The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program provides funding to the very best postdoctoral applicants and is available to both Canadian and international applicants who will positively contribute to the country's economic, social and research‑based growth.

The objectives of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program are to:

• Attract and retain top-tier postdoctoral talent, both nationally and internationally.
• Develop leadership potential.
• Position candidates for success as research leaders of tomorrow.

Value and Duration of Award

• $70,000 per year (taxable) for two years (non-renewable).

Eligibility and Conditions

• Canadian citizens, permanent residents and foreign citizens are eligible to apply.
• Must fulfil or have fulfilled all degree requirements for a PhD between Sept. 15, 2016 and Sept. 30, 2020 (refer to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships website for more details and allowable extensions to eligibility window).
• Awards can only be held at the institution which supported the original application.
• Must be taken up no earlier than April 1 and no later than Oct. 1 following the year of application.
• Are held for two years.
• Can only be held once in a lifetime.

Complete eligibility guidelines are available on the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships website.

Selection Criteria

• Research excellence and leadership in the research domain.
• Quality of the applicant's proposed research program.
• Institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between applicant and institutional strategic priorities.

Application Process

Applicants must submit a Notice of Intent application package to fgps@wlu.ca by Laurier's internal deadline of Monday, July 15, 2019.

A complete Notice of Intent Application Package includes:

• Canadian Common CV.
• All postsecondary education transcripts (unofficial transcripts accepted at this stage).
• Description of career aspirations and rationale for desire to pursue a postdoctoral research experience at Laurier and in association with the proposed supervisor. Highlight the benefits expected with respect to fulfilling career aspirations (maximum one page).
• Research proposal (maximum four pages), including:
  
  • The objectives and significance of your proposed research program.
  • The contribution that your research will make to the advancement of knowledge.
  • How the proposed research program is situated within relevant scholarly literature.
  • The theoretical approach or framework that will be used.
  • The research question(s) and/or hypothesis/hypotheses.
  • The methodology and why it was chosen.
  • The plan to disseminate the findings and/or enhance potential for impact.
• Submission from proposed supervisor (maximum three pages, email to fgps@wlu.ca) that includes the following:
  • Evidence for the suitability of the match with reference to the supervisor's area of research and contributions.
  • Proposed research environment (funding, facilities/resources and personnel available to support the applicant).
  • Demonstrated synergy between the applicant and institutional strategic priorities.
• One reference letter (submitted by someone other than the proposed supervisor, maximum three pages, email to fgps@wlu.ca) that includes the following:
  • An assessment of the applicant’s research excellence and demonstrated leadership.
  • An assessment of the merit of the proposed research.
  • Comment on the suitability of the proposed research environment.

• Questions? Contact Dr. Brent Wolfe, Associate Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Postdoctoral Fellowships support highly qualified applicants in the areas of health research to add to a recipient’s experience by engaging in health research in Canada or abroad.

Value and Duration of Award

$40,000 to $60,000 per year (taxable); non-renewable tenable for up to five years. See CIHR Fellowship website for more details. 

Eligibility

• The Nominated Principal Applicant must be a trainee and a commitment of 75% of the applicant’s time must be in the research fellowship role proposed in the application.
• Applicants must not hold a tenure-track or tenured faculty position, nor can they be on leave from such a position.
• A primary supervisor must be identified on the application; an additional supervisor may also be identified.
• The program is open to Canadian citizens and international applicants; only Canadian citizens and permanent residents can hold the award outside of Canada.
• At the time of application, the applicant must hold or be completing a PhD or a regulated health professional degree and must expect to complete all degree requirements by the latest possible date on which applicants can take up an award.
• Applicants who have obtained a doctorate degree more than three years prior to the competition deadline are not eligible to apply (date of official degree completion is used).
• Applicants may submit only one training or salary award application per year for funding from NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC, but individuals eligible to apply to the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program or the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program may also submit an application to the CIHR Fellowship program.

A complete list of eligibility guidelines and details on the review process and evaluation can be found on the ResearchNet.

Application Process

Complete application instructions can be found on the CIHR Fellowship website and ResearchNet.

Questions?

Questions? Contact Dr. Brent Wolfe, Associate Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships support the most promising new Canadian scholars in natural sciences and engineering, and assist them in establishing a research base at an important time in their research careers. 

Value and Duration of Award

$45,000 per year (taxable); non-renewable tenable for up to two years. 

Eligibility

To apply for this opportunity, applicants must:

• Be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada at the time of application.
• Hold or expect to hold a doctorate in one of the fields of research that NSERC supports.
• You must have completed all requirements of your first doctoral degree no more than two years before the deadline date of the year in which you apply.
• If you have acquired at least six months of full-time relevant work experience in industry or government (experience in a university or its affiliated hospitals, research centres and other laboratories will not be considered) after you received your doctorate, NSERC will extend this eligibility period to three years.
• If, within two years following the date of completion of your PhD, you withdraw from the workforce and from active research for maternity leave or to raise a child for at least one year, NSERC will extend this eligibility period to six years.

Complete eligibility guidelines are available on the NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship website.

Selection Criteria

Applications are selected based on the following:

• Research ability or potential (70%)
• Communication, interpersonal and leadership abilities (30%)

Complete selection criteria details can be reviewed on the NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship website.

Application Process

Complete application instructions and deadlines can be found on the NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship website.

Questions?

Contact Dr. Brent Wolfe, Associate Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

The Ontario Women's Health Scholars (OWHS) Award award recognizes postdoctoral fellows (as well as master’s and doctoral students) whose research will potentially contribute to the advancement of knowledge about women’s health. Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, scholars will excel in the creation of new knowledge about women’s health and its translation into improved health for women, more effective health services and products for women, and a strengthened health care system.

Up to two awards at the postdoctoral level are funded annually. The current value of these awards is $50,000 plus a $5,000 research allowance. Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents as of the application deadline date (Jan. 31 annually), and must be sponsored by the dean of graduate studies at the Ontario university at which they are undertaking postdoctoral research.

Application Details

By Dec. 1 annually, applicants must submit to the dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (via email to fgps@wlu.ca) electronic copies of the following documents:

• The completed application form.
• A curriculum vitae (including information concerning the eligibility criteria).
• For postdoctoral applicants: a brief summary of their doctoral thesis (maximum 300 words).
• A statement of research to be undertaken during the period of graduate study or postdoctoral research (maximum 1,000 words). There must also be an additional, non-technical summary (maximum 500 words). These statements must be written by the candidate.
• Confidential letters from four assessors. These appraisals should focus on an evaluation of the applicant’s research to date, and the research being undertaken during the postdoctoral period. The applicant must ask for the appraisals to be transmitted electronically directly to the dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Two of the assessors should preferably be from another university and must not have been associated with the candidate as either a supervisor, a member of the candidate’s supervisory committee, or a co-author.

For full details, see the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies website, or select "Ontario Women's Health Scholars Award on Laurier's Graduate Funding and Awards: External Funding webpage.

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellowships support the most promising Canadian new scholars in the social sciences and humanities, and assist them in establishing a research base at an important time in their research careers.

Value and Duration of Awards

• $40,500 per year (taxable); non-renewable tenable for a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 24 months.

Eligibility

It is the subject matter and the objectives and content of a proposal, rather than research methodology or the institutional affiliation of the applicant, that determine research eligibility. Research programs proposing only the adaptation of doctoral theses for publication, the editing of textbooks, translation, or the acquisition of a foreign language are ineligible. In other words, the research proposed in the application for a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship must be significantly different and distinct from, or add significantly to, the doctoral thesis.

To apply to this funding opportunity, applicants must:

• Be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada (by the application deadline).
• Have earned a first doctorate from a recognized university no earlier than September 2017 (date all degree requirements were completed, not the date of graduation), or have completed a first doctorate no earlier than September 2014, but have had their career interrupted or delayed for the purpose of maternity, childrearing, illness, or health-related family responsibilities.
• Not hold a tenure or tenure-track faculty position.
• Have finalized arrangements for affiliation with a recognized university or research institution.
• Have applied not more than twice before to the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships funding opportunity.
• Not be applying to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships program or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Postdoctoral Fellowships program in the same application year.
• Not have already received a postdoctoral award (including a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship) from CIHR, SSHRC or NSERC.

Applicants who obtain their PhD from a foreign university are eligible to apply only if they wish to hold their award at a Canadian university.

Complete eligibility guidelines are available on the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship website.

Selection Criteria

Applications are selected based on the following:

• Challenge (20%): The aim and importance of the endeavour.
• Feasibility (30%): The plan to achieve excellence.
• Capability (50%): The expertise to succeed.

Application Process

SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship applications require an Institutional Nomination and Commitment to be submitted as part of the application package. Nominations must be prepared by the chair/director of the proposed host department and should outline how the institution will support effective research training and career development for the applicant, based on SSHRC's Guidelines for Effective Research Training. For complete details see the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships web site.

Applicants should speak to their proposed supervisor to help identify the person who should complete the nomination. In cases where the department head and the research supervisor are the same person, she or he should provide the information requested for the Institutional Nomination and Commitment as well as that requested for the Research Appraisal. Department chairs who would like advice or assistance completing nominations should contact Dr. Brent Wolfe, Associate Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

The Travel Assistantship Program (login required) funding supports any non-domestic research-related travel by postdoctoral fellows, which could include attending a conference, travel to a field site, visiting a research collaborator, or travel to a remote site for specialized training.

Your supervisor must sign to verify that the purpose of the travel is related to your program of research. The maximum amount of support that will be provided is $800. Each postdoctoral fellow will be eligible to apply only once per year.

There is a limited amount of funding available, so not all applications will necessarily be funded. Only travel outside of Canada is eligible.