Important Dates

• Thursday, June 20, 2024, 10:00 a.m. Stage 1- Letter of Intent Package due to the SGS
• Friday, August 16, 2024, 10:00 a.m. Stage 2 – Endorsed candidate applications due to SGS
• Tuesday, September 17, 2024 (8:00 p.m. EDT) Banting ResearchNet online application submission

Program overview

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program provides funding to the very best postdoctoral applicants, both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to the country’s economic, social, and research-based growth.

The objective of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program is to:

• attract and retain top-tier postdoctoral talent, both nationally and internationally
• develop their leadership potential
• position them for success as research leaders of tomorrow

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship program is unique in its emphasis on the synergy between:

• the applicant – their individual merit and potential to launch a successful research-intensive career; and
• the host institution – their commitment to the research program and alignment with the institution’s strategic priorities

An applicant to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program must complete their application in full collaboration with the proposed host institution.

McMaster University strives to attract and retain top-tier postdoctoral talent utilizing a two-stage internal review process to identify and select the most competitive candidates in each research area (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC).

The value of the fellowship is $70,000.00/year for two years, and is distributed equally across the CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC agencies. The award does not include the costs of research.

The Fall 2024 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships (Banting PDF) program information and application details are now available online.

Please be sure to review the Banting launch memo which includes important reminders.

Eligibility

Confirm that you and your proposed host institution meet the criteria below before you apply for a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Applications that do not meet all of the eligibility criteria will be deemed ineligible.

For a list of eligible health professions, please see CIHR’s webpage.

Note: This fellowship is not intended for students (including Health Professionals) to complete a degree.

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 PhD, 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 2024-25 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program must fulfill or have fulfilled all degree requirements for a PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree:

• between September 15, 2021 and September 30, 2025 (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, 2025.

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 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 of time 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 with 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 fulfilment of your degree requirements and before the application submission deadline.

Justification for extensions to the eligibility window for degree completion

Note that your eligibility window will only be extended by the duration of the eligible delay(s)/interruption(s), as indicated in the Eligibility section. It is essential that you provide specific dates for your delays and/or interruptions, including the exact number of months or days of these interruptions.

Note: 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 defence corrections and thesis deposition. Note that convocation is not considered a degree requirement.

Other eligibility restrictions

• Applicants who currently hold or have held CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC postdoctoral fellowships are eligible to apply to the 2024-25 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program only if the term of that funding officially ends on or before September 30, 2025 and prior to the start of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship. Early termination of the agency-specific postdoctoral award for the purpose of application to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program is not permitted.
• Applicants can apply for both the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program and other agency-specific postdoctoral fellowships programs (whether to the same or a different federal granting agency) at the same time, provided that the research proposed in each application falls within the mandate of the federal granting agency to which the application is submitted. For more information, please refer to Identify area of research.

Note: Applicants who are successful in both competitions will have to choose which award to accept.

• Applicants must not hold a tenure-track (Generally, “tenure-track” refers to an open-ended academic position in which the holder can form a research group, apply for externally funded research as a principal investigator, and teach. (If unsure, please contact the Vanier-Banting Secretariat) or tenured faculty position, nor can they be on leave from such a position.
• Applicants can submit only one application per competition year to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program
• Without exception, Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships:
  • are tenable only at the institution that supported the original application for the program;
  • must be taken up no earlier than April 1st and no later than October 1st following the year of application;
  • are for two years;
  • cannot be held concurrently with another Tri-Agency training award; and
  • can only be held once in a lifetime

Justification for remaining in PhD research environment

Only in rare circumstances will a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship be awarded to an applicant who is staying at the same institution or within the same research environment where they completed their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree.

Applicants who wish to undertake postdoctoral level research training in the same institution (or its affiliated hospitals, research centres and other laboratories) or within the same research environment from which they obtained their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree must provide a strong justification for this exceptional circumstance which will be assessed as part of the selection committee review process. The more similar the proposed research environment is to that of the PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree environment, the stronger the justification is required to be. Examples of valid justifications are:

• scientific reasons (e.g., availability of specialized equipment/infrastructure or expertise)
• family reasons (e.g., family obligations)
• health reasons (e.g., proximity to health care facilities)
• socio-economic context
• reasons related to community or cultural responsibilities
• conducting research with Indigenous communities

Justification for remaining in the same research environment (other than PhD)

At the time of application (September 17, 2024), if the applicant is affiliated for more than six months with the proposed host institution (e.g., postdoctoral position) they must justify the decision to continue at the same location.

The longer the applicant has been at the same institution (or research environment), the stronger the justification is required to be.

Note: Justifications must be provided in the Special circumstances attachment.

Financial support information for proposed supervisors/candidates

It is important that faculty members know that the Banting Fellowship is a stipend. The award does not include the direct costs of research or benefits. Banting Fellows are not a part of the collective bargaining agreement, but there are benefits to which they are entitled. The cost of the benefits is the responsibility of the supervisor. The applicant will be unable to proceed with the application process if there is no commitment by the supervisor to pay the benefits for the 2-year duration of the award.

The faculty must inform supervisors about required benefit costs, outlined in the PDF policy. For further information/clarification, please contact your department administrator or, refer to the PDF policy on responsibilities for supervisors:

McMaster University’s Policy on Postdoctoral Fellows indicates that benefits are normally paid by the supervisor; non-supervisor benefit commitments must be clearly documented.

Contacts

Banting Program Information: banting@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Banting ResearchNet Application Technical Support: support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Canadian Common CV: support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

If you have questions regarding the McMaster Fall 2023 Banting competition, please email graduatescholarships@mcmaster.ca