Funding

What is the CIHR Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) Program?

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canada Postdoctoral Reserach Award program supports 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. The value of this award is $70,000 per year (taxable); non-renewable tenable for up to two years. See CIHR Canada Postdoctoral Research Award program website for more details.

How are applicants considered?

Applicants must submit their applications to ResearchNet by Laurier’s set deadline (which will appear when you identify Laurier as the host institution (“Institution Paid”)*. A complete list of eligibility guidelines as well as applications instructions can be found on the CIHR Canada Postdoctoral Research Award program website and ResearchNet.

*We have been unable to update our internal deadline for CIHR on ResearchNet. Please submit your CIHR applications by Monday, Sept. 15. 

What is the NSERC Canada Postdoctoral Reserach Award (CPRA) Program? 

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Canada Postdoctoral Research Award program supports 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. The value of this fellowship is $70,000 non-renewable for up to two years.

How are applicants considered?

Applicants must submit their applications to the NSERC online system by the advertised agency deadline. A complete list of eligibility guidelines as well as applications instructions can be found on NSERC’s website.

NSERC Resources Playlist - Scholarships and Fellowships program application tutorials

Information Sessions

NSERC is hosting the following information sessions for the doctoral and postdoctoral programs. 

These sessions will be hosted as live Q&A MS teams meetings. The program descriptions are available online and we are currently reviewing the tutorial videos on the NSERC YouTube channel. Before attending a session, participants must read the relevant program description and come prepared with their questions.

Please attend any of the sessions that best suits your schedule. Registration is not required to attend a session.

What is the OWHS Award?

The Ontario Women's Health Scholars (OWHS) 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.

How are applicants considered?

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.

What is the SSHRC Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) Program?

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada Postdoctoral Research Award program supports 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. The value of this fellowship is $70,000 per year for up to two years and is non-renewable.

How are applicants considered?

Applicants must submit their applications to the SSHRC online system by the advertised agency deadline. An institutional nomination letter is required as part of this application. The head of the department or department chair at the primary location of tenure should complete this form. A complete list of eligibility guidelines as well as applications instructions can be found on SSHRC’s CPRA website.

What is the Mitacs Elevate?

Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that empowers Canadian Innovation through effective industry-academia partnerships that deliver solutions to pressing problems. Mitacs Elevate is a postdoctoral fellowship with an exclusive professional development curriculum component. Fellows address complex challenges through a one- or two-year research project with their academic supervisor and a partner organization in need of high-level research expertise. Under the program, Mitacs provides a 1:1 match for partner organization funds (minimum partner contribution of $30,000 per year), for fellows receive a minimum of $55,000 annual stipend and access to invaluable inter-disciplinary networking and peer-learning opportunities.

How are applicants considered?

Interested applicants must contact the Office of Research Services to confirm eligibility of the postdoctoral fellow and the partner organization, which is required as part of the application. The partner organization must provide a cash contribution of $30,000 per year.