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Office of Research Services (ORS)

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

Post-Doctoral Fellow Handbook
1.6MB PDF file

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, please contact the PDF administrator at postdocadmin@uvic.ca or 250-853-3188. 

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.

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:

  1. Zachary Gould, ACET and IESVic, Decarbonization through District Energy Development: The Climate Housing Nexus
  2. Alex Hare, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Listening in on Bowhead Whale Conservation challenges through Passive Acoustic Monitoring
  3. 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!

Postdoc Research Day 2025 Schedule
831KB PDF file

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 next round of applications will be in Fall 2025.

Post-doctoral fellowships 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). These awards are for two years and valued at $70,000 per year.

These programs are currently being streamlined into a harmonized talent program called the Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS) and applications are expected to open in summer 2025. 

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. For more information about Mitacs programs, you can contact the UVic Mitacs Advisor Nolan Beise.

  • Mitacs Elevate. A one to two-year post-doctoral fellowship program. Fellows split their time between an academic institution and a partner organization, and have access to a professional development training program. The minimum stipend is $55,000 per year.
  • Mitacs Accelerate. A research internship program in collaboration with a partner organization and is variable in duration. Interns receive $10,000-$15,000 per 4-6 month internship unit.

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.

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?

Your primary point of contact outside of your supervisor during your time at UVic is the post-doctoral fellow administrator (postdocadmin@uvic.ca) who can help with anything related to post-doctoral fellows including policies and procedures, appointments and hiring, and finding additional resources.

For more information on health care, including BC MSP, Pharmacare, extended health and dental plans, and EFAP, see the Post-Doctoral Fellows Guide to Benefits and Premiums. 

For any questions related to immigration, please go to the UVic immigration website or contact immigration@uvic.ca.

For information on UVic policies related to your appointment, you may wish to review the Post-Doctoral Fellows Policy and Procedures.

If you have any other questions during your time at UVic, you can contact the PDF administrator at postdocadmin@uvic.ca or 250-853-3188.