Fellowship Opportunities

As the most prestigious postdoctoral award in Canada, the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program provides the opportunity to bring top-tier postdoctoral talent,  both nationally and internationally, to develop their leadership potential and to position them for success as research leaders of tomorrow, positively contributing to Canada's economic, social and research-based growth through leadership in a research-intensive career. For official information, regulations and procedures, visit the Banting website. At Western, the internal Banting selection process in managed by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS).

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.

Eligibility: Please refer to the eligibility guidelines on the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship website.

• Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada and foreign citizens are eligible to apply.
• Applicants for the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program must fulfill or have fulfilled all degree requirements for a PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree between within a specific window – approximately 4 years – see   guidelines; and before the start of the award.
• Only in exceptionally rare circumstances will a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship be awarded to an applicant who is staying at the same institution where they completed their PhD, PhD- equivalent or health professional degree. In such cases, a solid justification – related for example to availability of highly unique equipment - must be provided. Current postdoctoral fellows already at the institution must also justify the decision to continue at the same location.
• Applicants must not hold a tenure-track or tenured faculty position.

Application Details: Please refer to the application guide on the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship website.

• A competitive application must excel in the following three evaluation criteria (click here for more details)
  • Applicant's research excellence and leadership in the research domain
  • Quality of applicant's propsoed reserach program
  • Institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between applicant and institutional strategic priorities.
• Applicants intending to take up the fellowship at Western should first contact their fellowship supervisor to request the support of their application.
• Applicants should consult Important Dates for Faculty Deadlines.

Application Process: Western has a 3-stage application process to review applications from potential applicants, select the most competitive applicants and provide them the Institutional Letter of Endorsement to be submitted along with the application package by the applicants.  

All applicants are responsible for meeting any Western internal deadlines set by their Faculties and SGPS.

Stage 1
Faculty-led Selection Committee, coordinated by the Associate Dean Graduate, selects excellent applications to be nominated by Western. For Stage 1 review and selection process, committee requires the complete application package, minus 2 pages of the supervisor letter and, in lieu of referee letters, a brief email from each referee confirming that they will provide a letter. The application package must be submitted to the Faculty Graduate Office no later than June 14, 2024  via email.

Stage 2
By June 30, each candidate will be notified of the committee decision regarding their application package and each selected candidate will be invited to to complete the application. Referee letters are due at this time, to be submitted directly via email.

Stage 3
Between July 1 and July 31, nominees and their supervisors complete all components of the application package including referee letters. Faculty scholarship committee mentors will work with candidates to complete the application packages. Complete application packages provided to SGPS; Western Internal Banting Competition Deadline: August 1, 2024, at 11:59 PD EDT, NO EXCEPTIONS

All documents must be formatted in keeping with the presentation standards for attached documents as set out by Banting. Incomplete or ineligible applications or applications that do not conform to the Banting presentation standards for attached documents will be considered ineligible for institutional endorsement. Applicants selected for institutional endorsement will be provided with a completed Institutional Letter of Endorsement via email in advance of the national competition deadline.

Western’s Postdoctoral Fellowships Program awards funding to postdoctoral scholars who contribute to the stimulation of research, scholarship and creative activity across the institution. The Program aspires to:

Attract diverse postdoctoral talent from a global candidate pool who will contribute positively to research excellence;

• Enhance support for promising research programs; and
• Foster a vibrant and inclusive environment for scholars and position them for success as early career researchers.

Fellowships will provide a minimum stipend of $60,000/year (pending any association agreement changes) plus benefits for two years. Western Research will contribute up to 50% of the fellowship stipend.

The faculty supervisor is responsible for securing the remaining 50% of the fellowship stipend, which must be secured and confirmed at the time of application. Western Research will also contribute a $5,000/year research allowance over the 2-year term. 

The application form and program guidelines are available on the Western Postdoctoral Fellowships Program page.

The application package must be submitted to the Faculty Graduate Office (Attn: Brenda Sefeldas, bsefelda@uwo.ca) no later than May 15, 2023.

• MITACS Elevate Postdoctoral Fellowship Program  MITACS has issued a call for proposals to the MITACS Elevate postdoctoral fellowship program.  MITACS Elevate is a pilot fellowship program for postdoctoral fellows (PDFs) at Ontario universities to develop collaborations with local industry.

• Value and Duration: $55,000/year with $10,000 for research support; two-year duration. 

• Number of Awards: Varies each year.

• Eligibility: Please refer to the eligibility guidelines on MITACS Elevate Postdoctoral Fellowship Program website.

• Application Details: Please refer to the application guide on the MITACS website.

• Important dates: February 10, 2021 5pm (PT) deadline to submit a completed application package to be considered for Mitacs Elevate fellowship.

• Contact: Mihaela Harmos

• The NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowships (PDF) program provides support to a core of the most promising researchers at a pivotal time in their careers. The fellowships are also intended to secure a supply of highly qualified Canadians with leading-edge scientific and research skills for Canadian industry, government and academic institutions.

• Value and Duration: $45,000 per year for two years.

• Eligibility: To be considered to be eligible for support, as of the deadline date of the year in which you apply, you must be a Canadian citizen, or a permanent resident of Canada and hold or expect to hold a doctorate in one of the fields of research that NSERC supports.

• Application Details: Please refer to the application instructions on the NSERC website.