Research Excellence Postdoctoral Fellows Program

The Research Excellence Postdoctoral Fellows Program 

The Research Excellence Postdoctoral Fellows Program is a centrally supported, cost-shared initiative funding 100 two-year postdoctoral appointments across two cohorts. The program strengthens the University’s research capacity and supports early-career scholars in developing independent research. Designed to attract outstanding domestic and international talent, it seeks emerging scholars of exceptional promise and impact. UTM has been allocated six fellowships, with up to three to be awarded in the program’s first year, in line with the university-wide model. 

Award Overview 

• Award Category: Postdoctoral Awards, International Awards 

• Applications open: November 12, 2025 (Cohort One*) 

• UTM Unit deadline to OVPAD: March 10, 2026 (Cohort One*) 

• Value & duration: $80,000 per year for up to two years of postdoctoral research, with an additional $10,000 in annual independent research funding 

• Required legal status: Domestic / International 

• Results: Early April 2026 

*Cohort Two deadlines to be announced Fall 2026 

Value and Duration 

The Research Excellence Postdoctoral Fellows Program (REPFP) is designed to engage 100 exceptional postdoctoral fellows across all three University of Toronto campuses over two years. Six postdoctoral fellows will be recruited at the University of Toronto Mississauga, including three in the 2025 cohort and three in the 2026 cohort. Commencing  2025-2026, each award will provide the full cost of a two-year postdoctoral salary and associated employer costs, and an additional $10,000 in annual independent research funding for use by the postdoctoral fellow. 

The structure of the award is as follows: 

• Full cost of a two-year postdoctoral salary ($80,000 per year) and associated employer costs are covered by the program; e.g. in 2025 this includes an annual salary increase payable at a rate of 1.8%, the Standard Benefit Rate (SBR) at 10.5% and the PDF Levy, payable at a rate of 7.75% 

• An additional $10,000 in funding is provided annually for independent research 

• Top up funds may be contributed by supervisors 

Purpose 

The Research Excellence Postdoctoral Fellows Program at the University of Toronto is a prestigious opportunity for early-career scholars to develop and expand their research expertise at one of the world’s most distinguished public research universities. The program will empower postdoctoral scholars with the autonomy to pursue an ambitious research program, while benefiting from close collaboration with leading faculty and access to tailored professional and career development supports. The program is designed for exceptional postdoctoral scholars eager to contribute to an innovative, vibrant and inclusive academic community. This program specifically seeks to bridge the critical gap between doctoral training and independent academic careers by providing postdoctoral fellows with the resources, autonomy, and mentorship necessary to establish themselves as independent researchers. Recipients are expected to develop and lead their own research agenda, distinct from, but complimentary to, their postdoctoral supervisor’s work, positioning them for future faculty appointments or leadership roles in research intensive environments.  

Eligibility 

This award is open to both domestic and international candidates. The following criteria are the institutional eligibility requirements for successful engagement as a Research Excellence Postdoctoral Fellow. 

Candidates must: 

• Have demonstrated academic excellence, proven capacity to conceptualize and execute independent research beyond their doctoral work, and evidence of intellectual leadership in their chosen field; 

• Expect to complete all doctoral degree requirements by the time the fellowship commences and normally be within five years* from the completion of their degree;  

• Not have previously engaged in more than one postdoctoral appointment at the University of Toronto or elsewhere; and 

• Not have applied to the REPFP at more than one division. 

*The only exception to the five-year requirement applies if the Postdoc has taken Pregnancy, Parental, or Medical leave during this period. Such leave is not counted toward the five-year limit.

Note: Applications from scholars who are not already post-docs at UTM or the University of Toronto more broadly, and/or who have earned their graduate degrees from institutions other than the University of Toronto, will receive priority consideration. 

Supervisors: 

• Proposed supervisors must have a tenured or tenure-track appointment in a UTM Department. 

• Cannot be the applicant’s current or former Ph.D. supervisor. 

•  A UTM faculty member with a primary budgetary appointment at UTM should be the primary supervisor. Co-supervision, where a second supervisor is a faculty member with a budgetary appointment at UTM will be considered, although preference will be given to applications listing as primary supervisor, a faculty member who holds their budgetary appointment at UTM. 

• The proposed UTM supervisor (primary or co-supervisor, if applicable) needs to hold a graduate faculty membership with a graduate unit at the University of Toronto. 

Award Recipients must: 

• Have completed all degree requirements prior to the start of the fellowship; 

• Be engaged as a postdoctoral employee of the University of Toronto Mississauga (teaching hospital postdocs are not employees of the university); 

• Be hired by a UTM supervisor (or co-supervisor), with a UTM budgetary appointment, who is appointed to a graduate unit at the University of Toronto. 

• Register and remain registered with the Postdoctoral Office at the School of Graduate Studies (SGS); 

• Not concurrently hold another major fellowship; 

• Not hold a faculty position or be on leave from such position; and 

• Establish an Individual Development Plan (IDP) and submit it to the Postdoctoral Office at SGS within the first three months of the fellowship. The IDP should be reviewed annually and the revised copy sent to SGS. 

• Begin postdoctoral position within 12 months of the award letter  

Selection Criteria 

Nominees will be evaluated on the following general criteria, modelled after tri-agency criteria: 

1. Research Experience Potential (50%)

Application Process 

Candidates must select one of the following broad disciplinary areas: 

• Science 

• Social Science 

• Humanities 

Departmental Nominations: 

• Each UTM department may submit one PDF nominee per broad disciplinary area, up to a maximum of three candidates. The adjudication process will consider each nominee within their declared discipline.  

• Unused nominations in one disciplinary category cannot be transferred to another category. 

• Only one candidate per disciplinary area is allowed. 

• Nominations must come from within UTM academic departments – nominations from other divisions will not be considered 

Award Distribution: 

• Awards will normally be distributed across disciplines 

Candidates interested in the REPFP should contact the prospective UTM supervisor, who should then contact their academic department at UTM to confirm departmental deadlines and processes.  

UTM academic departments will set their own internal deadlines and application processes in order to facilitate the departmental review and selection process. Each department has jurisdiction over its own adjudication process. 

Candidates should submit their part of the application package to their proposed UTM supervisor. The complete application package, including the supervisor statement, independent research proposal, learning statement from the candidate, and candidate’s CV should then be sent by the proposed supervisor to the academic department contact by the departmental internal competition deadline.  

Departmental Submission: 

The deadline for UTM departments to submit complete application packages via REPFP Departmental Submission Form to the UTM Office of the Vice-Principal, Academic and Dean (OVPAD) is Tuesday March 10, 2026. Late applications will not be accepted.  

The application package should be uploaded as a PDF using 12 pt font and a minimum margin of ¾ inch (1.87 cm) with the following components in the order as listed below. Applications will be deemed ineligible if the page limit restrictions are not adhered to. 

Application package should include: 

1. A  supervisor statement from the primary faculty supervisor (and co-supervisor, if applicable) (max. two pages). The statement should: 
    
   1. Describe the complementarity between the research interests/background of the supervisor and candidate, how the proposed research complements the supervisor’s ongoing projects and/or new research directions, and the anticipated mutual benefits; this includes how the collaboration will support the candidate’s transition to research independence and long-term career success. 
       
   2. Reveal information specific to the field of study (e.g., benchmarks of excellence, publication norms/standards/practices, impact factor of research contributions) that would otherwise not be known outside the discipline. 
       
   3. Provide details regarding the candidate’s proposed research environment, clearly stating the supervisor’s and graduate unit’s commitment. Examples of commitment include (but are not limited to) mentorship, opportunities for collaboration, dissemination, and/or knowledge translation, resources (e.g., funding, facilities, personnel) that will be available to support the candidate as they carry out their proposed research; and how these resources will enable the candidate to establish a sustainable, independent research program. 
       
   4. Illustrate the supervisor’s commitment to the candidate’s academic professional trajectory and development of an independent research program, clearly indicating the resources and/or mentoring activities that are available through the learning environment to support career development. 

2. An Independent research proposal from the candidate (max. two pages, plus up to two additional pages for references/citations). The independent research proposal should clearly articulate how the proposed work represents a significant departure from or advancement beyond the candidate's doctoral research. The proposal should also outline the anticipated long-term impact of the research, including how it contributes to the field and aligns with U of T’s strategic research priorities and UTM’s strategic framework.  
    

3. A learning statement from the candidate (max. 1 page). The statement should describe:
   1. their professional, academic, and extracurricular experiences/achievements and how these contribute to their learning success and ability to develop and implement an independent research plan (1/2 page); and 
       
   2. how the learning they expect to acquire will contribute to their productivity and to the research goals they hope to achieve. Indicate why they decided upon the proposed learning location and what they expect to learn from the learning experience (1/2 page).