2026 VPR Postdoctoral Excellence Award

Eligibility

• By the proposed award start date, applicants must be eligible to hold an appointment as a new Postdoctoral Associate under the identified supervisor. Individuals must not hold a postdoctoral appointment on the application deadline and should not have held a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Calgary in the past.   
• Applicants must meet the window of eligibility to apply for the Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) within the first year of the VPR Excellence Award period. It is presumed that most applicants to VPR Excellence will identify CPRA as one of their target external fellowships. Therefore, the window of eligibility for the VPR Excellence Award is now indexed to that of CPRA. Exceptions to the doctoral degree completion eligibility period may be granted for up to three years if the criteria outlined in the CPRA Eligibility Exceptions section are met. If requesting an exception, relevant circumstances should be described in the Special Circumstances Form of the application (see Application Items section).
• No restrictions on citizenship. 
• Applications from individuals who have already started their appointment as a University of Calgary postdoctoral scholar at the time of the application deadline will not be accepted; however, individuals who have received an offer letter with a start date after the application deadline will be eligible to apply for the award. 
• Funding will not be allocated to a postdoctoral scholar (PDS) who received their PhD from the University of Calgary, unless personal circumstances require them to remain in Calgary and/or there is a substantive change in research context (e.g., a new supervisor, institute, department, or faculty). In such cases, the Special Circumstances Form must be completed and submitted with the application, providing an explanation of the exceptional circumstances (see Application Items section).

Summary

The VPR Postdoctoral Excellence Award is designed to support UCalgary faculty to recruit and support outstanding postdoctoral scholars.  

This program will award partial salary support for postdoctoral associates who will be highly competitive for external fellowship awards and will help advance the University of Calgary’s strategic research and innovation plan. Awards are granted through a competitive process, with application deadlines on June 1 and December 1 each year. This funding is intended to recruit new postdoctoral scholars to UCalgary.  

VPR will pay $30,000 per year, to be matched ($30,000 minimum) by the postdoctoral associate's faculty supervisor. Supervisors must also provide employer-paid benefits (Plan C), CPP, EI, and WCB. Supervisors of International Postdocs are also responsible for paying the $230 Compliance Fee to support the work permit application process.

The award is granted for one year, with the possibility of renewal for a second year, subject to satisfactory performance and submission of the Annual Progress Report. Award holders must apply for all fellowship awards identified in their proposed external fellowship plan to qualify for renewal.

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

For more detailed information, please visit to the program webpage: VPR Postdoctoral Excellence Award