Canadian Association for Graduate Studies

What Canadian Association for Graduate Studies does

CAGS (Association canadienne pour les études supérieures / ACES) is the national, bilingual membership association for graduate education in Canada, founded in 1962 at Carleton University and granted registered-charity and not-for-profit status by the Canada Revenue Agency in 1991. It convenes 62+ Canadian universities and research institutes together with the three federal research granting agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR), serving graduate deans, associate deans, graduate studies administrators, faculty supervisors, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students as primary stakeholders. The organization operates from a small national office in Ottawa's By-Ward Market at 260 St. Patrick Street, governed by a Board of Directors with capacity for 16 members.

CAGS's offerings are organized around three connected pillars. (1) Community-building events include the flagship annual conference (now in its 64th year), the CAGS Summer Leadership Program, and the National 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Showcase, which in 2019 drew 12 finalists from 36 graduate schools and more than 1,800 students. (2) Recognition programs include the CAGS-ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, the Dr. Suning Wang Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentorship (instituted 2018), the Graduate Student Experience (GSE) Award, and the bilingual CAGS Podcast / Balado de l'ACES. (3) National projects and publications include the National Community of Practice on Graduate Supervision, the Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (CGPSS) and accompanying CAGS Statistical Reports, the Rethinking the PhD initiative, and the Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Programs national strategy. The technology stack supporting these offerings is conventional association-management tooling — a WordPress website at cags.ca, Zoom-delivered webinars and workshops, and a Wild Apricot storefront at cags-aces.wildapricot.org for self-serve ticket sales — with no API or programmatic interfaces.

CAGS generates revenue through three streams: recurring membership dues from its 62+ institutional members, paid professional-development programming (notably REDI workshops at 95 CAD per ticket and pre-paid institutional bundles), and annual conference and event revenue from registration, sponsorship, and partner contributions. Publicly disclosed pricing is limited to event/workshop tickets and competition prize money (1,500 CAD Champion, 1,000 CAD Second Place, 500 CAD People's Choice for 3MT). CAGS's federal advocacy is a defining but non-revenue function, with formal remarks delivered to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research in May 2023 and pre-budget consultation submissions to the Standing Committee on Finance.

Name

Canadian Association for Graduate Studies

Legal name

Canadian Association for Graduate Studies

Website

https://cags.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Short description

CAGS (Association canadienne pour les études supérieures) is Canada's national bilingual membership association for graduate education, serving 62+ Canadian universities, research institutes, and the federal granting agencies through advocacy, the annual conference, the national 3MT competition, awards, and the CGPSS graduate-student survey.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Association Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Higher Education Regulators & Tertiary Education Commissions (EDADAAAG)

Keywords

• Graduate education association
• Higher education advocacy
• Academic professional development
• Doctoral research policy
• Institutional membership services

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: CAGS is a registered charity and not-for-profit corporation (since 1991); generates revenues through membership dues from its 60+ Canadian university and research institute members.
2. Workshops and Training Programs: Paid professional development programming for graduate students and postdocs, including REDI workshops priced at $95 CAD per ticket, plus pre-paid institutional bundles.
3. Annual Conference and Events: Revenue generated from the annual CAGS Conference and ancillary events including the Summer Leadership Program (e.g., 2026 in Halifax) through registration, sponsorship, and partner contributions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS) is Canada's national not-for-profit association for graduate education, providing leadership, community-building, and policy advocacy on behalf of 62+ Canadian university and research institute members. Its core offering is a portfolio of member services including the annual CAGS Conference, the Summer Leadership Program, national awards and competitions (3-Minute Thesis, Distinguished Dissertation, Mentorship, Graduate Student Experience), the Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (CGPSS) and annual statistical reports, plus professional development workshops, webinars, and policy projects such as Rethinking the PhD.

Product overview

CAGS operates as a single member-association platform rather than a modular product suite, with its overall offering organized around three connected pillars: (1) community-building events such as the flagship CAGS Annual Conference and the CAGS Summer Leadership Program, (2) a portfolio of recognition programs including the National 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Showcase, the CAGS-ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award (DDA), the Dr. Suning Wang Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentorship, and the Graduate Student Experience (GSE) Award, and (3) national projects and publications such as the National Community of Practice on Graduate Supervision, the Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (CGPSS), the Rethinking the PhD project, the Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Programs national strategy, the CAGS Statistical Reports, CAGS Publications, and the bilingual CAGS Podcast / Balado de l'ACES ("Grad ACES"). The CAGS Webinar Series, CAGS Workshop Series (including the REDI workshop), and the Strategic Plan 2023-2027 and Code of Conduct sit alongside these as governance, learning, and policy instruments. Together these offerings advance CAGS's stated mission of providing leadership, fostering community, and promoting collaboration to advance excellence in Canadian graduate education, research, and scholarship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CAGS Annual Conference The CAGS marquee annual event, now in its 64th edition, bringing together hundreds of graduate-education leaders from across Canada for workshops, awards, and presentations on graduate education policy and practice.
• CAGS Summer Leadership Program Multi-day leadership development program for graduate studies deans, associate deans, and administrators; the 2026 edition held 3-5 June 2026 in Halifax, Nova Scotia at Saint Mary's University.
• National 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Showcase Annual national competition in which graduate students explain their research and its impact to a general audience in three minutes or less, using one slide and no props. The 2019 finals drew 12 finalists from 36 graduate schools and more than 1,800 students.
• CAGS-ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award Annual national award recognizing Canada's best doctoral dissertations across categories including engineering, medical and natural sciences, and social sciences/humanities, sponsored in partnership with ProQuest.
• Dr. Suning Wang Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentorship Annual award instituted in 2018 to celebrate faculty members who exemplify the highest standards in teaching, training, and mentoring of graduate students; named in honour of inaugural winner Dr. Suning Wang.
• CAGS Award for Excellence and Innovation in Enhancing the Graduate Student Experience (GSE Award) Annual award presented to a CAGS member institution to recognize administrative or programmatic excellence and innovation in enhancing the experience of graduate students from recruitment through degree completion.
• Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey (CGPSS) National survey instrument stewarded by CAGS to collect data on the experiences of graduate and professional students across Canadian member institutions; used as the source for CAGS's annual statistical reports.
• Rethinking the PhD Multi-year CAGS initiative examining the evolving purpose, structure, and form of the doctoral dissertation and broader PhD education; includes the Taskforce on the Dissertation (2018 final report), non-traditional dissertation profiles, blog series, and policy advocacy.
• CAGS Statistical Reports Annual statistical reports derived from the Canadian Graduate and Professional Student Survey and other datasets, providing national-level data on graduate education in Canada.
• National Community of Practice on Graduate Supervision National initiative convened by CAGS to bring together graduate supervision practitioners across Canadian universities to share resources, principles, and best practices on supervising graduate students.
• CAGS Workshop Series for Graduate Students and Postdocs (REDI) French-language workshop series on Reconciliation, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) in Canadian higher education, facilitated by ADOC; 90-minute online sessions offered to graduate students and postdocs of CAGS member institutions at 95 CAD per ticket.
• CAGS Webinar Series Series of open-access live webinar events for the CAGS community covering topics such as online learning, workforce preparedness, mental health, and equity in graduate education.
• CAGS Podcast / Balado de l'ACES ("Grad ACES") Bilingual (English/French) podcast initiative launched in 2022, focused specifically on the business, administration, and pedagogy of graduate education in Canada, distinct from existing student-facing podcasts.
• Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Programs: Toward a National Strategy CAGS national project working toward a coordinated Canadian strategy for graduate and postdoctoral professional and career development programming.
• CAGS Publications Repository of CAGS research documents, task-force reports, and policy publications, including the (Re)conciliation Task Force Report 2022 and the CAGS Task Force on Excellence in Graduate Programs Final Report 2022.

Named customers16 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• HigherEd+flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026HigherEd+ and CAGS announced a strategic partnership on 18 June 2026 to support graduate education across Canada. The collaboration extends CAGS's reach into the higher-ed digital ecosystem and was featured as a top news item on the CAGS homepage.
• DuolingominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 22 January 2026Co-branded the Duolingo 2025 Grad Challenge, with winners announced 22 January 2026; provides CAGS graduate student audience with a marquee consumer-education brand affiliation.
• Saint Mary's UniversitycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 16 January 2026Host site for the 2026 CAGS Summer Leadership Program held 3-5 June 2026 in Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saint Mary's provides the venue and local institutional support for the flagship leadership development program.
• ADOCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 26 September 2024Facilitator of CAGS's French-language REDI (Réconciliation, Équité, Diversité et Inclusion) workshop for graduate students and postdocs, delivered 26 September 2024 via Zoom; supports CAGS's reconciliation and equity commitments under the 2020 Call to Action.
• ProQuestflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Long-standing partner for the CAGS-ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award, an annual national recognition of Canada's best doctoral dissertations across multiple categories. ProQuest co-brands the award with CAGS and has been featured as a recurring partner on CAGS prize announcements through 2025.
• Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Administrators (CAPA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a partner organization on the CAGS navigation; CAPA (postdoc.ca) represents postdoctoral administrators in Canada and extends CAGS's reach into postdoctoral policy and programming.
• Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Network (GPDN / RPESP)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a CAGS partner organization on the official navigation (gpdn-rpesp.ca); the GPDN/RPESP network supports graduate and postdoctoral professional development across Canada.
• Association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a CAGS partner on the official navigation; ACFAS is the primary French-language partner supporting francophone scholarship and research community engagement in Canada.
• Regional 3MT Host Universities (UNBC, McMaster, McGill)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThree regional host universities run the regional qualifying competitions for the National 3-Minute Thesis Showcase: University of Northern British Columbia (West Division), McMaster University (Ontario Division), and McGill University (Eastern Division). These institutions recruit and select the 12 national finalists from a field of 1,800+ students.
• Universities CanadacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerJoined CAGS in the March 2022 joint statement on the War in Ukraine and is identified as a partner in CAGS's broader coordinated advocacy on federal research and international mobility policy.
• Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-signed the March 2022 CAGS joint statement on the War in Ukraine; broader sector partner on shared advocacy regarding graduate education, faculty, and academic freedom issues.
• Tri-Council Federal Research Granting Agencies (NSERC, SSHRC, CIHR)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAGS members and the primary federal counterparties on graduate trainee funding policy. CAGS President Philippe-Edwin Bélanger testified to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research on 4 May 2023 specifically on the value of CGS-M, CGS-D, and Postdoctoral Scholar awards administered through these agencies.
• House of Commons Finance Committee (Canada)flagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerRecipient of CAGS pre-budget consultation submissions and policy statements on investing in the next generation of Canadian researchers (e.g., 2018 statement on Budget 2019); central relationship for CAGS's federal advocacy.
• University of British Columbia (UBC) — Julian DierkesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAGS member institution where Associate Dean Julian Dierkes (Funding, Graduate + Postdoctoral Studies) launched the CAGS Podcast / Balado de l'ACES ('Grad ACES') initiative in January 2022; the podcast targets the business, administration, and pedagogy of graduate education.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Universities Canada: Canada's national umbrella association for universities; overlaps with CAGS on federal research-funding advocacy and joint statements, but covers the full university sector rather than specializing in graduate education.
• American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U): U.S. national association focused on liberal education and undergraduate/graduate quality; comparable as a higher-education policy and advocacy body, though with a broader scope than CAGS.
• Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT): National federation of academic staff associations; collaborates with CAGS on joint statements (e.g., War in Ukraine) and federal advocacy, but represents faculty/labour interests rather than graduate education specifically.
• European University Association: Broader European umbrella of universities that runs graduate-education policy work; comparable to CAGS in function but regional and at a much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Council of Graduate Schools: U.S.-based national association dedicated exclusively to graduate education — the most direct international analog to CAGS. Operates similarly as a membership body for graduate deans and institutions, running policy advocacy, surveys, and awards programs.
• Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Network (GPDN / RPESP): Network supporting graduate and postdoctoral professional development across Canada; listed as a CAGS partner and shares the mandate for postdoctoral/graduate development programming.
• Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Administrators (CAPA): Canadian association representing postdoctoral administrators; listed as a CAGS partner and shares the niche post-graduate policy and programming remit, with overlapping institutional membership.

Regional players

• Association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS): Primary French-language partner supporting francophone scholarship and research community engagement in Canada; overlapping mandate on graduate research promotion and listed as a CAGS partner.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Canadian Association for Graduate Studies