Post-doctoral fellows
As a post-doctoral fellow (PDF) at UVic, you make a vital impact by contributing to research and the broader academic landscape while growing professionally in UVic's dynamic and cutting-edge academic environment. PDFs are an integral part of Aspiration 2030, UVic's vision for a bold and inclusive future driven by curiosity, engagement and innovation.
Post-doctoral Fellow Handbook
The Post-doctoral Fellow Handbook is the primary source of information for PDFs at UVic. It contains information about getting started at UVic, moving to Victoria, campus resources, and university policies. It compiles both on- and off-campus resources that you may find helpful as you begin at UVic and while you are here. If you have any questions about anything in the handbook, or about something not in the handbook, please contact the PDF administrator at postdocadmin@uvic.ca.
Events and workshops
You can find selected events, trainings, and workshops from across campus that may be of interest in the calendar below. Many of these events are offered by UVic Libraries, research computing, Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation, and research security. You may also wish to look at the workshops offered through the Equity and Human Rights office. The Innovation Centre also runs events for those looking to take their research to industry. See their LinkedIn or contact them for more information.
Postdoc Appreciation Week 2025
Postdoc Appreciation Week (PAW) is an annual global event to recognize the key contributions of postdocs to research and innovation. This year, PAW will be from September 15-19, 2025.
UVic will host an orientation and social event on September 16th, as well as a workshop on making an academic website through the libraries on September 18th. More details are to come.
In addition to the local UVic events, there will be online events hosted by institutions across Canada and beyond, as well as a full week of programming from the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS).
Postdoc Research Day 2025
UVic's first Postdoc Research Day was May 6th, 2025, and was attended by nearly 1/3 of all post-doctoral fellows at UVic. Thank you to everyone who attended and made the event such a success!
There were a total of 28 presenters from 13 different departments, 3 research centres, and 5 faculties, representing an enormous range of research topics from across campus. Faculty members on campus judged the five-minute presentations according to this judging rubric.
Congratulations to our top three presenters:
- Zachary Gould, ACET and IESVic, Decarbonization through District Energy Development: The Climate Housing Nexus
- Alex Hare, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Listening in on Bowhead Whale Conservation challenges through Passive Acoustic Monitoring
- Maria Laura Sosa Ponce, Biochemistry and Microbiology, Old Cells, New Mutations:
The Aging Cell’s Struggle to Maintain Genomic Integrity
Thank you to the presenters, moderators, judges, panelists, and everyone who attended the event. We hope to see you again next year!
Funding
The following list of post-doctoral awards and fellowships is intended to support your search for funding for your post-doctoral appointment. This list is not comprehensive, but includes the most common supports for post-doctoral fellows at UVic.
If you are looking for grants for research expenses, see the resources for finding and applying for external grants.
If you are applying for funding, you can contact your faculty grant officer for help with your application and to find out if an RASF is required.
The Aspiration Post-doctoral Fellowship program is an internal fellowship that provides competitive match-funding for faculty to recruit outstanding new post-doctoral fellows to conduct the highest quality research at UVic.
The deadline to submit for the 2025-2026 call for applications is November 13th, 2025. We will announce results for the competition in January 2026. Please find all the details on the website.
Canada Postdoctoral Research Awards are available from each of Canada’s three federal research funding agencies, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Note that although the link is an NSERC website, it applies for awards from all three agencies. These awards are for two years and valued at $70,000 per year.
Mitacs is a national nonprofit that promotes innovation by partnering researchers with public and private sector organizations. Mitacs offers a variety of post-doctoral funding opportunities that are open to researchers from all disciplines; most require a partner organization. The most common is Mitacs Accelerate, a research internship program in collaboration with a partner organization that is variable in duration and salary. For more information about Mitacs programs, you can contact the UVic Mitacs Advisor Nolan Beise.
There are a variety of opportunities specific to different areas of health and medical research.
- Michael Smith Health Research BC (MSHRBC) Research Trainee Program. An up to three-year award through Health Research BC that can be held in any area of health research.
- BC Women’s Health Research Institute Fellowship Research Award
- Alzheimer Society Research Program
- Arthritis Society Canada Training Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Brain Canada Trainee Award
- Canadian Cancer Society Research Training Award
- Cancer Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellowships
- CANTRAIN Fellowships
- Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN) Trainee Scholarship
- CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship
- endMS Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Kidney Foundation KRESCENT Program: Post-doctoral Fellowship
- Molly Towell Perinatal Research Foundation Fellowship
- Mustard Postdoctoral Research Award in Work and Health
- Parkinson Canada Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
- TRIANGLE Postdoctoral Award in GI and liver research
In addition to the opportunities listed here, we encourage you to investigate further funding options by discussing with researchers in your area, and, if you are international, with funders from your home country. You may also wish to search Pivot-RP for additional opportunities.
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund. A variety of awards aiming to support diverse researchers in biomedical sciences.
- Liber Ero Fellowship Program. Two-year fellowship program for emerging leaders in conservation-relevant research in either the natural or social sciences.
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships. The European Union’s flagship funding programme for postdoctoral training. Provides up to 3 years of support for researchers who wish to carry out their research abroad and develop their careers. Note that Canada is a Horizon Europe Associated Country.
- MEOPAR Postdoctoral Fellowship Award. For research addressing challenges in the ocean sector (including social sciences and humanities, STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, health sciences) in areas aligned with federal priorities.
- Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) Postdoctoral Fellowship. For researchers in the mathematical sciences. Candidates must be nominated by a mathematical scientist.
- WorkSafeBC Ralph McGinn Postdoctoral Fellowship. For researchers in occupational health and safety or work disability.
Hiring post-doctoral fellows
This page is for current PDFs. If you are looking to appoint a PDF, see How do I hire a post-doctoral fellow?
Need help?
Contact the PDF administrator at postdocadmin@uvic.ca or 250-853-3188 if you need help finding a resource or have any questions during your time at UVic.
The resources below may also be helpful:
- Benefits: Consult the Post-Doctoral Fellows Guide to Benefits and Premiums, which has information on BC MSP, Pharmacare, extended health and dental plans, and EFAP. You can also contact benefits@uvic.ca.
- Immigration: Contact immigration@uvic.ca.
- Policy: Consult the Post-Doctoral Fellows Policy and Procedures.
- Questions within your department: Contact your supervisor or the administrative assistant who supports postdocs in your lab, department, faculty or research centre.