded to the student who has achieved the most outstanding academic record as a doctoral student. A second gold medal is awarded to the graduate student who has achieved most outstanding academic record as a 惭补蝉迟别谤鈥檚 student completing a thesis.
- Outstanding academic record is assessed through the applicant鈥檚 submitted materials: Transcripts (ie. GPA), External Examiner鈥檚 report on doctoral dissertation (PhD nominees only), letter of support from thesis supervisor, letter of support from Department Head.
Nomination Procedures
Graduate Programs
Graduate programs must check with their respective Dean鈥檚 Office for their Faculty鈥檚 internal nomination deadline. Internal nomination deadlines are normally several weeks before the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies deadline. Each graduate program nomination must include the following:
- Application form filled out by the student
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All undergraduate and graduate transcripts
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亚洲天堂 transcript: The 鈥滱cademic History鈥 document requested from your graduate program.听 Official transcripts ordered from Enrollment Services are also acceptable.听 SSC grade summary page is not acceptable.
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Other transcripts: Official transcripts are required for any undergraduate and/or graduate study from institutions other than 亚洲天堂.
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Transcripts must be complete and up to date 鈥 issued in Fall 2024 if currently registered, or after the last term completed if not currently registered.
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- Copy of External Examiner鈥檚 report on doctoral dissertation听(for PhD applicants only 鈥 惭补蝉迟别谤鈥檚 applicants do not need to provide an equivalent document)
- Letter of support from thesis supervisor
- Letter of support from Department Head
Faculty Dean鈥檚 Offices
Deans review nominations submitted by their graduate programs and nominate up to two students to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, one for the 惭补蝉迟别谤鈥檚 medal and one for the doctoral medal. Each Faculty nomination must include the following:
- Cover memo with the names of the recommended students and a brief description of the Faculty鈥檚 internal review process and the rationale for ranking candidates (maximum 1 page)
- Nomination package for each student as submitted by graduate program (see section above)
Nomination materials must be submitted electronically. When you're ready to submit your nomination materials, please contact joanne.tsui@ubc.ca. We will create a shared folder in Sharepoint and provide instructions for uploading files.
The deadline for disciplinary Faculties to submit their nominations to G+PS is 4:00 pm on Friday, March 14, 2025.
Adjudication Procedures
The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies will form a committee to review the recommendations from all Faculties and select the two winners.
Winners are typically presented with a medal and certificate at the Spring convocation ceremony.
Previous Award Winners
Doctoral Students
- 2024: Christopher Waddell, Physics
- 2023: MengXing Na, Physics
- 2022:听Mohammad H. Jafari,听Electrical and Computer Engineering
- 2021:听Madeleine Ransom, Philosophy
- 2020:听Rebecca Sherbo, Chemistry
- 2019:听Shekoofeh Azizi,听Electrical Engineering
- 2018: Thomas Hutchcroft,听Mathematics
- 2017: Stilianos Louca, Mathematics
- 2016: Dustin Thomas King, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
- 2015: Adam Thomas Ford, Zoology
- 2014: Jan Janouskovec, Botany
- 2013: Asato Ikeda, Art History & Visual Arts
- 2012: Peter Dominic Maxwell Eirew, Genetics
- 2011: Rowan D.H. Barrett, Zoology
- 2010: Jeremy Goldbogen, Zoology
- 2009: Mirela Andronescu, Computer Science
- 2007: Gordon Patrick McTaggart-Cowan, Mechanical Engineering
- 2006: Jeremy Michael Van Raamsdonk, Medical Genetics
Master's Students
- 2024: Jorge Holguin Cruz, Bioinformatics
- 2023: Olivia Ferguson, Rehabilitation Sciences
- 2022:听Nicole Wang,听Microbiology and Immunology
- 2021:听Nevena Rebi膰, Pharmaceutical Sciences
- 2020:听Ellen Jopling, Psychology
- 2019: Mohit Sodhi, Experimental Medicine
- 2018: Xue Bin Peng, Computer Science
- 2017: Matthew Gordineer Warner, English
- 2016: Sameer Hemant Shah, Resource Management & Environmental Studies
- 2015: Niki Myrto Mavraki, Mathematics
- 2014: Carling Dawn Gerlinsky, Zoology
- 2013: Chipman Taylor Drury, Experimental Medicine
- 2012: Jennifer Mary Burt, Forestry
- 2011: Arpeeta Sharma, Pharmacology
- 2010: Clarice Hei Lok Fu, Zoology
- 2009: Milica Mandic, Zoology
- 2007: Jordan Ali Guenette, Human Kinetics
- 2006: Maxim Metlitski, Physics
Further Information
Questions about Governor General's Gold Medal should be directed to Joanne Tsui at joanne.tsui@ubc.ca.
Genral information about the Governor General's Academic Medals can be found on the .听