Graduate Training Award - Doctoral (2005-2006) (Archived)

(Doctoral Research Awards)

Important Dates
October 15, 2005	Full applications must be courier stamped by this date. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
Early April	Anticipated notification of decision.
April 1	Earliest start date.

 

Description

Doctoral Research Awards are intended to provide special recognition and support to students who are pursuing a PhD degree in a health-related field in Canada or abroad. These candidates are expected to have an exceptionally high potential for future research achievement and productivity.

The top ranked Doctoral Research Award (DRA) applicants pursuing doctoral research training in Canada may be eligible for a Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) Doctoral Award. Please refer to the CGS Doctoral Award program description. Candidates interested in a CGS Doctoral Award must apply for a DRA; all DRA candidates will be automatically considered for a CGS based on the eligibility requirements and ranking in the DRA competition. If you already hold, or have held, a CIHR DRA, you are not eligible for a CGS Doctoral Award, unless the term of the DRA awarded was less than the maximum allowed and you continue to meet the eligibility requirements for a DRA described below.

Funds Available:

The maximum amount awarded for a single award is $27,000 for up to three years:

• Stipend: $21,000 per annum for awards held inside Canada and $26,000 per annum for awards held outside Canada.
• Research allowance: $1,000 per annum.
• Stipends are valued in Canadian dollars and are taxable.
• The awards are non-renewable.

Table of Contents

Objectives
Eligibility
Specific Eligibility Requirements
Location of Tenure
General CIHR Guidelines
Allowable Costs
Application
Peer Review Process and Evaluation Criteria
Effective Date
Conditions of Funding
Communications Requirements
Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation
How to Apply
Contact Information

Objectives

• To provide recognition and funding to students early in their academic research career, providing them with an opportunity to gain research experience.
• To provide a reliable supply of highly skilled and qualified researchers.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria for all CIHR research funding programs apply. The business office of the institution of an eligible Nominated Principal Applicant generally administers CIHR funds. Please refer to the Eligibility Requirements for CIHR Grants and Awards regarding the eligibility requirements for individuals and institutions.

Specific Eligibility Requirements

The program is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada at the time of application.

Only those students engaged in full-time research training in a graduate school are eligible for support. At the time of application, all candidates must have completed at least 12 months of graduate study at the Masters or PhD level. In addition, at the time of application:

• candidates holding a Master's degree cannot have been registered for more than 14 months as a full-time student in a PhD program; or
• candidates who have transferred directly from a Bachelor's degree to a PhD program cannot have been registered for more than 26 months as a full-time student in a PhD program.

Awards will take effect only after the recipient has registered in a full-time PhD program.

A candidate may not hold more than three years of federal award funding (in total from SSHRC, NSERC or CIHR, or a combination thereof) to undertake and/or complete a PhD degree. The maximum duration of award funding from all federal sources to undertake graduate studies is four years. The only exception to this is in the case of a Health Professional funded through the CIHR Fellowships program. Individuals already holding a doctoral award from a federal source for a term of three years are not eligible to apply.

Individuals with a health professional degree who seek support for doctoral research training are eligible to apply, but should also consult the guidelines for the CIHR Fellowships program. Those eligible for both have the option of applying to either program but not to both in the same year (i.e., September through August). Please note that a person holding a health professional degree would receive a higher stipend only through the CIHR Fellowships program.

A recipient of a Doctoral Research Award (DRA) with a health professional degree may apply to the Fellowship program no earlier than during the last year of their DRA. If a recipient of a DRA with a health professional degree applies to the Fellowship program for PhD support before the last year of the DRA, funding for the currently-held DRA will be cancelled as of the first potential effective date of the Fellowship award, even if the application is not successful through the Fellowship program.

Students pursuing a combined MD/PhD program are eligible to apply, but are encouraged to review the guidelines of the CIHR MD/PhD Studentships program.

Location of Tenure

The research for which support is being sought should be under the supervision of a researcher who holds research funds obtained through a recognized competitive peer review process. These awards are normally held at Canadian institutions, but applications may be made for awards to be held outside of Canada.

General CIHR Guidelines

The CIHR Doctoral Research Award program will follow the General Guidelines for All Research Training Awards.

Allowable Costs

The awards consist of a stipend and a research allowance. For the research allowance, applicants should review General Guidelines for All Research Training Awards for a description of allowable costs and activities.

Applications

A complete application consists of:

1. A CIHR Training Module;
2. Common CV Modules (validated for CIHR) for the candidate and the proposed supervisor(s). Draft copies will not be accepted;
3. Sponsor's Assessment of a Candidate for a Doctoral Research Award or an Industry Partnered Doctoral Research Award to be completed by the candidate's most recent research supervisor and two other sponsors who have had an opportunity to assess the candidate's potential; and,
4. Official transcripts of the candidate's complete academic record to date. CIHR will only accept an official student's copy of the transcript if submitted in the original sealed envelope from the institution. Certified true copies will only be accepted from institutions outside North America.

Candidates who also wish to be considered for a Partnership award, a CIHR Research Priority, a Michael Smith Doctoral Award for Research in Schizophrenia , or the Douglas Kinsella Doctoral Award for Research in Bioethics should indicate the name of the award on page three of the Training Module.

Only the original application and attachments are required.

Peer Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

A CIHR peer review committee will evaluate the full applications. Committee members are selected based on suggestions from many sources including the institute(s) / portfolio(s) and partner(s), following CIHR's policy on Conflict of Interest, Confidentiality and Privacy Issues in Peer Review. For information on CIHR's peer review process in general, see Peer Review.

Peer review will be conducted in accordance with the Doctoral Research Awards Guide for Reviewers 2005-2006. The following general criteria for evaluating Training Award applications will apply:

1. Achievements and Activities of the Candidate
2. Characteristics and Abilities of the Candidate
3. Research Training Environment

Effective Date

Awards must be taken up within 12 months of the date of offer and must start January 1, May 1 or September 1 following the offer of award.

Conditions of Funding

All conditions specified in CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies shall apply to applications funded through the CIHR Doctoral Research Award program. Conditions cover areas such as Applicant and Institutional Responsibilities, Ethics, Official language policy, Access to Information and Privacy Acts, and Acknowledgement of CIHR Support. Successful applicants will be informed of any special financial conditions prior to the release of funds or when they receive CIHR's Authorization for Funding (AFF) document.

Access to Information Act and Privacy Act, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

All personal information collected by CIHR about applicants is used to review applications, to administer and monitor grants and awards, to compile statistics, and to promote and support health research in Canada. Consistent with these purposes, applicants should also expect that information collected by CIHR may be shared as described in Use and Disclosure of Personal Information Provided to CIHR for Peer Review. 

CIHR as a federal entity is subject to the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, therefore the requirements of these two statutes will apply to all information located in CIHR's premises including, without limitation, cost-sharing agreements related to this program and all matters pertaining thereto.

The Parties, while respecting the application of the Privacy Act to federal entities, will also be bound by the PIPEDA. All personal information (as identified by the PIPEDA) collected, used or disclosed in the course of any commercial activity under cost-sharing agreements related to the program will be collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the PIPEDA.

Communications Requirements

Award recipients are required to acknowledge CIHR in any communication or publication related to the project. See CIHR General Grants and Awards Policies, Acknowledgement of CIHR's Support for details on CIHR's communication requirements. The contributing institutes / partners will be identified on the Authorization for Funding and decision letter.

Monitoring, Performance Measurement and Evaluation

CIHR is committed to demonstrating results to Canadians for the money invested in health research. Therefore, processes for monitoring progress and appropriate use of funds, as well as for performance measurement and program evaluation are in place. As a result, funding recipients must:

• contribute to the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes by participating in evaluation studies, surveys, workshops, audits and providing data or reports as required for the purpose of collecting information to assess progress and results; and
• encourage their associates, trainees and administration to participate in the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes as required.

How to Apply

The application process is comprised of one step: Full Application.

Read the application instructions provided in How to Apply for Funding.

Select Doctoral Research Awards from the Application Packages. 

Send Application by Courier to:

RE: "Doctoral Research Awards"
Research Capacity Development
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9

Contact Information

For questions on CIHR funding guidelines, how to apply, and the peer review process contact:

CIHR Doctoral Research Awards Program Delivery Coordinator
Research Capacity Development Branch

Telephone: (613) 954-1963
Fax: (613) 954-1800
E-mail: DRA@cihr-irsc.gc.ca