Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Postdoctoral Fellowships Program 2017, Canada

What kind of support does the Postdoctoral Fellowships Program provide?

The 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 universities. NSERC encourages interested and qualified Aboriginal students or fellows to apply.

Are you eligible for a PDF?

To be considered 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.

In addition:

• 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, or by September 1 of the year of the award announcement.
• If you have acquired at least six months of full-time relevant employment in industry or government (experience in a university or its affiliated hospitals, research institutions 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.

If you anticipate taking less than a full year of maternity leave, you are expected to submit your application during the two year eligibility window. If you are successful in obtaining an award, you can defer it for reasons of maternity or child-rearing. Refer to the Award Holder’s Guide for Postdoctoral Fellowship for more information.

For degree programs you have completed, provide the date on which all the requirements of your degree were met, including the successful defence and submission of the corrected copy of your thesis (in accordance with your university's regulations). It is not the conferred or convocation date indicated on your transcript. The Faculty of Graduate Studies (or its equivalent) may be asked to confirm the date the degree requirements were met.

You can apply only once to the PDF Program; however, applicants whose first PDF application was submitted prior to the 2013 competition may submit a second application provided they are within the eligibility window.

Note: You may submit only one application per year to one granting agency (NSERC or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council).