Frederick Gage Todd National Scholarship

Illustration of the TOWN OF MOUNT ROYAL- MODEL CITY as designed by Frederick Gage Todd, c. 1912, Source: Town of Mount Royal Archives 

Ten for Todd Fundraising Campaign

Meet the Ten for Todd supporters who have donated $5,000+ to endow the Frederick Gage Todd National Scholarship.


One prize of $10 000 will be awarded to an outstanding Canadian student enrolled in a CSLA-accredited program of landscape architecture. This scholarship recognizes a student who demonstrates exceptional knowledge, skill and commitment directed to the advancement of Canadian landscapes through the practice of landscape architecture.

LACF established this award to recognize and encourage outstanding scholars who are preparing for entry into the profession. The objective of this scholarship is to support individuals who demonstrate:

  • academic excellence
  • leadership, through professional involvement, community involvement or public affairs
  • demonstrated future potential
  • application of design as demonstrated by the quality of the portfolio.

Eligibility

Students eligible for this scholarship are those who in Fall 2024 will be enrolled full time in the final year of a CSLA-accredited Master of Landscape Architecture program. 

LACF welcomes applications or nominations recognizing underrepresented groups, including women, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, people of colour, people who identify as LGBTQ or people with disabilities.

Applicants must be Canadian citizens or have permanent resident status in Canada.

Evaluation Criteria

The winner of the Frederick Gage Todd National Scholarship will possess the social and environmental awareness as well as the design ability necessary to address society’s aspirations for sustainable ecosystems and healthy human habitats. This will be gauged by evaluating students’ professional understanding, ability, motivation and skill in communication as demonstrated in their submission.

  • Understanding will be evaluated by the applicant’s demonstrated awareness, comprehension and responsiveness to environmental and social influences on landscapes as reflected described in the Canadian Landscape Charter (CLC | CCP).
  • Ability will be judged by the applicant’s demonstrated skill in analysis, concept development, planning and design.
  • Motivation will be measured by the applicant’s academic and professional performance, involvement in extracurricular and professional activities, as well as current career and future plans.
  • Communication skill will be assessed by the applicant’s ability to communicate professionally and effectively in written and graphic forms.

Award Adjudication

LACF will appoint a professional jury of professionals to conduct a blind review of applications and nominate the winner of the 2024 Frederick Gage Todd National Scholarship.

Award Schedule 

3 June 2024               Application deadline
June-August 2024     Adjudication of award
September 2024        Announcement of scholarship
October 2024            50% of funds released
January 2025            Remaining funds released

Formal recognition of the scholarship award winner will be made at the CSLA Congress. The winning scholar will be asked to consent to publication of their name, as well as images and short extracts from their application submission, for publicity purposes.

Application Procedure and Submission Requirements

Request Applicant Number

To apply for this scholarship, the student must first request an applicant number from the Chair of the LACF Scholarship Committee at lacf-fapc@csla-aapc.ca with the subject line: Request for Applicant Number FGTNS 2024

Complete Application Form

The applicant shall complete the application form. Attach a copy of the applicant’s unofficial academic transcript that includes their name and the name of the university as proof of permanent resident status in Canada (if applicable). These documents will not be made available to members of the jury. A second copy of the applicant’s unofficial transcript with their name and university redacted is to be included as item 3 below. 

Prepare Submission Entry

Prepare the submission in either English or French, using 11-point Arial font with 1” margins and 8.5” x 11” format. Ensure the applicant name and university are not identified in this part of the submission. You must ensure that all references to your school, location, and any names, including those of the referees or firms, are removed. Failure to do so will result in an ineligible application. 

The submission entry shall include the following information in a single combined PDF file:

a.    Resumé – include relevant education, employment, volunteer activities, awards, and publications (maximum 2 pages).

b.    Personal statement – a brief personal biography describing formation of your interest in landscape architecture and why you qualify for this award (maximum 1/2 page).

c.    Approach – detail how your interests, approach to landscape architecture and commitment relate to the Canadian Landscape Charter (https://www.csla-aapc.ca/charter) and will help to achieve sustainable ecosystems and healthy human habitats in Canada (maximum 2 pages).

d.    Portfolio – graphic examples of your landscape architectural work that best demonstrate your design ability; three of the five pages (at minimum) should demonstrate your individual work and your role in a team should be clearly set out (maximum 5 pages).

e.    Letters of reference - a maximum of two letters. Referees should address the scholarship evaluation criteria. At least one letter of reference must be from a full-time landscape architecture faculty member who specifically addresses the applicant’s academic achievements. All letters must refrain from using the applicant’s name; only the student’s Applicant Number or pronouns (he, she, they) may appear in reference letters. Referees must refrain from using firm or university letterhead. Students are responsible for reviewing all letters of reference to ensure their name or information identifying the university has not been included in any documents.

f.    Unofficial academic transcript - with applicant’s name and all university identifiers redacted.

Submit

Applicants shall transmit a completed application form and their submission entry by email to: lacf-fapc@csla-aapc.ca with the subject line: Applicant Number _2024 FGTNS. The email shall contain a brief cover note and a single zip attachment named as follows: First and Last Name_Applicant Number_FGTNS_2024

The attachment shall be a zipped folder which shall include 2 separate files: 

  1. A single combined PDF file of the completed Application Form, an academic transcript showing the candidates’ name and university and proof of permanent resident status of Canada to be named: First and Last Name_Applicant Number_Application Form_ FGTNS_2024; and
  2. A single combined PDF file of a maximum of 15 MB of the applicant’s submission and support material from point 3, with all personal and university identifiers removed, to be named: Applicant Number_Submission Entry_FGTNS_2024. 

Applications are due on or before 3 June 2024 at 4 pm ET.

Supplementary notes:

  • Incomplete or non-compliant applications may be excluded from consideration.
  • LACF reserves the right to not make an award if no outstanding candidate is nominated.

Questions may be submitted to the LACF | FAPC Scholarship Committee Chair at: lacf-fapc@csla-aapc.ca with the subject line: FGTNS Inquiry.

Who was Frederick Gage Todd? 

Todd c. 1909, Mccord Museum Archives . CREDITS_ Wm. Notman & Son, Copyright: © Musée McCord, Source : McCord Museum, #II-175018

For nearly half a century Frederick G. Todd planned, designed and carried out "public and private works of beautification and utility with nature herself as partner." He was the first resident landscape architect in Canada and for most of his professional life was one of only a small number of landscape architects and town planners committed to the art and practice of structuring urban growth in the first half of this century throughout Canada.  A published author, Todd was a passionate advocate of the wise use of the natural resource base and he devoted much time and energy to a variety of civic institutions and professional organisations