The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships support postdoctoral researchers with competitive funding opportunities across Canadian and select international institutions. Eligible applicants, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and international candidates, must meet specific criteria regarding their doctoral degree completion and institutional affiliations.
Applicant Eligibility
Citizenship and Location of Host Institution
To apply for the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, you must meet these conditions based on your citizenship and where your host institution is located:
- Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents:
- You can apply for the fellowship regardless of where you obtained your PhD or equivalent degree.
- If your degree is from a foreign university, you must conduct your fellowship at a Canadian institution.
- Foreign Citizens:
- You can apply for the fellowship but must hold it at a Canadian institution.
- Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents with a Canadian Degree:
- You have the option to conduct your fellowship at either a Canadian institution or an institution outside Canada.
Eligibility for Degree Completion
Applicants to the 2024-25 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program must meet the following criteria regarding the completion of their PhD, PhD-equivalent, or health professional degree:
- Degree Completion Period:
- Applicants must have fulfilled all degree requirements between September 15, 2021, and September 30, 2025.
- The degree requirements must be completed before the fellowship’s start date.
- Applicants who have not completed all degree requirements by the time of application must provide proof by October 15, 2025.
- Multiple Degrees:
- If an applicant holds more than one PhD, PhD-equivalent, or health professional degree, the eligibility window applies to the most recent degree.
Allowable Extensions
The eligibility window may be extended under the following circumstances, with a cumulative maximum extension of three years:
- Career Interruptions:
- Extensions can be granted for interruptions due to parental leave, illness, health-related family responsibilities, mandatory military service, war, civil conflicts, natural disasters, socio-economic reasons, lack of research opportunities, pandemic-related reasons, etc.
- The extension duration corresponds only to the eligible interruptions that affected the applicant’s ability to work or conduct research.
- Health Professionals:
- For health professionals engaged in post-degree non-research-related clinical training (e.g., residency), the eligibility window can be extended by the duration of this training.
- Other Professions:
- For professions requiring post-degree non-research-related training certified by a professional body, consult the Vanier-Banting Secretariat for allowable extension confirmation.
Justification and Documentation
Applicants using interruptions to extend their eligibility window must provide justification in the Special Circumstances attachment. “Fulfilled all requirements of the degree” refers to completing all necessary steps for obtaining the degree, such as thesis defense corrections and thesis deposition, excluding convocation.
Host Institution Eligibility
Institutions eligible to host a Banting postdoctoral researcher include:
- Canadian and Foreign Universities
- Affiliated Research Hospitals
- Colleges
- Not-for-Profit Organizations with a strong research mandate and capacity
Ineligible Host Institutions
The following institutions are not eligible to participate as host institutions:
- Canadian Governments (federal, provincial, municipal)
- All For-Profit Organizations
Questions and Clarifications
For inquiries about institutional eligibility, please contact the Vanier-Banting Secretariat well before the submission deadline.
Other Eligibility Restrictions
Here are additional eligibility restrictions for the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program:
- Previous Postdoctoral Fellowships: Applicants who currently hold or have held CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC postdoctoral fellowships must ensure that the funding term ends on or before September 30, 2025, and prior to the start of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship. Early termination of agency-specific funding for application purposes is not allowed.
- Simultaneous Applications: Applicants can apply concurrently to both the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program and other agency-specific postdoctoral fellowships programs, provided the research proposed aligns with the mandates of the respective federal granting agencies. Each application must be submitted separately.
- Faculty Positions: Applicants must not hold a tenure-track or tenured faculty position, nor can they be on leave from such a position. This typically refers to open-ended academic positions involving research group formation, external research funding applications, and teaching responsibilities.
- Same Institution/Research Environment: Generally, Banting Fellowships are not awarded to applicants remaining at the institution or within the research environment where they completed their PhD or equivalent. Exceptions require solid justification in the Special Circumstances attachment, such as scientific, family, health reasons, or research involving Indigenous communities.
- Indigenous Communities: For applicants conducting research with Indigenous communities or having community/cultural responsibilities, special consideration is given.
- Application Limit: Each applicant can submit only one application per competition year to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program.
- Tenure and Conditions: Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships:
- Must be undertaken at the institution that supported the original application.
- Commence between April 1st and October 1st following the application year.
- Last for two years.
- Cannot be held concurrently with another tri-agency training award.
- Can be held only once in a lifetime without exception.
To read Full details about Application guideline visit the official website.