Governor General Gold Medal

updated: June 2, 2021

The Governor General’s Gold Medal recognizes the highest level of academic achievement in graduate studies in Canada and is one of the most prestigious awards that a graduate student can receive. The Gold Medal is not associated with any monetary award and is accompanied by a certificate inscribed with the recipient’s name. 

Western University annually awards three (3) Gold Medals to outstanding graduate students who will have completed their Master’s (thesis only) or Doctoral degree program.  Only the most meritorious candidates should be put forward to the Faculty Committees. The nomination files undergo a two-tier adjudication involving an initial review and ranking by the Faculty Committee, and a final review and selection by the SGPS Executive Committee. Full detail on the process and responsibilities are found here on the SGPS Funding Opportunities website.

 

Process and Timeline


Please see the full process at the SGPS GGGM page
  • May: Annual call for nominations
  • Early August: Deadline for submission to the Faculty of Social Science
  • Mid September: University Deadline to receive Faculty-ranked Gold Medal Nominations (each a single PDF) in SGPS
  • September: SGPS Executive Committee meets to review nomination files and select the three (3) recipients
  • Early October: SGPS submits names of Gold Medalists to the Registrar for Convocation

Previous Governor General Gold Medal Recipients

2022

Chloe Lau, PhD, Department of Psychology

Chloe Lau - Psychology

2021

 Tyler Girard

Tyler Girard - Political Science

2020

 

Moriah Sokolowski

H. Moriah Sokolowski - Psychology

2014

Paul Conway

Paul Conway - Psychology
Currently Assistant Professor, Deparment of Psychology
Florida State University

2009

Lana Williams

Lana Williams - Anthropology
Currently Associate Lecturer, Department of Anthropology
University of Central Florida

2004

Lynn Kennedy

V. Lynn Kennedy - History
Currently, Faculty member in Department of History
University of Lethbridge

2001

Mark Spencer

Mark Spencer - History
Currently, Professor in Department of History
Brock University

1997

Gregory Maio

Gregory Maio - Psychology
Currently Head of Department of Psychology
University of Bath