Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships | University of Waterloo

The objective of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships (PDF) Program is to attract and retain 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 a research-intensive career. Canadian and international students are eligible to apply for a Banting PDF, which is valued at $70,000 per year (taxable) for two years.

The scholarships are administered by Canada's three federal granting agencies:
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

An applicant's application to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program must be completed in full collaboration with the proposed host institution. Without exception, Banting PDFs are tenable ONLY at the institution that supported the original application for the program.

ELIGIBILITY

To be considered for a Banting PDF, you must:

be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or an international student with a valid Canadian study permit. Applicants who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents may only hold their fellowship at a Canadian institution.
- Applicants who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents and who obtained their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree from a foreign university may only hold their fellowship at a Canadian insitution; if they obtained their degree from a Canadian university then they can hold their fellowship at either a Canadian institution or an institution outside of Canada.
be conducting research in an area that falls under the mandate of one of the three federal funding agencies (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC);
must fulfill or have fulfilled all degree requirements for a PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree:
- on a date within the eligibility window of November 2nd, 2008 through December 31, 2011. Applicants who have not fulfilled all requirements for their degree at the time of application must do so no later than December 31, 2011 and submit related proof to the Banting Program accordingly no later than January 15, 2012.
OR
- no earlier than November 2nd, 2006 if they have had their career interrupted or delayed for the purpose of childrearing, illness, or health-related family responsibilities
Please note that the eligibility window dates refer to the date on which the institution has considered that you have fulfilled all requirements of your degree and will attest to this in one of the letters required as part of the application.
if an applicant decides to apply for the Fellowship in collaboration with the same institution at which they obtained their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree, a solid justification - related for example to availability of highly unique equipment - will be an absolute requirement.

Note that applicants to the Banting PDF Program remain eligible to apply to agency-specific postdoctoral-level fellowship program competitions.

*Please see the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship website for complete eligibility criteria.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Applicants are encouraged, in developing their application materials, to reflect upon, and consult as necessary, the selection criteria that will be the basis upon which the applications are assessed. Applicants are encouraged to include only that information they believe will assist reviewers in assessing the application in relation to the stated selection criteria:

research excellence and leadership in the research domain;
quality of the applicant's proposed research program;
institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between the applicant and the institution's strategic priorities

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants should begin the application process by:

contacting the host institution, the proposed supervisor and three referees, expressing interest in applying for the Banting PDF in collaboration with the institution;
requesting the referees to prepare their supporting documents; reference letters are submitted electronically through ResearchNet and should be provided with the selection criteria guidelines;
ensure you have a ResearchNet account, as well as a Common CV account;
obtain an official letter from the institution that conferred the PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree that confirms the date of fulfillment of all degree requirements

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

October 3, 2011 - applicants are required to submit a hardcopy of their application to the attention of Heidi Mussar in the Graduate Studies Office (GSO), as University administrative staff do not have access to the Banting PDF applications on ResearchNet
October 3, 2011 - applicants must instruct their referees to email a copy of their reference letter (ie. in Microsoft Word or PDF) to Heidi Mussar.
November 2, 2011 @ 8:00 p.m. (EST) - without exception, all applicants are required to submit a complete electronic application, including referee assessments and the required documents from the host institution, via ResearchNet

BANTING POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP TIMELINE (pdf)

*For the complete application process please refer to the "How To Apply" section on the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship website.

ADJUDICATION PROCESS

Applications will be reviewed by the Associate Provost of Graduate Studies and the Faculty Associate Deans of Graduate Studies. Institutions are not provided with a quota on the number of fellowships it can host. However, institutions will be highly strategic about the applications they do support and will limit the number of applicants they endorse given the limited number of fellowships to be awarded annually and the rigour of the selection process. The Graduate Studies Office will coordinate a letter of endorsement for those applicants the University decides to support. The letter of endorsement will be provided to the applicant for uploading to their application on ResearchNet.

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship competition, please contact Heidi Mussar from the Graduate Studies Office. For complete details regarding program description, eligibility criteria, and application process please visit the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship website.

*Information last updated August 16, 2011