Investing in Future Scientists

WGRF has invested over $2 million dollars towards Graduate Student Scholarships since 2011. We believe there is great value in attracting the best minds to crop research to generate improved technology and productivity for western crop producers. WGRF invests $330,000 annually in Graduate Scholarships.

The Scholarships are administered by the University of Manitoba, the University of Alberta, and the University of Saskatchewan. Each of these three University receives $100,000 annually from WGRF. The scholarships are available to students pursuing their Masters or PhD in any of WGRF’s priority research areas.

In 2022, WGRF expanded it’s Graduate Scholarship program to include the University of Lethbridge and the University of British Columbia. Each university receives $15,000 annually from WGRF. The scholarships are available to students pursuing their Masters or PhD in any of WGRF’s priority research areas.

Past and Current Scholarship Recipients:

2023 University of British Columbia: Morgan Hamilton, John Hubensky

2022-2023 University of Lethbridge: Sijan Pandit

2022-2023 University of Alberta: Erin Daly, Kiah Leicht, Ilakkiya Thirugnanasambandam

2022-2023 University of Manitoba: Ginelle Grenier, Hamideh Faridi, Michael Killewald

2022 University of British Columbia: Jonathan Beutler

2021-2022 University of Saskatchewan: Kaylie Krys, Warren Seib, Loveleen Kaur, Prince Opoku

2020-2021 University of Saskatchewan:  Michelle Ross, Hansanee Fernando, Loveleen Dhillon, Khaldoun Ali, Brianna Zoerb, Berenice Romero

2020-2021 University of Alberta: Heather Tso, Jennifer Syme, Momna Farzand, Erin J. Daly, Udaya Subedi

2020-2021 University of Manitoba: Ginny Grenier, Heather Flood

2019 – Joanne Thiessen Martens ( U of M) Ph.D. student, Soil Science.

2018 – Prem Pokharel (U of A) PhD StudentFocused on nutrient cycling, soil microbiology, crop productivity and greenhouse gas emission reduction from the soil.

2017 – Ti Zhang (U of S) PhD Student – Application of small unmanned aerial vehicles in plants.

2016 – Laurel Perrott (U of A) MSc – Focused on feed barley agronomy, testing different input combinations to see their effect on feed barley varieties.

2016 – Anjan Neupane (U of M) PhD Student – Focused on the inheritance of Fusarium head blight resistance in winter wheat.

2014 – Andrea De Roo (U of S) MSc – The Emergence Timing and Species Type of Cleaver Populations in Canada.

2014 – Dustin MacLean (U of S) MSc Candidate – Evaluating the Most Effective Fungicide Timing in Leaf Spot Disease and Fungicide Resistance in Races of Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (a fungal pathogen commonly associated with leaf spot diseases).

2013 – Jagroop Gill Kahlon (U of A) PhD Student – Genetic engineering for disease resistance in pea (Pisum sativum L.); transformation, efficacy and environmental biosafety focuses on genetically modified (GM) traits that may confer resistance to these two disease complexes.

2012 – Sean Asselin (U of M) PhD Student – Focused on the breeding potential of perennial sunflower species native to Western Canada.

How to apply

If you’re a student interested in applying for this scholarship, please visit the individual university websites for application details: