Programs

CESEF Graduate Scholarship Program

The Board of Directors of the CESEF is pleased to announced the 2022-2023 recipient of its scholarship program

The Canadian Evaluation Society Educational Fund (CESEF) is currently inviting applications from Master's and PhD students for its Graduate Scholarship Program.

The Graduate Scholarship Program seeks to support the development of theory and practice of program evaluation by facilitating access to education and training to those working in or wishing to work in the field of program evaluation. To this end, the CESEF is offering the Universalia Charles Lusthaus Scholarship and the PRA Rita Gunn Scholarship, each valued at $5,000. These are one-time, non-renewable, 12-month awards.

This initiative aims to increase the supply of qualified evaluators who can benefit Canadian society through their careers in evaluation.

Although CESEF’s objectives are specific to program evaluation, the objectives of this Scholarship Program are meant to be broader than just program evaluation, and are meant to:

  • Support Graduate students in evaluation to develop research skills while undertaking graduate learning
  • Increase Graduate students’ capacity to:
    • learn about evaluation theory and practice;
    • build the capacity to acquire the designation of Credentialed Evaluator;
    • and/or pursue careers in evaluation.

Please note that the Graduate Scholarship competition for Fall 2024 is closed.

Instructions for students interested in applying for the Graduate Scholarship can be found in the following documents:

For any questions about the online application documents and related details about the Graduate Scholarship Program application process, please contact scholarship@cesef.ca


We wish to thank Universalia for supporting the establishment of the Universalia Charles Lusthaus Scholarship and PRA for supporting the PRA Rita Gunn Scholarship.

I cannot think of anything that would please Charles more than knowing his contributions have resulted in supporting students. He loved teaching and he relished seeing his students learn, grow, and create new pathways for themselves and others. Charles would have enjoyed these scholarship recipients and had such a great relationship them! I cannot thank Universalia enough for honouring his life and work this way; it is at the heart of who he was and what he cherished. Many thanks and much appreciation to all at CESEF who implement this scholarship. Charles would be very pleased and honoured. I am sure he is smiling. 

Warm regards, Evelyn Lusthaus (Charles' wife)


Rita Gunn became a founding partner of PRA Inc. in 1988, mentoring dozens of evaluators both within the company and CES.  She evaluated many social and health programs, travelling throughout Canada. Rita also was a strong supporter of CESEF and contributed her talents to raising funds in its formative years. It is indeed fitting that her legacy continues to support the education of a new generation of evaluators.



The CESEF is an independent organization created by the Canadian Evaluation Society in 1990 and reorganized in 2005 to increase national assessment capacity through educational activities. In 2006, CESEF was officially registered as a Canadian charity.

The Fund maintains partnerships with the Canadian Evaluation Society and the Consortium of Universities for Evaluation Education to promote the shared goal of developing the area of program evaluation by increasing access to education, training and professional development.

We invite interested people, potential partners, students and evaluation specialists to send us their comments and suggestions.

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