Pursuing grants or fellowships is essential for faculty members seeking to fund their research initiatives or advance their research objectives.
For inquiries regarding Tri-Agency and CFI funding and support, please contact your Research Grants Officer, Marlene Ramos, at marlene.ramos@smu.ca.
For inquiries regarding Mitacs and contract or partnership opportunities, don't hesitate to contact the Office of Innovation and Community Engagement at oice@smu.ca or Kevin Buchan, Director of OICE, at kevin.buchan@smu.ca.
To facilitate this process, the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research organizes these funding opportunities into distinct categories:
FGSR offers internal grant funding for eligible full-time faculty members. Please scroll down for details on available programs and application deadlines.
The following Internal Grant Programs are available this year:
NOTE: FGSR Small Internal Grants in Aid of Research and FGSR Strategic Research Grants are not open for application in 2025.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION TRAVEL FUND:
Please check back for an updated application form, which is in development and will be posted before the October 15, 2025 competition.
Deadlines: March 15 and October 15
NEW FACULTY GRANT:
Application and Guidelines for an Internal Grant for New Faculty - Deadline October 15
Sample Internal New Faculty Grant - This is to show the details the FGSR Research Committee expects.
COURSE RELEASES:Course Release for Research Purposes - Deadline November 4Course Release for supervision of PhD students - Deadline November 4
Grantee's Progress Report Required to reapply for Internal Grants or to extend the granting period of Internal Grants. Submit your Grantee's Progress Report to the Research Grants Officer at rgo@smu.ca.
Teach for a Week in Europe This SummerFull-time faculty and staff interested in teaching for a week in May/June 2025 at a Saint Mary's partner institution in Poland or Croatia are encouraged to contact The Studio's Global Learning Office. For more information, please email Miyuki Arai at miyuki.arai@smu.ca.
All Tri-Agency, CFI, and Research Nova Scotia grant applications are subject to a mandatory internal review at least two weeks before the funding agency's deadline.
Please inform the RGO of your intent to apply for any external grant program as soon as you are certain, preferably at least four (4) weeks before the program's deadline.
Additionally, we are fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteer reviewers, the SMU College of Reviewers, who are happy to provide expert advice on your grant proposal. The reviewers require a minimum of two (2) weeks' lead time to review draft applications.
Competition Information: There are no open calls for 2025 for this program
NSERC Idea to Innovation grants
Application deadline:January 8, 2025March 31, 2025June 20, 2025 September 22, 2025
Notice of decision: 11 weeks past the deadline
NSERC Discovery Grants (DG)
SSHRC Insight Development Grant (IDG)
Postdoctoral External Funding Opportunities:
The Vanier and Banting programs are closed.
The current Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (results will be released in mid-April 2025) and the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships (results will be released in mid-February 2025) will be the final competitions for these programs.
The agencies will share additional updates with the community once we are in a position to confirm. Information sessions will be offered this spring where we will provide more details about competition processes on the updated suite of talent programs.
Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the agencies:
CIHR: support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
NSERC: schol-slo@nserc-crsng.gc.ca
SSHRC: fellowships@sshrc-crsh.gc.ca
Fulbright Canada Research Chairs Program
NOTE: The next awards competition for the 2026-2027 Academic Year will open in May 2025.
Fulbright Canada Research Chairs are intended for Canadian citizens who are exceptional scholars and/or experienced professionals who wish to conduct research and/or lecture in the United States.
Fulbright Canada Research Chairs are pre-arranged affiliations that allow scholars to conduct research/lecture on subjects important to that university. Partner universities are excited to welcome the Fulbright Visiting Chairs into campus life and encourage them to engage with students, faculty, and the broader community. Fulbright Visiting Research Chairs can guest lecture in university courses, mentor students, lecture in public venues, network, and promote their research while representing the Fulbright program and their home and host institutions.The award values range from US$ 25,000 to US$ 50,000 and last from 4 to 9 months.
The Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research
The Royal-Mach-Gaensslen Prize for Mental Health Research is funded by a generous donation from the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation, building upon the wishes of its founders, Mr. Vaclav Mach and Dr. Hanni Gaensslen, to support mental health research.
Each year for ten years, $100,000 will be awarded to one person (or a research team of up to three persons) per competition. The Prize is awarded with the expectation that the recipient(s) will continue to demonstrate excellence in their field of work. If no appropriate candidate is found, the Prize will be deferred for one year.
Eligible candidates are exceptional rising star researchers who are 45 years of age or younger at the application date, are Canadian citizens or have landed immigrant status in Canada, and are currently residing in Canada or are residing abroad but are committed to returning to Canada within six months from the date of being awarded the Prize. In addition, candidates must be affiliated with a Canadian academic or clinical institution, and their research shall be in a mental health discipline.
Please refer to the Prize Guidelines for complete eligibility requirements and additional application details.
The deadline for 2024 applications is July 15, 2024. The opportunity is now closed.