2026 KRESCENT Summer Studentship Competition

Eligibility

• Applicants must self-identify as black or Indigenous.
• Canadian Citizen or permanent resident status.
• Students must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at a Canadian University and returning in the fall to continue their current academic Program.
• Students may not submit more than one application.
• Students may only hold one summer studentship over their academic career.

Please note that if you have a supervisor who is not on this list, reach out to KRESCENT for consideration. If there is no supervisor listed in your area, please feel free to apply and KRESCENT will make every effort to identify a suitable supervisor within your area.

Students Not Eligible to Apply:

• High school students.
• University students who will have completed an undergraduate degree program by the start of the summer studentship program.
• Students who are currently enrolled or will be enrolled in a master’s or doctoral graduate degree program by May 2026.
• Students enrolled at a university outside of Canada.

Summary

The Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training (KRESCENT) Program is a national training program launched in 2005. Originally a partnership between the Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFOC), The Canadian Society of Nephrology (CSN) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute for Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (CIHR-INMD), the program was developed with the recognition from the Canadian Research Community of the rising prevalence of kidney disease and the need to train and maintain an increased number of highly skilled kidney research scientists.

KRESCENT recognizes that disparities in access to academic exposure and research experience affect students long before the post-doctoral stage of training. To that end, KRESCENT has created a Summer Studentship Program to promote and nurture young BIPOC scholars in their undergraduate degrees to help them explore kidney research.

The KRESCENT program Summer Studentship award is awarded to undergraduate students or medical school students who identify as Black or Indigenous and provides salary support to complete a summer student position in an approved Canadian kidney research laboratory.

The main objective of the award is to create opportunity and support students from historically underrepresented groups to experience research in a culturally safe environment, while building their experience and exploring kidney research.

For the 2026 competition, four studentships will be available, with the possibility of program expansion.

Anticipated Competition Timelines*:

Competition Opens: January 5, 2026
Full application Deadline: February 23, 2026
Anticipated Date for Notice of Award: April 15, 2026
Funding Start Date: May 2026 or when start date aligns for the student (awards may be from 8-16 weeks in length)

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

In order to apply, please see award guidelines and application form below:

Summer Studentship Guidelines

Summer Studentship Application Process

Summer Studentship Application Form

For further information on application submissions, please contact: 

Lorena Araujo
Acting Program Manager
KRESCENT
Lorena.araujo@kidney.ca