Doctoral research scholarships program for foreign students, Canada

The Doctoral Research Scholarships for International Students (DE) program of the Fonds de recherche du Québec Nature et technologies (FRQNT) aims to stimulate international student’s interest in beginning or pursuing doctoral studies in Québec and provide financial support to leading international students wishing to carry out doctoral studies in natural sciences, mathematics and engineering fields.

The scholarships are aimed at international students who have been preselected by a Québec university and who wish to carry out their doctoral studies in natural sciences, mathematics and engineering fields.

To be eligible, applicants must specialize in one of the following areas:

•  Aerospace
•  Information and communications technologies
•  Health technologies
•  Genomics
•  Nanotechnologies

Applicants must:

•  Meet all eligibility requirements on the competition closing date;
•  Have been preselected by a Québec university;
•  Not have obtained a Merit Scholarship for Foreign Students from the Ministère de l’Education de l’Enseignement supérieur du Québec (MEES) or one of the Fonds de recherche du Québec;
•  Not be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
•  Not have submitted an application for permanent residence under Canadian immigration law.

In addition to the aforementioned criteria, applicants should note the following restrictions and administrative prerequisites:

Study program restrictions:

•  The scholarship cannot be used for qualifying studies.

Eligibility period

Scholarship program eligibility period rules take into account all doctoral semesters (funded or not) completed prior to May 1, 2019.

When calculating the eligibility period, the FRQNT will consider all unregistered or part-time semesters for which registrar attestations are provided in the application. The applicant must verify his/her eligibility by consulting the equivalents table for unregistered or part-time semesters in the Toolbox.

The FRQNT will also consider the number of master’s and doctoral semesters for which the applicant received funding from a recognized funding agency (e.g. NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC, the Fonds de recherche du Québec, etc.) to ensure that the support does not exceed 18 semesters.

Eligibility period for applicants registered in direct-entry doctoral programs (bachelor’s to doctorate) and fast-track master’s/doctoral programs 

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program after completing their bachelor’s degree and those who fast-tracked to a doctoral program without submitting a thesis may apply to the doctoral scholarships competition (DE) in the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th years of their graduate studies (between their 7^th and 15^thsemesters). Semesters that are completed when the scholarship comes into effect will be subtracted from the funding period. Under no circumstances will funding be granted before the 7^th semester or after the 15^th semester.

Applicants who hold a master’s degree when beginning their doctoral studies must apply for the doctoral scholarships competition.

Doctoral scholarship eligibility period

Applicants are eligible for the doctoral research scholarships competition (DE) during twelve (12) consecutive semesters (or the equivalent) of the first fifteen (15) semesters of their full-time doctoral studies. However, the eleventh (11^th) and twelfth (12^th) semesters of funding are conditional on the initial submission of the thesis before the end of the twelfth funded semester. Under no circumstances will funding be granted after an applicant’s 15^th doctoral program semester.

Eligibility period exceptions

Scholarship eligibility period exceptions will only be made in circumstances that are beyond the applicant’s control. In such cases, all supporting documents must be submitted along with the application.

Applicants who suspend their studies for a maternity or parental leave may ask to extend their eligibility for a maximum period of 12 months per leave. In such cases, all supporting documents must be submitted along with the request.

When the applicant is a person with a disability under the Act to secure handicapped persons in the exercise of their rights with a view to achieving social, school and workplace integration (R.S.Q. c. E-20.1), the eligibility period requirements do not apply. However, the doctoral scholarship period remains the same (three years). In such cases, all supporting documents must be submitted along with the application.

Universities may support two competition applications per year.

Applicant preselection is the sole responsibility of the university. A table of preselection deadlines at the different universities is available in the Toolbox.

University staff in charge of preselecting applicants should consult the Instructions for Preselecting Candidates in the Toolbox.

University staff in charge of preselecting applicants must fill out the candidate nomination form, which is available in the FRQNT FRQnet system. The form must be submitted electronically by September 22nd, 2018, at 4 p.m.

Applicants must meet all program eligibility requirements. Applications submitted by a university may be deemed ineligible by the FRQNT if all program requirements are not met.

Preselected applicants may also be preselected for a Merit Scholarship for Foreign Students awarded by the Ministère de l’Education de l’Enseignement du Québec (MEES).

Preselected applicants must create a FRQnet account. The FRQNT will then contact the preselected applicants to have them complete the electronic application form. Applicants may consult the document Instructions for completing an application in the Toolbox.

Only the 2018-2019 competition e-forms and other required documents will be accepted. Any appendices or documents other than those required will not be given to the evaluation committee.

The e-forms are only available in the secure section of the FRQNT FRQnet system. These forms must be filled out and submitted electronically by the competition deadline. Applicants will not be able to update their applications after the competition deadline.

Applicants are not required to include a hard copy of their application form with the required documents sent to the FRQNT. However, it is recommended that applicants keep a hard copy for their personal files.

The form may be completed in French or English. Applicants who submit their applications in English must provide a French translation of the project title.

Required documents

Letters of reference (online)

Two letters of reference from referees should be transmitted to the program manager.

To allow the referee to complete the reference letter, the applicant must enter the referee’s account information in the FRQnet form. The referee will then have access to the letter in the “En tant que répondant[H1] ” section of his/her Portfolio.

Documents to attach to the electronic form (PDF)

The documents listed below must be attached in the “Other documents” section of the electronic application form. The student must ensure that the documents are not protected by a password.

Documents submitted in a language other than French or English must be accompanied by a translation of the original.

•  A copy of the identification page of the applicant’s valid passport from his/her home country or any other official document that establishes the applicant’s citizenship;
•  A copy of transcripts for all years of the applicant’s university studies, whether they were completed or not (certificate, diploma, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, etc.). You do not have to include a copy of your diploma unless it indicates a grade. The applicant must also provide the transcripts for any equivalencies that were granted for courses taken in other institutions or as part of other programs. Any transcripts from institutions located outside North America must include a note from the applicant explaining the marking system. The transcripts must be organized chronologically from newest to oldest;
•  Acknowledgements of receipt or letters from editors for articles that are submitted, accepted or in press (acknowledgements for published articles will not be given to the committee).

Additional document for applicants who carried out part-time or unregistered semesters since first registering for their graduate studies:

•  An attestation from the registrar listing any unregistered or part-time semesters.

Additional document for applicants seeking an eligibility period exception:

•  An official document attesting to the applicant’s suspended registration and a medical certificate indicating the reasons and duration of the suspension, if applicable;
•  For the eligibility extension for parental leave, a copy of the child’s birth certificate or adoption certificate.

The FRQNT reserves the right to verify the authenticity of all documents and information provided in the application with the institutions concerned.

Submitting the required documents

The applicant must submit the electronic form to the FRQNT before the competition deadline.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to verify that the documents attached to the electronic form (PDF) include all required documents for the application to be considered admissible. No required document sent by email or mail will be accepted.

Applicants must ensure that referees send their letters of reference no later than the competition deadline.

Acknowledgement of receipt

Applicants will be informed by email in December of the receipt of their application. Applicants who have not received this notification should contact the program manager before December 15th.