A distinguished Canadian program, the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Scholarship encourages exceptional postdoctoral researchers to pursue innovative research in a range of fields. In addition to providing funding, the fellowship seeks to develop the next generation of academic and research leaders by providing a platform for advanced studies.
Scholarship Details
Value & Duration
- $70,000 per year (taxable)
- 2 years (non-renewable)
Areas of research
- Health research
- Natural sciences and/or engineering
- Social sciences and/or humanities
Applicant Eligibility
Citizenship and location of host institution
Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, and foreign citizens are eligible to apply, provided they meet the following conditions:
- Applicants who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada may only hold their Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at a Canadian institution.
- Applicants who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and who obtained their Ph.D., PhD-equivalent, or health professional degree from a foreign university may only hold their Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at a Canadian institution.
- Applicants who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and who obtained their PhD, PhD-equivalent, or health professional degree from a Canadian university may hold their Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at either a Canadian institution or an institution outside of Canada.
Eligibility window for degree completion
Applicants to the 2023-24 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program must fulfill or have fulfilled all degree requirements for a Ph.D., PhD-equivalent, or health professional degree:
- between September 15, 2020 and September 30, 2024 (inclusively), and
- before the start date of their award.
Applicants who have not fulfilled all requirements for their degree at the time of application must submit proof no later than October 15, 2024.
For applicants who have completed more than one PhD, PhD-equivalent, or health professional degree, the eligibility window applies to the most recent of these degrees.
Allowable extensions to the eligibility window
The window of eligibility could be extended by a cumulative maximum of three years if the applicant had their career interrupted for extenuating circumstances, such as parental leave, illness, health-related family responsibilities, mandatory military service, disruptions due to war, civil conflicts and/or natural disasters in the country of residence, socio-economic reasons/lack of research opportunities, pandemic-related reasons, etc. It will only be extended by the duration of the eligible delay(s)/interruption(s).
“Career interruption” refers to a period when the applicant was not working (full-time or part-time) and when their research output was completely interrupted.
Additionally, for health professionals who have engaged in post-degree non-research-related clinical training (e.g., residency), the eligibility window can be extended by the duration of this training.
For other professions that require post-degree, non-research-related training to be certified by a professional body, please consult the Vanier-Banting Secretariat to confirm whether an extension to the eligibility window is allowable.
Interruptions used to extend the eligibility window for degree completion must have occurred after the fulfillment of your degree requirements and before the application submission deadline.
Justification must be provided in the Special Circumstances attachment.
“Fulfilled all requirements of the degree” refers to the date that the applicant completed all the steps required for obtaining their degree. Although these requirements may vary by institution and degree type, they normally include thesis defense corrections and thesis deposition. Note that convocation is not considered a degree requirement.
Host institution eligibility
Institutions eligible to host a Banting postdoctoral researcher include Canadian and foreign universities, affiliated research hospitals, colleges, and not-for-profit organizations with a strong research mandate and capacity.
Canadian governments (federal, provincial, municipal) and all for-profit organizations are not eligible to participate as host institutions.
Questions regarding institutional eligibility should be directed to the Vanier-Banting Secretariat well in advance of the submission deadline.
Application guide
- Applications must be prepared and submitted by applicants. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete. This includes ensuring that all host institution documents and referee assessments have been submitted.
- Information provided in the application package must be self-contained. Links to external websites or documents hosted on a drive should not be included in the application.
- Applicants should read the Selection committee guide before commencing their application. This guide lists the three evaluation criteria and has useful information on how the criteria are evaluated. Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships selection committees are multidisciplinary, and applications should therefore be written with a non-specialist research audience in mind.
- You must also review the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion page before beginning the preparation of an application.
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