Section | Description of change |
---|---|
January 2023 | |
Deferment of start date | Two new provisions have been made for deferment of start date: administrative reasons and force majeure. |
Unpaid interruptions |
Two new provisions have been made for unpaid interruptions: administrative reasons and force majeure. |
January 2022 | |
Payment of award | Effective April 1, 2022, new NSERC and SSHRC postdoctoral researchers will be paid through their eligible Canadian host institutions instead of directly by the agencies. Postdoctoral researchers holding their awards outside of Canada will continue to be paid directly by the agencies. |
Unless otherwise indicated, the policies and requirements in this guide apply to all three agencies. In the event of a discrepancy between this guide and the literature specific to an individual funding opportunity, the literature concerning the individual funding opportunity takes precedence.
Academic calendar differences: differences between the last available award start date or date by which the award must be reinstated, and the date by which the program of study or research begins at the host institution (e.g., tri-agency award start date of January 1, and program of study start date of February 15).
Agency: any of the three federal granting agencies—CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC.
Award: funding offered or directly held (in the award holder’s name) from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC at the master’s, doctoral or postdoctoral level or equivalent.
Award holder: individual who has an active award from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC.
Award recipient: individual who has been offered an award from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC, but has not yet activated payment for that award.
CGS: Canada Graduate Scholarships.
CGS D: Canada Graduate Scholarships – Doctoral.
CGS M: Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s.
CIHR: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Decision documents: the document package (including attachments) received by the applicants, informing them of their success in the funding opportunity competition. For CIHR, this may include the Authorization for Funding document, which is sent after the first instalment is requested.
Deferment: a delay in the start date of the award beyond the available start dates outlined in the available start dates table.
Degree completion: the point at which all the requirements of your degree have been met, including successful defence and submission of the corrected copy of your thesis (in accordance with your institution’s regulations); it is not the conferred or convocation date.
Force majeure: an unforeseeable and unavoidable catastrophic event that interrupts and prevents award holders from moving forward in their studies and/or research; the agencies reserve the right to determine the eligibility of an event to qualify for award deferment or interruption.
Full-time: established according to institutional regulations; full-time hours vary by province and country.
Interruption: a period of leave during the tenure of award.
Medical leave: a leave for reasons of illness, disability and/or injury.
NSERC: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Parent linked award: for CIHR Priority Announcements, the parent linked award is the primary competition (also referred to as the “open” competition) to which a candidate applied for funding; for example, at the doctoral level, CIHR applicants apply to the open doctoral competition and may also choose to apply to an additional Priority Announcement within the open competition.
Parental leave: a leave of absence offered to parents who are caring for a newborn or newly adopted child; this leave may begin no later than six months after the birth or adoption of a child.
Part-time: constitutes any amount of time less than full-time hours established according to institutional regulations; this amount is based on the accommodation needs of the award holder.
PDF: Postdoctoral Fellowships.
PGS D: Postgraduate Scholarships - Doctoral.
Primary caregiver: the person primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of a child.
Relevant work experience: in the context of a deferment or interruption of an award, work that is relevant to the area of study/research and that provides an opportunity to develop professional and technical skills that will complement the award holder’s qualifications, beyond what can be acquired in the current program of study or research activity.
Research allowance: Funds to offset cost of research (e.g., the purchase of research equipment and or/materials, travel to relevant events/conferences, etc.)
SSHRC: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Tri-agency: relating to the three federal granting agencies.
CIHR funding opportunities |
---|
For information on the following research training programs, refer to the ![]() CIHR Doctoral Research Awards |
CIHR Fellowship Award |
CIHR Clinician Scientist Award (sunset program) |
CIHR Priority Driven Awards |
CIHR Priority Announcements* (parent awards: Doctoral Foreign Study Award and CIHR Fellowship Award) |
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NSERC funding opportunities |
NSERC Doctoral Awards |
NSERC PDF program |
SSHRC funding opportunities |
SSHRC Doctoral Awards |
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Tri-agency funding opportunities |
CGS Master’s program** |
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*These opportunities are covered by this guide and should follow the rules for their parent award (as applicable).
**The CGS M program is administered by Canadian institutions on behalf of the agencies; all inquiries regarding this program should be directed to the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the host institution.
For supplements and prizes, refer to the website of the relevant agency.
Consult the appropriate section of this guide to determine whether to use a program, awards administration or direct deposit contact.
Program contacts | ||
---|---|---|
Banting PDF | banting@cihr-irsc.gc.ca | |
CIHR | support@cihr-irsc.gc.ca | |
CIHR CGS M | cgsma@cihr-irsc.gc.ca | |
NSERC (including CGS M) | schol@nserc-crsng.gc.ca | |
SSHRC (including CGS M) | fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca | |
Vanier CGS | vanier@cihr-irsc.gc.ca | |
Awards administration contacts | ||
Banting PDF | banting@cihr-irsc.gc.ca | |
CIHR | support@cihr-irsc.gc.ca | |
NSERC | scholarshipsadministration@nserc-crsng.gc.ca | |
SSHRC | scholarshipsadministration@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca | |
Vanier CGS | vanier@cihr-irsc.gc.ca | |
Direct deposit contacts | ||
Banting PDF | banting@cihr-irsc.gc.ca | |
CIHR | support@cihr-irsc.gc.ca | |
NSERC | DirectDeposit-DepotDirect@nserc-crsng.gc.ca | |
SSHRC | DirectDeposit-DepotDirect@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca | |
Submission sites | ||
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Award holders must:
The agencies reserve the right to interpret these regulations and any conditions applied to individual awards.
The agencies reserve the right to cancel an award if any of these regulations are not followed or if the award holder does not maintain their eligibility. Payments made for a period during which the award holder is no longer eligible to receive funds must be reimbursed to the agency. Interest may be charged if the payment is not received by the due date.
The value and duration of the award, detailed in the decision documents sent by the agency, will be adjusted to take into account a change in status (for example, termination of graduate studies or discontinuation of full-time studies or research).
The agency must be notified of the acceptance or decline of the award by the date indicated in the decision documents sent by the agency. An offer must be accepted even if the award recipient intends to defer the start date of the award.
CGS M
Offers must be accepted or declined through the
Research Portal.
All CIHR awards, Vanier CGS and Banting PDF
Offers must be accepted or declined by completing the Response to Offer task in ResearchNet and other required steps, if applicable.
All NSERC and SSHRC awards
Award recipients must accept or decline by sending an email to the appropriate program contact, stating whether they accept or decline, and confirming the start date.
For awards held outside of Canada and for all PDF awards:
All postdoctoral award recipients who had not completed their degree at the time of application must provide proof of degree completion before commencing their award. They should complete the
Degree Completion form and send it to the appropriate program contact by the deadline indicated in the funding opportunity.
The information in the table below shows the available starting months for the research training programs covered by this guide. If award recipients cannot fulfil the conditions for holding an award before the latest available start date and are not eligible for a deferment, they must decline the award.
Agency | Funding opportunity | First day of the month |
|||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apr. | May | Jun. | Jul. | Aug. | Sep. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | ||
CIHR | CGS D Award | * |
* |
* |
|||||||||
Doctoral Foreign Study Award* | * |
* |
* |
||||||||||
Fellowship Award* | * |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
NSERC | CGS D program | * |
* |
* |
|||||||||
PGS D program at Canadian institutions | * |
* |
* |
||||||||||
PGS D program at foreign institutions** | * |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
||||
PDF program | * |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|||
SSHRC | CGS D Scholarships | * |
* |
* |
|||||||||
Doctoral Fellowships | * |
* |
* |
||||||||||
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|||||
Tri-agency | CGS M program | * |
* |
* |
|||||||||
Vanier CGS | * |
* |
* |
||||||||||
Banting PDF | * |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
*CIHR Priority Announcements have the same allowable start dates as their parent linked awards.
**Available start dates must coincide with the institution’s academic calendar.
Before commencing the award, the award recipient may request to change the start date to any other start date available to award recipients for that funding opportunity. To request an available start date other than the one selected at the time of application, send an email to the appropriate program contact.
CGS M
To request a change in start date, award recipients must contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution where they will hold the award; no documentation should be sent to the agencies. The faculty of graduate studies will then inform the agencies via the Financial and award report (FAR).
Before activating the payment of award, the start date may be deferred beyond the available start dates. The following conditions apply to all requests and subsequent requests for deferments:
CGS M
Award recipients must contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution where they will hold the award to request to defer the start date; no documentation should be sent to the agencies. The faculty of graduate studies will then inform the agencies via the Financial and award report (FAR).
Banting PDF
The award recipient can select a new start date from any month (not limited to the months proposed in the available start dates table).
A deferment of start date may be requested for the following reasons:
To activate the award, all conditions for funding must be met.
For awards held at eligible Canadian institutions, award holders will be paid by the institution based on its own payment schedule.
Note: No portion of these award payments can be withheld by the host institution without the prior written consent of the award holder, except for taxation purposes where applicable. Questions about potential payment deductions should be directed to the institution. Once the award payments have been activated, requests are not required for subsequent instalments.
CGS M
Award recipients must contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution where they will hold the award to request payment; the faculty of graduate studies will then inform the agencies via the Financial and award report (FAR).
All CIHR awards*, Vanier CGS and Banting PDF
To request the first instalment, award recipients must complete the Confirmation of Commencement form on
ResearchNet
and submit a signed copy to the program contact.
*Unused research allowance funds can be carried forward from one year to another for the duration of the award.
NSERC and SSHRC doctoral and postdoctoral* awards
To request the first instalment, a
Request for First Instalment or Reinstatement of Award Paid by Canadian Institution
form must be completed and submitted to the appropriate program contact. The agencies can receive the form up to six weeks in advance of the start date of the award. Failure to submit the necessary documentation in a timely fashion will delay the payment of the award. A copy of this form must also be provided to the authorized institutional office responsible for administering the instalment.
*NSERC and SSHRC postdoctoral fellowships with a start date before April 1, 2022 are paid directly to the award holder. See the next section for details.
Awards held outside eligible Canadian institutions (that is, at foreign institutions) are paid directly by the agency.
All CIHR awards and Banting PDF
To request the first instalment, award recipients must complete the Confirmation of Commencement form on
ResearchNet
and submit to the appropriate program contact.
NSERC and SSHRC doctoral and postdoctoral* awards
Award holders must submit a new request for installment every six months.
Award recipients and holders must complete and submit the
Request for Instalment or Reinstatement of Award Paid Directly to Award Holder
form to the appropriate program contact to request the first instalment and subsequent instalments that fall on the anniversary of the award start date. Some programs also require the submission of an annual report; consult the Reporting section for more information.
Requests for subsequent instalments that do not coincide with the anniversary of the award start date must be submitted to the appropriate awards administration contact.
The agencies can receive the forms up to six weeks in advance of the instalment date of the award. Failure to submit the necessary documentation in a timely fashion will delay the payment of the award.
Award holders will have their instalments converted to the currency of the bank account indicated on the
Payee and Direct Deposit Enrolment Form.
*NSERC and SSHRC postdoctoral fellowships with a start date before April 1, 2022 are paid directly to the award holder.
For tenure beginning in |
First instalment to be issued by the end of |
Second instalment to be issued by the end of |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CIHR* | Banting PDF | NSERC | SSHRC | CIHR* | Banting PDF | NSERC | SSHRC | |
April | Mar./ Apr. |
Apr. | Apr. | N/A | Jun. | Jun. | Oct. | N/A |
May | Apr. | Apr./ May |
May | May | Jul. | Jul. | Nov. | Nov. |
June | May | May/ Jun. |
Jun. | Jun. | Aug. | Nov. | Dec. | Dec. |
July | Jun. | Jun./ Jul. |
Jul. | Jul. | Sep. | Dec. | Jan. | Jan. |
August | Jul. | Jul./ Aug. |
Aug. | Aug. | Oct. | Jan. | Feb. | Feb. |
September | Aug. | Aug./ Sep. |
Sep. | Sep. | Nov. | Feb. | Mar.** | Mar.** |
October | Sep. | Sep./ Oct. |
Oct. | Oct. | Dec. | Mar. | Apr. | Apr. |
November | Oct. | N/A | Nov. | Nov. | Jan. | N/A | May | May |
December | Nov. | N/A | Dec. | Dec. | Feb. | N/A | Jun. | Jun. |
January | Dec. | N/A | Jan. | Jan. | Mar. | N/A | Jul. | Jul. |
February | Jan. | N/A | N/A | N/A | Apr. | N/A | N/A | N/A |
March | Feb. | N/A | N/A | N/A | May | N/A | N/A | N/A |
For tenure beginning in |
Third instalment to be issued by the end of | Fourth instalment to be issued by the end of | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
CIHR* | Banting PDF | CIHR* | Banting PDF | |
April | Sep. | Sep. | Dec. | Dec. |
May | Oct. | Oct. | Jan. | Jan. |
June | Nov. | Jun. | Feb. | Nov. |
July | Dec. | Jul. | Mar. | Dec. |
August | Jan. | Aug. | Apr. | Jan. |
September | Feb. | Sep. | May | Feb. |
October | Mar. | Oct. | Jun. | Mar. |
November | Apr. | N/A | Jul. | N/A |
December | May | N/A | Aug. | N/A |
January | Jun. | N/A | Sep. | N/A |
February | Jul. | N/A | Oct. | N/A |
March | Aug. | N/A | Nov. | N/A |
*CIHR Priority Announcements have the same allowable payment schedule as their linked parent awards. | ||||
**If there are insufficient funds at fiscal year-end (March 31), payment will be issued by the end of May. | ||||
Note: CIHR pays in quarterly instalments. The research allowance (if applicable) is paid annually, one month ahead of the anniversary of the start date of the award. NSERC and SSHRC pay in biannual (twice yearly) instalments. |
Direct deposit is available to award holders hosted at foreign institutions.
To set up direct deposit, complete the
Payee and Direct Deposit Enrolment Form
and submit it to the appropriate direct deposit contact, or for NSERC and SSHRC only, upload it to the NSERC–SSHRC Financial Documents Secure Upload site. For direct deposit to a bank account that is in a foreign country, or for any amount over $5,000, the Receiver General for Canada requires the agency to perform a due diligence process.
For payments to other countries, send a request to the appropriate awards administration contact.
Award holders may hold their awards part-time for parental or medical reasons or because of family-related responsibilities. Award holders can work with their institutions to design the part-time arrangement that best accommodates their individual needs. These arrangements must be first approved by the institution and then submitted to the appropriate program contact via a brief email statement for approval.
The awarded amount will not be affected by the part-time support arrangement; however, the duration and value of the award will be prorated accordingly.
CGS M
Award holders must contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution where they will hold the award to request part-time support; no documentation should be sent to the agencies. The faculty of graduate studies will then inform the agencies via the Financial and award report (FAR).
An award may be interrupted after it has been activated. The following conditions apply to all requests and subsequent requests for interruptions:
CGS M
Award holders must contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution where they hold the award to request an interruption of award; no documentation should be sent to the agencies. The faculty of graduate studies will then inform the agencies via the Financial and award report (FAR).
Interruption requests will be considered only for the reasons outlined below:
Relevant work experience
An interruption can be requested to gain relevant work experience through employment or an internship for a maximum period of one year.
Parental, medical or family-related responsibilities
An award may be interrupted for a period of up to three years for each of the following reasons: parental, medical or family-related responsibilities.
Relocation, visa application and/or academic calendar differences
An award may be interrupted for a period of up to two months for relocation, visa application and/or academic calendar differences.
An award may be interrupted for a period of up to one year for general institutional-administrative reasons.
An award may be interrupted for a period of up to one year for reasons related to a force majeure event.
Parental leave
An award may be interrupted for a period of up to 12 months for paid parental leave.
CGS M
Award holders must contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution where they hold the award to request a change to the award; the faculty of graduate studies will then inform the agencies via the Financial and award report (FAR).
NSERC and SSHRC doctoral and postdoctoral* awards paid by Canadian institutions
*NSERC and SSHRC postdoctoral fellowships with a start date of April 1, 2022 or after are paid by Canadian institutions.
Institutions will confirm that the award holder has returned to their research or studies and will inform the agency.
All CIHR, Vanier CGS and Banting PDF awards paid by Canadian institutions
To reinstate an award, the appropriate awards administration contact must receive a
Request for First Instalment or Reinstatement of Award Paid by Canadian Institution form. Requests for reinstatement of award should be submitted up to six weeks in advance of the award holder returning to research or studies. Failure to submit the necessary documentation in a timely manner will delay the payment of the award. A copy of this form must also be provided to the authorized institutional office responsible for administering the instalment.
All awards paid directly to award holders
To reinstate an award, the appropriate awards administration contact must receive a
Request for Instalment or Reinstatement of Award Paid Directly to Award Holder form. Requests for reinstatement of award should be submitted up to six weeks in advance of the award holder returning to research or studies. Failure to submit the necessary documentation in a timely manner will delay the payment of the award.
Note: NSERC and SSHRC postdoctoral fellowships with a start date of April 1, 2022 or after are paid by Canadian Institutions.
Award holders may request changes to the award. The following outlines allowable changes and requirements for requesting them.
CGS M
Changes to CGS M awards are approved at the institution. Award holders must contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution where they hold the award to request a change to the award; no documentation should be sent to the agencies. The faculty of graduate studies will then inform the agencies via the Financial and award report (FAR).
Changes to personal contact information must be submitted by email to the appropriate program contact.
Changes of institution must be approved by the agency. In all cases, the eligibility rules laid out by the funding opportunity continue to apply.
NSERC and SSHRC doctoral awards
All CIHR awards and NSERC and SSHRC PDFs
To request a change in the place of tenure, either before or after activation of payment, award recipients and award holders must submit a
Request for Changes to Award form
to the appropriate program contact along with the following information:
The submitted document(s) will be reviewed according to the evaluation criteria of the funding opportunity, and a decision will be rendered. Such an evaluation may require sharing the document(s) with members of the relevant selection committee/panel.
NSERC and SSHRC only: Award recipients/holders may transfer to a foreign institution only if they completed their doctorate at a Canadian institution.
CGS M, Vanier CGS and Banting PDF
No changes to institution are permitted for these programs.
Changes to department or faculty within the same institution are approved by the institution. If the change to the department results in a change in research, refer to the section Changes to the program of study, research project or degree for the appropriate steps.
Banting PDF
The official signatory will be asked to confirm (in the
Request for Changes to Award form) that the institutional support will continue.
All CIHR awards, NSERC and SSHRC PDFs, Banting PDFs and Vanier CGS
Changes in supervisor(s) or co-supervisor(s) must first be approved by the institution and then submitted to the agency for final approval. Award holders must complete the
Request for Changes to Award
form and send it to the appropriate program contact. In addition:
NSERC and SSHRC doctoral awards
Changes in supervisor(s) are approved by the institution.
Award holders may request to make changes to their research projects. The research must remain eligible for funding under the mandate of the agency to which it was submitted; the individual agencies may cancel any award if the research subject matter no longer falls within their mandate. For more information on subject matter eligibility, see
Selecting the Appropriate Federal Granting Agency.
Changes to research must first be approved by the institution. Some awards programs also require the proposed changes to be submitted to the agency for final approval. For new research that clearly remains within the mandate of the agency to which the application was submitted, the approval processes are outlined below.
All SSHRC awards
Changes to the program of study, research project or degree are approved by the institution. For awards held at foreign institutions, approval must also be obtained from the agency by submitting a Request for Changes to Award form along with a one-page summary of the proposed research to the appropriate program contact.
CGS M
CGS M award holders may continue to hold the award if they transfer from a master’s program to an eligible doctoral program at the same institution, whether or not they have completed the master’s degree, provided there is no gap in registration and/or enrolment.
When there is a gap in registration, an award holder may be able to take an unpaid interruption for administrative reasons.
All CIHR , NSERC, Banting PDF and Vanier CGS awards
Approval must be obtained from the agency, by submitting a
Request for Changes to Award
form along with a one-page summary of the proposed research (including project title) to the appropriate program contact. This summary should provide an outline of the research question, context, objectives, methodology, contribution to the advancement of knowledge and a short justification of why the proposed research remains eligible for funding at the agency.
The agencies do not place restrictions on outside sources of funding or employment that award holders may have while holding the award or taking an approved leave of absence, providing the following regulations are adhered to:
Award holders who are uncertain about whether they would be required to request an interruption of award due to a new source of income (e.g., taking on teaching duties during their PDF award tenure) should reach out to the appropriate program contact to have their case assessed.
Annual progress reports and final reports are required by most funding opportunities, as outlined in the table below. The agencies may cancel any award if the award holder fails to demonstrate satisfactory progress.
Annual progress report forms and a one-page summary of activities, if required by the agency (refer to the table below), should be submitted to the appropriate program contact. If the award holder is paid directly by the agency, a
Request for Instalment or Reinstatement of Award Paid Directly to Award Holder
form must also be submitted on the anniversary of the start date of the award.
In addition, award holders will be invited to contribute to the review and evaluation of the funding opportunity, associated policies and processes by participating in evaluation studies, surveys, workshops and audits, and to provide data or reports as requested for the purpose of collecting information to assess progress and results.
Agency | Funding opportunity | Reports required | |
---|---|---|---|
Annual progress report | Final report | ||
CIHR | Awards at Canadian institutions | See note | N/A |
Awards at foreign institutions | See note | N/A | |
NSERC | CGS D program PGS D program at Canadian institutions |
Institution processes report on behalf of NSERC | N/A |
PGS D program at foreign institutions | ![]() |
N/A | |
PDF program | ![]() |
N/A | |
SSHRC | CGS program Doctoral Fellowships held at Canadian institutions |
Institution processes report on behalf of SSHRC | ![]() |
Doctoral Fellowships held at foreign institutions | ![]() |
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|
PDF program | ![]() |
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|
Tri-agency | CGS M program | N/A | N/A |
Vanier CGS | See note | Award holders contacted to complete End of Award Report | |
Banting PDF | See note | Award holders contacted to complete End of Award Report |
Note: For the majority of CIHR and tri-agency programs, there are currently no annual or final progress report requirements. However, recipients and their institution are required to confirm their continued eligibility with CIHR in mid-February of each year—see the instructions listed in each funding opportunity or decision documents for details.
Award holders who are no longer eligible to hold the award (for example, termination of graduate studies or discontinuation of full-time studies or research) must
complete a Request for Termination of Award
form and submit it to the appropriate awards administration contact. Supporting documents may be required. To confirm continued eligibility, review the decision documents and the funding opportunity. Some programs require final reports; consult the Reporting section for more information.
For awards terminated due to degree completion, the end date of the award will become the end date of the academic term in which the degree requirements are completed. If the degree requirements are completed in the same academic term as the end date of the award, then the end date of the award will not change.
The value of the award will be prorated to the end of the award. Any funds already paid that were intended for use beyond the revised end date must be returned to the agency. Interest may be charged if the payment is not received by the due date.
All CIHR awards
Expenses against unused research allowance funds may be incurred up to three months beyond the award termination date. After three months, all expenses must be reconciled and the account must be closed. Unused research allowance funds must be returned to the agency.
Award holders may submit a request to the agency for an extension to use their research allowance funds beyond the allotted three-month period. The request must be supported by a letter of justification signed by both the award holder and the supervisor. Extension requests must be submitted prior to the closing of the award account. Once the extension period has passed, all expenses must be reconciled and the account must be closed.
CGS M
Award holders must contact the faculty of graduate studies (or its equivalent) at the institution where they hold the award to terminate their award; no documentation should be sent to the agencies. The faculty of graduate studies will then inform the agencies via the Financial and award report (FAR).
The completion of degree requirements does not necessitate the termination of the award in all circumstances; for more information, see Changes to the program of study, research project or degree.
The agencies do not provide advice on taxation or immigration. Award recipients can contact the relevant government agencies for information on these topics and can seek the advice of professionals where appropriate.
No portion of scholarship and fellowship payments can be withheld by the host institution without the prior written consent of the award holder, except for taxation purposes where applicable. Questions about potential payment deductions should be directed to the institution.
Individual students may be exempted from federal and provincial income tax attributed to their award, see Line 323 – Your tuition, education, and textbook amounts on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website, for the applicable conditions.
Award recipients receiving payments through Canadian institutions will be issued tax forms by the institution rather than by the agency.
The agency issues T4A slips in February to directly paid award holders.
Postdoctoral fellowship holders should plan for their award to be taxed as income in Canada, regardless of whether they are held inside or outside Canada.
Since no deductions are made at source by the agency, award recipients are responsible for determining the amount of tax they must pay and for arranging payment of this amount to the CRA.
Award recipients can obtain information about the amount and method of payment, the deductions allowed, and the receipts required from
Tax services offices and tax centres
of the CRA. Residents of Québec can obtain information from
Revenu Québec.
If award holders hold or intend to hold their award at an institution outside Canada, they must contact the appropriate immigration and taxation offices. The agency cannot advise award holders on such matters.