The Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) program recognises and supports the next generation of outstanding innovators, knowledge workers, creative thinkers and researchers at a pivotal time in their careers. The program provides funding and flexibility, empowering Canadian and international leaders in innovation and scholarship of tomorrow to develop the skills to build world-class research and drive Canadian prosperity and competitiveness. Award winners are able to choose an institution at which to be based; the Centre for Energy Ethics would encourage those eligible to apply for this Program to be based at the Centre.

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To be eligible to apply, you must:

  • hold or expect to hold a doctorate or health professional degree before the start date of your award; and
  • not hold or be on leave from a tenure-track or tenured faculty position. Generally, “tenure or 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. 

In addition:

  • you must have completed all requirements of your doctorate or health professional degree no more than three years before September 1 of the year in which you apply.

    Note: This is not the conferred or convocation date indicated on your transcript, but rather the date on which all the requirements of your degree were met, including the successful defense and submission of the corrected copy of your thesis. If you have more than one doctoral degree, the completion date of your most recent relevant degree will be used to determine your eligibility.

Exceptions to the doctoral degree completion eligibility period are granted up to a maximum of three years only if you meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • If your career was significantly interrupted after completing your doctorate or health professional degree due to extenuating circumstances, you may qualify for an extension of the eligibility period. Eligible interruptions may include parental, medical and/or family-related responsibilities, mandatory military service, disruptions due to war, civil conflicts or natural disasters in your country of residence, or limited research opportunities due to socio-economic reasons. The eligibility period can be extended by the duration of the eligible delay(s)/interruption(s).”Career interruption” refers to a period of time when you were not working (full-time or part-time) and when your research was completely interrupted.
  • If you became the primary caregiver after the birth or adoption of a child within three years before or after completing your doctorate or health professional degree, your eligibility period will be extended by three years.
  • If you have acquired at least six months of full-time, relevant employment in industry or government (experience in an academic institution or its affiliated hospitals, research institutions and other laboratories will not be considered) after you received your doctorate or health professional degree, the eligibility period can be extended by the duration of this employment.
  • If you have engaged in a non-research-related clinical training (e.g., residency) after you received your doctorate or health professional degree, the eligibility period can be extended by the duration of this training.

If you are subject to an extended eligibility period, you may be asked to provide additional information and/or supporting documentation. Any such submission will only be used by agency staff to assess your eligibility for the program. If you wish to inform the review committee of delays and/or special circumstances that may have affected your performance and/or productivity, you may do so in the Special circumstancessection of the application.

International applicants

If you are not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, or protected person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), you must, when you apply, be:

  • currently enrolled in or have completed a doctorate or health professional degree at a Canadian institution; or
  • conducting postdoctoral research at a Canadian institution.

Up to 20% of all postdoctoral awards will be available to international applicants.

Other restrictions

  • You can submit a maximum of one scholarship or fellowship application per academic year to either CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC. If you submit more than one application, only the eligible application submitted first will be retained.
  • You can apply a maximum of three times to this funding opportunity.
  • You cannot have already received a postdoctoral-level award from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC (including a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship).
  • You cannot hold a CPRA concurrently with another tri-agency research training award.

Proposed locations of tenure

You can hold your CPRA at:

  • academic research institutions in Canada or abroad
  • provincial research institutions
  • research hospitals
  • colleges, non-government organizations, Indigenous organizations and other institutions with a significant research training mandate

CPRAs cannot be held at a Canadian federal government research institution.

Direct any questions about institutional eligibility to the appropriate funding agency well in advance of the submission deadline.

International locations of tenure

To be eligible to hold your award at an eligible international institution, you must:

  • be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, or protected person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) as of the application deadline; and
  • have completed your doctorate or health professional degree at a Canadian institution.

Up to 30% of all postdoctoral awards will be eligible to be held abroad.

Research program eligibility

  • An eligible postdoctoral research program must be predominantly research oriented.
  • Projects whose primary objective is to adapt a doctoral thesis for publication in a book or manuscript, edit textbooks, translate, or acquire a foreign language are not eligible for funding under this funding opportunity.
  • The research you propose must be significantly different and distinct from, or add significantly to, that related to your doctoral thesis.
  • Failure to follow these instructions may negatively impact the evaluation of your application and could lead to it being removed from the competition.