All candidates must meet the eligibility requirements for the CIRTA program, as well as be eligible for a postdoctoral appointment under McMaster University’s postdoctoral guidelines.

CIRTA program requirements

• Nominees can hold any citizenship, including Canadian citizenship, permanent resident status, and protected persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada).
• Participation of Canadian citizens in this initiative is intended for those who have previously left Canada for research and/or work experience and who wish to return to Canada to continue their research.
• Nominees cannot have a current affiliation with a Canadian institution and must be currently studying or working abroad.
• Nominees must be qualified to undertake postdoctoral research at McMaster University as of the award activation date.
• Nominees must hold or expect to hold a doctorate or health professional degree before the start date of the award.
• Nominees must not hold or be on leave from a tenure-track or tenured faculty position.
• Nominees can only be nominated by one nominator (cannot have multiple proposed supervisors or locations of tenure).
• International students/researchers already working or studying at a Canadian institution are not eligible for the Impact+ training awards. Instead, they can apply for the CGRS-D or CPRA.
• Nominees cannot be currently holding another scholarship or postdoctoral research award from the Tri-agencies (NSERC, CIHR, or SSHRC) or be currently benefitting fromTri-agency funds from a supervisor’s grant.
• Nominees cannot have previously held postdoctoral-level award from one of the Tri-agencies (NSERC, CIHR, or SSHRC).

Proposed research conducted at McMaster must align with one of the following priority research areas:

• Advanced digital technologies (AI, quantum, cybersecurity)
• Health, including biotechnology
• Clean technology and resource value chains
• Environment, climate resilience, and the Arctic
• Food and water security
• Democratic and community resilience
• Manufacturing and advanced materials
• Defence and dual-use technologies

Research Security

Due to the list of priority research areas (see question 5), recipients of the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards are likely to participate in research that aims to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area, as defined under the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy). While the STRAC Policy does not apply to scholarship and fellowship programs, such as the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards, nominators who are a recipient of a grant that is subject to the STRAC Policy requirements — or who are expecting to apply for such a grant in the future — should be aware that these requirements may extend to their prospective nominees. Prospective nominees who have an active affiliation with or are in receipt of financial or in-kind support from a Named Research Organization must terminate this relationship before joining any research team that is supported by a grant in scope of the STRAC Policy and that aims to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area. Consult the Tri-agency Guidance on the STRAC Policy for more information on the requirements that apply to federal grants subject to the STRAC Policy.

Where applicable, nominators are encouraged to conduct open-source due diligence to verify a prospective nominee’s affiliation(s) and sources of funding or in-kind support. Institutions may provide support to nominators in doing so, via their institutional research security offices, where available. For further guidance on research security, institutions and researchers may consult the Tri-agency Guidance on Research Securityand associated resources.

Note: There is no limiting window of time following completion of a doctoral degree for eligibility to the Impact+ training awards though applicants must satisfy the requirements of McMaster’s Policy on Postdoctoral Fellows.

Nominees must be able to begin their postdoctoral appointment no later than March 31, 2027. 

Review full eligibility requirements as listed on the CIRTA Q&A page.

Identify and contact a potential supervisor

Any McMaster University faculty member who is the primary grant holder (PI) on an active (April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2027) Tri-agency grant, as listed on the CIRTA Q&A page (refer to question 17), is eligible to nominate one postdoc nominee through the CIRTA program.

Prospective postdocs interested in receiving nomination from a faculty member are encouraged to reach out to faculty members conducting research aligned with their interests.

When reaching out to a faculty member, ensure you reference your interest in being endorsed for the CIRTA award. It is recommended you provide information on eligibility criteria, so the faculty member can confirm if they are eligible to act as a CIRTA nominator. Feel free to share a link to this page as a reference.

Complete the nomination/application package

Nominees (prospective postdocs) and nominators (eligible faculty members) will work together to complete a nomination/application package.

Completed nomination packages are due Noon, February 17, 2026.  

Requirements for the nomination package and submission details are available in “Information and processes for faculty members.”

A nominator, the faculty member must be the primary grant holder (nominated principal applicant/investigator or principal investigator) on an eligible funding opportunity. The grant must be receiving a payment or have a planned payment in the 2025-26 or 2026–27 fiscal year (April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2027). A grant in an unfunded extension year is not eligible. A co-applicant, co-investigator or collaborator is not eligible. A list of agency specific eligible funding opportunities are available on the CIRTA Q&A page. Nominators must be eligible to supervise doctoral postdoctoral researchers.

Process for nominating a prospective postdoctoral scholar:

1. Faculty member supervisor (nominator) identifies eligible prospective postdoctoral fellow (nominee) based on previous interactions, engagements, and/or recruitment efforts.
2. The nominator confirms with the program on the eligibility of the nominee and alignment with research priority area.
3. Nominator collects necessary documentation from the nominee so they can provide nomination package to the department for review and submission to SGS by deadline:
   • Complete Impact+ nomination form
     1. Nominee complete Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4, and signs confirmation of agreement to the terms and conditions.
     2. Nominator completes Part 5 and signs confirmation of agreement to the terms and conditions.
     3. Note: Part 6 will be completed by the School of Graduate Studies for nominations moving forward to the Tri-Agency competition.
4. Department representatives review nomination form to verify nominee and nominator meet eligibility requirements; sign Eligibility Checklist.
5. Completed Eligibility Checklist and Nomination form to be combined into one document and uploaded to MacDrive.
   • File naming convention: CIRTA_AGENCY_McMaster University_Nominee Last Name_Nominator Last Name_PDF
   • Deadline for department submission of nominees: Noon, February 17, 2026, EST
6. Institutional selection committee (chaired by SGS) will review nomination packages and SGS will forward selected nominations to the Tri-agency based on quotas.
   • Deadline to forward packages: March 4, 2026.
7. The Tri-agency confirms eligibility and makes final decisions – April 1, 2026.
8. The Tri-agency shares results with institution and SGS communicates the results to the nominees and nominators.

Nominations are now closed.