Canada Graduate Research Scholarship, Doctoral

About the Scholarship

This is the programme that replaced the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships, which stopped accepting applications. It sits in the Canada Research Training Awards Suite alongside the master's scholarship and the postdoctoral award, and is administered jointly by CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.

CAD 40,000 a year for 36 months, across health, the natural sciences and engineering, and the social sciences and humanities, including interdisciplinary work.

International students are eligible, with a cap: up to 15% of awards go to applicants who are not Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons. They must already be registered in their doctoral programme at an eligible Canadian institution by the deadline, so this funds a doctorate already under way rather than opening the door to one.

The months-of-study rule is the first thing to check. No more than 36 months of full-time equivalent doctoral study by 31 December of the application year, counting summers, with two part-time terms counting as one full-time term and prior study at other institutions included. Fast-track and joint programmes each have their own counting rule.

Choosing the agency matters, because it decides who reviews the application. CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC each publish subject-matter guidance, and getting it right is explicitly the applicant's responsibility.

Two deadlines exist and only one is published as a date. Applying through a Canadian institution means meeting that institution's internal deadline, which the agencies warn is often significantly earlier than the 17 October agency deadline.

The limits on repeat attempts are firm. One application per academic year across the whole suite, three applications to this programme in total, and no eligibility at all for anyone who has already held a doctoral scholarship from any of the three agencies, Vanier included.

Priority research areas carry extra offers, funded through Budget 2024, spanning AI and quantum, health and biotechnology, clean technology, climate and the Arctic, food and water security, democratic resilience, advanced materials and dual-use technologies. Designated funding also exists for Indigenous student researchers, who receive a CAD 5,000 supplement on success, and for Black student researchers, with up to 10 additional awards reserved at each agency.

Holding the award outside Canada is possible for up to 20% of doctoral awards, but only for Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons with a previous Canadian degree, so it is closed to the international cohort.

The programme page was checked on 22 September 2026.

What It Covers

Living stipend

CAD 40,000 per year for 36 months. Additional offers are made for meritorious applications aligned with the priority research areas funded in Budget 2024: advanced digital technologies including AI, quantum and cybersecurity; health including biotechnology; clean technology and resource value chains; environment, climate resilience and the Arctic; food and water security; democratic and community resilience; manufacturing and advanced materials; and defence and dual-use technologies. Indigenous students from nations or communities in Canada who succeed in the competition are offered a CAD 5,000 Indigenous Scholars Supplement for one year, and each agency reserves up to 10 additional awards for Black student researchers. Supplementary funding is also offered through joint initiatives with partners outside the agencies.

Eligibility

Have completed no more than 36 months of full-time equivalent doctoral study by 31 December of the application year, counting all months of full-time study including summers, with two part-time terms counting as one full-time term and all study toward the degree counted whether or not it was at the same institution. For a fast-track transfer from a master's, months run from the transfer date; for a joint programme awarding a master's on the way, from registration in either portion; for a joint professional undergraduate/PhD programme, only the PhD portion counts. An applicant who is not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act must be registered in their doctoral programme at an eligible Canadian institution by the application deadline, and up to 15% of awards are available to this group. The programme of study must be predominantly research-oriented and lead to a thesis, major research project, dissertation, scholarly publication, performance, recital or exhibit that is merit-reviewed by a panel of experts at the institution; joint programmes with a professional degree and clinically oriented programmes qualify where they have a significant autonomous research component. Only one application per academic year may be made across the whole Canada Research Training Awards Suite, and only the first eligible one is retained. A maximum of three applications to this programme are allowed. Anyone who has already received a doctoral-level scholarship from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC, including a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, is ineligible. A CIHR or NSERC award cannot be held alongside a tenure or tenure-track appointment or leave from one; SSHRC allows it for a first doctoral degree.

Eligible Countries

Up to 15% of awards are available to international applicants, who must be registered in their doctoral programme at an eligible Canadian institution by the application deadline.

All countries

How to Apply

Apply to whichever of the three agencies best matches the subject of the research, since that determines which experts review it: CIHR through ResearchNET, NSERC through its online system, SSHRC through its own. Applications may go through a Canadian institution, whose internal deadline is often significantly earlier than the agency's, or directly to the agency. Selecting the right agency is the applicant's responsibility, and each publishes subject-matter eligibility guidance. An award may be held at an eligible Canadian institution, or at a degree-granting institution outside Canada for up to 20% of doctoral awards, though holding it abroad requires Canadian citizenship, permanent residence or protected person status at the deadline plus at least one previous degree completed at a Canadian institution.

Application Routes and Dates

Direct to the agency

Check provider

Recurring deadline: 17 oct (check provider for current cycle)

Timing source · Checked 2026-09-22

Through a Canadian institution

Check provider

Institutions set their own internal deadlines, which the agencies note are often significantly earlier than the 17 October agency deadline. Contact the institution.

Timing source · Checked 2026-09-22