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Award Overview

• Notice of Intent: October 18, 2024 (5PM) via
• Application deadline: November 8, 2024 (5PM)
• Value and Duration: (NEW) $70,000 to be allocated towards the postdoc’s salary and benefits, per year, for two years. Successful postdoctoral fellows will also receive a start-up stipend fund of $5,000 per year.
• Required Legal Status: Domestic or International
• Results:  mid-January 

Purpose

The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½Ó¿Ú’s UTSC Inclusive Excellence Postdoctoral Fellowship Program provides funding to UTSC departments to increase opportunities for hiring postdoctoral fellows from underrepresented groups, specifically Indigenous and Black researchers.

Postdoc fellows must secure sponsorship of a supervisor (or supervisors) from the professoriate at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½Ó¿Ú. UTSC supervisor(s) must nominate their prospective postdoc fellow following the timeline and processes outlined below.

Value and Duration

(NEW) Each award will provide the Postdoctoral Supervisor with $70,000 to be allocated towards the postdoc’s salary and benefits per year, for two years. This fellowship is intended to supplement the postdoc’s salary and benefits, which can be sourced from various internal or external funding. The actual salary of a UTSC Postdoctoral Scholar will be determined by the faculty supervisor in accordance with departmental norms and the CUPE 3902 Collective Agreement.

Successful postdoctoral fellows will also receive a start-up stipend fund of $5,000 per year.

Eligibility to Apply

The award is open to both domestic and international candidates.

Nominees must:

• Demonstrate academic excellence and high potential for success in their chosen fields;
• Identify as Indigenous to Turtle Island and/or Black;
• Have obtained a doctoral degree, normally within the last five years from the start date of the funding, or will have obtained the degree at the time the fellowship commences; and
• Not have previously held a UTSC Inclusive Excellence Postdoctoral Fellowship or a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Recipients must:

• Begin the fellowship sometime between May 1, 2025, and January 12, 2026;
• Be a postdoctoral employee of the University of Toronto – Scarborough campus;
• Be associated with a supervisor appointed to a graduate unit;
• Not hold concurrently another major fellowship;
• Not hold a faculty position or be on leave from such a position;
• Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents must have completed all of the requirements for their doctoral degree no later than six months after their start-date of the Fellowship. International applicants must have completed all of the requirements for their doctoral degree before the start date of the Fellowship.

Application Process

Submit a notice of intent by October 18, 2024 (5PM) via the . 

Upload the requested documentation as one file using the following naming convention: ApplicantLastNameFirstName_IE2024-25 by November 8, 2024 (5 PM), to the . Please ensure you are logged in using your U of T email and password for access. The dropbox is a secure SharePoint folder allowing the Graduate and Postdoc unit to streamline award collection. Each applicant will only be able to view their uploaded documents, not those of any other applicants.

Decisions will be made in mid-January, and successful applicants will have two weeks from the time the decisions are announced to accept or decline the fellowship.

UTSC Inclusive Excellence Postdoctoral Program application package checklist:

• UTSC Inclusive Excellence Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Nomination Form - by the supervisor
• Nomination letter of support - by the supervisor (maximum two pages)
• Statement of research intent (maximum two pages)
• Nominee Information Form â€“ completed by the postdoc 
• Nominee’s C.V. (no page restrictions) – by the postdoc 

Note to applicant:

Postdoctoral fellows should collaborate with their potential supervisor for the application for this award and are responsible for submitting their CV and a completed Nominee Information Form to them. Applicants must also meet the award eligibility criteria.

Notes to supervisors:

1. Supervisor(s) must have a tenure-track or tenured (primary) appointment at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½Ó¿Ú.

2. The primary research site for the Postdoctoral Fellows is on the UTSC campus.

UTSC Inclusive Excellence Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Nomination Form - The form must be signed by the Chair or Director of the supervisor’s unit. Co-supervision requires signatures of the Chairs and/or Directors from the units of all supervisors.

Statement of Research Intent - Should describe the proposed research project the postdoc fellow will engage on in clear, non-specialist language suitable for an interdisciplinary audience, highlighting the importance and impact of the research and how it fits into their academic/professional goals. Reference lists or bibliographies are not necessary for the proposal.

Nomination letter - Demonstrate complementarity between the research interests/background of the supervisor and applicant, and the anticipated mutual benefits. Provide specifics about how the proposed research complements the supervisor’s ongoing projects and/or new research directions, and provide details concerning the applicant's proposed research environment, clearly stating the supervisor's and laboratory/departments' commitment;

Be sure to clearly state in the letter which underrepresented group (Indigenous and/or Black) the nominee identifies with.

Selection Criteria

Nominations will be evaluated based on the following selection criteria:

• Excellence of the research proposal and nominee’s CV;
• Nomination letter from the supervisor, demonstrating the complementarity between the research interests/background of the supervisor and applicant, and the anticipated mutual benefits. Provide specifics about how the proposed research complements the supervisor’s ongoing projects and/or new research directions, and provide details concerning the applicant's proposed research environment, clearly stating the supervisor's and laboratory/departments' commitment;

Results

Results of the competition will be made available in mid-January. Successful applicants will have two weeks from the time the decisions are announced to accept or decline the fellowship.  

Post-Award Details

Acknowledgment: The UTSC affiliation of researchers and support from the Office of the Vice-Principal Academic & Dean, UTSC should be acknowledged in any research outputs arising from this award.

Contact & Resources

For information regarding the selection process, please contact postdoc-awards@utsc.utoronto.ca.