Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CITRA)

$40,000 per year for 36 months (3 years) at the doctoral level

$70,000 per year for 24 months (2 years) at the postdoctoral level 

ULethbridge's first-wave allocation is 2 doctoral awards and 2 postdoctoral awards. It is unclear if we will receive more funding for the second wave. 

For Nominators

A nominator must be a faculty member at an eligible institution and be the primary grant holder on an active grant from an eligible funding opportunity from one of the three federal funding agencies at the time of nomination. Refer to the list of agency specific eligible funding opportunities (including NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR). For the purposes of this initiative, eligible active grants are those that received a payment or have a planned payment in the 2025-26 or 2026–27 fiscal year (April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2027). 

As per the nominating institution’s policies, nominators must be eligible to supervise doctoral students and/or postdoctoral researchers. Nominators must have accounts in good standing with CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC. 

While the nominator’s research grant does not have to specifically be within one of the eight identified priority research areas, they must be able to facilitate and supervise the nominee conducting research in one of the identified areas. 

For Nominees 

Nominees can hold any citizenship, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada). Nominees cannot have a current affiliation with a Canadian institution and must be currently studying or working abroad. 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’ research areas must be within one of the eight priority research areas listed above. 

For Doctoral nominees:

• Must be eligible to enroll in a doctoral program at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date.
• Cannot hold a tenure or tenure-track appointment or be on leave from such an appointment concurrently with the Impact+ training award.
• There is no limit on the number of months completed in a doctoral degree for eligibility to the Impact+ training awards. 

For Postdoctoral nominees:

• Must be qualified to undertake postdoctoral research at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date.
• Must hold or expect to hold a doctorate or health professional degree before the start date of the award.
• Must not hold or be on leave from a tenure-track or tenured faculty position.
• There is no limiting window of time following completion of a doctoral degree for eligibility to the Impact+ training awards. 

Other restrictions 

• 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 three agencies or be currently benefiting from tri-agency funds from a supervisor’s grant.
• Doctoral: Cannot have previously held doctoral-level scholarship from one of the three agencies.
• Postdoctoral: Cannot have previously held a postdoctoral-level award from one of the three agencies. 

Research program eligibility 

An eligible doctoral degree or postdoctoral research program must be predominantly research-oriented. 

Agency review 

The agencies will review submitted nomination forms for eligibility of the nominators and nominees. 

Nominators (PIs) are asked to complete this Expression of Interest form by 8:30AM, January 20, 2026. It is the same form for doctoral and postdoctoral nominations. 

Once your application is reviewed and it is confirmed that the Nominator and Nominee will meet the eligibility criteria, you will be invited to submit a full application. The internal deadline to submit a complete nomination package for ULethbridge's CIRTA allocation is February 13, 2026.

Submissions will be adjudicated and successful nominators/nominees will be notified of their selection prior to submission of ULethbridge's nominations by March 4, 2026.

Further details of the selection process, adjudication committee, and award criteria TBD. Applications will likely consist of a short proposal, a justification for the priority area, a supervisor statement of support, and a form with questions to confirm eligibility. 

It is expected that nominators and nominees will be notified of the results by April 1, 2026, for the first wave of nominations. The release date for the results of the second wave will be announced at a later date. 

If a nominee accepts an award, the relevant agency will publish their name and other basic award information on its website. 

All awards must be activated by March 31, 2027. Exact relocation time may be affected by immigration processes. 

Have Questions?

Questions related to Doctoral Scholarships

• Email Deirde Coburn, Graduate Funding Facilitator, sgs.awards@uleth.ca
• The doctoral awards Impact+ Research Training awards page is found here: Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA) | University of Lethbridge

Questions related to Postdoctoral Research Awards

• Email Nicole van Rootselaar, Internal, Postdoctoral & Undergraduate funding Research Facilitator, oris.internal@uleth.ca 

For more information, see the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA)  Q&A site.

•  You can contact their support email directly: cirta-bfric@nserc-crsng.gc.ca, but please consider cc'ing the appropriate ULethbridge contact (Deirdre or Nicole) so they can follow-up if necessary.