Published: 26 Aug 2024 174 views
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.
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The purpose of these fellowships is to provide stipendiary support to recent PhD graduates who are:
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships are valued at $70,000 per year over two years, for a total of $140,000.
These are taxable, non-renewable fellowships that can begin on the first of any month between May 2025 and January 2026.
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.
To apply to this funding opportunity, applicants must:
Foreign tenure
Applicants are eligible to apply to hold their award at a foreign university only if their PhD was earned at a Canadian university.
Applicants with a PhD from a foreign university are eligible to apply only if they wish to hold their award at a Canadian university.
Eligibility to hold a fellowship
To hold the award, applicants must:
Merit review
Applications are reviewed, and available funds awarded, through a competitive merit review process. SSHRC bases funding decisions on the recommendations of the merit review committee and on the funds available.
Merit review process
Step 1: In the application form, applicants will be asked to select the multidisciplinary merit review committees they consider most appropriate for the review of their proposal.
Step 2: Once applicants submit their completed application and supporting documents (see Application process), SSHRC staff review all applications and forward eligible applications to the multidisciplinary merit review committees.
Step 3: The multidisciplinary merit review committees review an entire cohort of applications and make recommendations about funding that are subject to SSHRC approval. The scores assigned to each application indicate the relative standing of an application within a given committee.
SSHRC’s Guidelines for the Merit Review of Indigenous Research are relevant for researchers (applicants and project directors) and students preparing SSHRC applications related to Indigenous research. SSHRC provides these guidelines to merit reviewers to help build understanding of Indigenous research and research-related activities, and to assist committee members in interpreting SSHRC’s specific evaluation criteria in the context of Indigenous research. SSHRC makes concerted efforts to include experts in Indigenous research in doctoral and postdoctoral merit review committees. The guidelines may also be of use to external assessors, postsecondary institutions and partner organizations that support Indigenous research.
The following criteria and scoring scheme are used to evaluate the applications:
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 Letter of Appraisal forms, 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.
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