QCBS Student and Postdoc Excellence Awards
General rules:
- Applicants are limited to one award per academic year.
- Only successful candidates will be notified.
- Applications received outside deadlines will not be considered except in exceptional circumstances.
- Awards shall be allocated within an academic year.
- Awards can be combined with other awards if allowed by the other funding sources.
Amount of funding available: Between $500 and $2,500 CAD.
Eligibility requirements:
- Active and full time student (Ph.D. or M.Sc.) and postdoctoral fellow of one of the QCBS partner universities
- Supervised by a member of the QCBS
- Registered in the QCBS database
Application contents:
The application must contain the following:
- Cover letter with applicant’s contact information
- Up to date transcript(s)
- Applicant’s CV (recipients’ CVs will be posted on the QCBS website)
- Brief explanation of student research and relation to QCBS research axes and themes
- Brief explanation of proposed use of funds
- Detailed budget indicating proportion of total budget requested as QCBS award
- List of previous QCBS awards received (if applicable)
- Recommendation letter written by the student’s supervisor
Detailed application guidelines can be found here.
Evaluation criteria:
A multi-institution QCBS committee will evaluate applications using the following criteria:
- Application completeness (includes the following eight documents: cover letter, CV, current transcript, description of work, description of how work relates to QCBS, reason for requesting an excellence award, budget showing other funding sources)
- Student’s eligibility for QCBS student awards;
- University transcript(s)
- Relevance of academic project to the QCBS research program
- Feasibility of proposed activity
- Innovative and collaborative nature of the project
- Adequacy of activity and request for funds
Award timelines:
| Session | Period covered | Application deadline | Decisions |
| Summer | April to August | March 1 | April 15 |
| Autumn | September to December | September 15 | October 30 |
| Winter | January to March | December 15 | January 30 |
Award obligations:
Award recipients need to comply with the following rules:
- Make their association with the QCBS visible on their documents and presentations.
- Report upon the use of the award and allow the QCBS to post information about his/her work, on the QCBS website, in accordance with publication regulations and policies.
- Produce a short technical and financial report, and send the report to QCBS within 2 months of the completed activity.
- Present their research at the annual QCBS symposium
Questions about application process:
Questions regarding the application process should be directed to Philippe Auzel at philippe.auzel@mcgill.ca.
