No, the program is open to all PhD holders from any discipline, including faculty affiliated with a Canadian university.

Yes, students are eligible to apply if all the requirements of their PhD are complete before September of the fellowship year. In certain cases, a successful fellow may negotiate a later start date with the host office if a thesis defence is scheduled in early September.

Mitacs encourages applicants to read all sections of the CSPF webpages and application form to ensure an understanding of the program, the eligibility requirements, and the application process. Applicants should allow enough time to develop comprehensive, well-presented statements of interest, and other documents that are free of errors and typos. We suggest contacting references as […]

Due to the concurrent double-blind call cycle process, hosts submit their applications at the same time as fellows, and therefore Mitacs is unable to provide information about open CSPF positions. Fellows will be given a copy of the position descriptions in advance of any interviews that they have been selected for by the host office. […]

The number of fellowships available varies based on the number of host applications received. Mitacs has offered an average of 20-25 fellowships per year since opening the program to both the federal and provincial governments. Please refer to the Matching section under Program Administration for a detailed breakdown of the number of fellowships each year.

Hosts may apply to the program and learn about budgetary or priority changes later in the process affecting their ability to continue with the fellowship. Hosts also occasionally do not find a candidate who meets their needs and do not continue with the fellowship, or their chosen candidate may decline the fellowship offer for various […]

One of the key aspects of the program is the cohort model in which the fellows move through the fellowship experience together. We work with our federal government partners on an annual basis to offer fellowships as a cohort that allows fellows to build a network of peers. We also occasionally have host offices who […]