SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships are expected to respond to the objectives of the Research Training and Talent Development.
These fellowships support the most promising Canadian new scholars in the social sciences and humanities, and assist them in establishing a research base at an important time in their research careers.
The purpose of these fellowships is to provide stipendiary support to recent PhD graduates who are:
- undertaking original research;
- publishing research findings;
- developing and expanding personal research networks;
- broadening their teaching experience;
- preparing for research-intensive careers within and beyond academia; and
- preparing to become competitive in national research grant competitions.
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship awards are tenable at Canadian or foreign universities and research institutions.
SSHRC welcomes applications involving Indigenous research, as well as those involving research-creation.
Eligibility
Subject matter
Most SSHRC funding is awarded through open competitions. Proposals can involve any disciplines, thematic areas, approaches or subject areas eligible for SSHRC funding. See subject matter eligibility for more information.
Projects whose primary objective is adapting a doctoral thesis for publication in a book or manuscript, editing textbooks, translation, or acquiring a foreign language are not eligible for funding under this funding opportunity.
The research proposed in a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship application must be significantly different and distinct from, or add significantly to, that related to the applicant’s doctoral thesis.
Indigenous talent measures
Among its measures intended to support research by and with Indigenous Peoples, SSHRC’s Indigenous Talent Measures are aimed at supporting graduate students and postdoctoral researchers applying to the Canada Graduate Scholarships—Doctoral Program, SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships or SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Applicants
Eligibility
To apply to this funding opportunity, applicants must:
- be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada or a “protected person” under subsection 95(2) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act by the application deadline;
- not hold a permanent faculty position or a faculty position leading to permanency;
- have finalized arrangements for affiliation with a recognized university or research institution;
- not have applied more than twice before to the SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships funding opportunity;
- not have already received a postdoctoral award (including a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship) from SSHRC, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research(CIHR); and
- not be applying in the 2023-24 academic year to the NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowships Program or the CIHR Fellowship funding opportunity.
| Date of completion of doctorateFootnote * | Eligibility status |
|---|---|
| In progress | Eligible |
| September 2020 or later | Eligible |
| Between September 2017 and September 2020 | Eligible but only with declaration of relevant career interruptions and/or delays in Allowable inclusions |
| Prior to September 2017 | Not eligible |
Footnotes
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Application process
Applicants must complete the application form in accordance with the accompanying instructions. Applications must be submitted electronically directly to SSHRC. Requests to submit late applications will not be accepted.
Before submitting their application, applicants must ensure that they meet the eligibility requirements. All referees and institutional nominators must use SSHRC’s online application system to submit their supporting letters before the deadline.
The applicant is responsible for ensuring all required application components (CV, two letters of appraisal, Research Appraisal form, Institutional Nomination and Commitment form, and all attachments) have been submitted ahead of the deadline.
Applicants needing help while preparing their application should communicate with SSHRC well in advance of the application deadline.