The University of Toronto Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship program (PPFP) provides funding to Graduate Faculties to increase opportunities for hiring postdoctoral fellows from underrepresented groups, specifically Indigenous and Black researchers only. These fellowships will enable postdoctoral researchers to grow their scholarly profiles, undertake academic work at the University of Toronto, and strengthen the research environment at the University with diverse perspectives.

This funding is designed to help the University compete with peer institutions for top-tier candidates, and to support the University in meeting its institutional goal of fostering increased diversity and representation at all levels of teaching, learning and research. Nominees must be nominated by their prospective Faculties/divisions following the timeline and processes outlined below. While the nomination/application process will normally begin with faculty advisors/mentors, funding for the successful nominees will be provided to their respective Faculty Research Office for administration.

The Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is available to engage eight Indigenous and/or Black postdoctoral researchers annually. Each award will provide $80,000 per year to the Faculty to support up to two years of a postdoctoral fellowship salary and employer costs. This level of funding exceeds the median postdoctoral salary at the University of Toronto and is in keeping with Canada’s most prestigious postdoctoral awards.

The structure of the award is as follows at the discretion of the supervisor:

Option A (PPFP used to fund the gross salary):

• An annual salary of $80,000 per year plus benefits
• A start-up stipend fund of $5,000 per year (as taxable income)

Option B (PPFP used to fund both the gross salary and employer costs (benefits):

• An annual salary of $70,000 per year plus benefits
• A start-up stipend fund of $5,000 per year (as taxable income)

Option A (PPFP used to fund the gross salary):

• The PPFP funds $80,000 of the salary
• The supervisor is responsible for the benefits and start-up stipend fund
• The funding breakdown below is based on the current CUPE collective agreement and includes annual salary (2026) increase payable at a rate of 1.8%, the Standard Benefit Rate (SBR) at 10.5% and the PDF Levy, payable at a rate of 7.75%. * Supervisors will be responsible for covering any additional costs that may be applicable as a result of future collective agreements.
• Employment as a Provost Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto is covered by the terms of the CUPE Unit 5 Collective Agreement.

Option B (PPFP used to fund both the gross salary and employer costs (benefits):

• The PPFP funds $70,000 of the salary and benefits up to $80,000
• The supervisor is responsible for the remainder of the benefits and start-up stipend fund, in addition to all costs associated with any annual additional costs that may be applicable as a result of future collective agreements including salary increase
• The funding breakdown below is based on the current CUPE collective agreement and includes annual salary (2026) increase payable at a rate of 1.8%, the Standard Benefit Rate (SBR) at 10.5% and the PDF Levy, payable at a rate of 7.75%. * Supervisors will be responsible for covering any additional costs that may be applicable as a result of future collective agreements.
• Employment as a Provost Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto is covered by the terms of the CUPE Unit 5 Collective Agreement.

The award is open to Indigenous and/or Black researchers, both domestic and international candidates.

Nominees must:

• Demonstrate academic excellence and high potential for success in their chosen fields;
• Identify as Indigenous to Turtle Island and/or Black Indigenous and/or Black researchers only. The terms and conditions for award holders will align with any University processes and policies around Indigenous identity substantiation;
• Have obtained a doctoral degree, at the time the fellowship commences and normally within the last five years from the start of the fellowship; and
• Not have held a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship previously.
   

Award recipients must:

• Begin the fellowship by January 2027, following the competition;
• Be engaged as a postdoctoral employee of the University of Toronto;
• Be hired by a UofT supervisor appointed to a graduate unit;
• Register and remain registered with the Postdoctoral Office at SGS;
• Not hold concurrently another major fellowship;
• Not hold a faculty position or be on leave from such a position;
• Establish an IDP (Independent Development Plan) and submit to SGS within the first three months of the fellowship. The IDP should be reviewed annually and the revised copy sent to the Postdoctoral Office at SGS; and
• Submit proof of completion of degree no later than three months after the fellowship commences if they had not fulfilled all requirements for their degree at the time of nomination.

At the University of Toronto, we strive to be an equitable and inclusive community, rich with diversity, protecting the human rights of all persons, and based upon understanding and mutual respect for the dignity and worth of every person. We seek to ensure to the greatest extent possible that all students and employees enjoy the opportunity to participate as they see fit in the full range of activities that the University offers, and to achieve their full potential as members of the University community.

Deadline:

March 29, 2026 (11:59PM EST)

Application should be emailed to Shirley.Chan@daniels.utoronto.ca as a single PDF file using the naming convention: Last name, First Name_PPFP2026 with the subject heading “Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellows Program Application”

Potential nominees interested in the Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program should contact the nominating supervisor. ​ Supervisors wishing to support a candidate’s application must contact Shirley.Chan@daniels.utoronto.ca before the Faculty’s internal deadline of March 2, 2026.

Each Faculty Research Office is invited to nominate their top three (3) candidates in each self-identification category to the School of Graduate Studies.

Nomination packages consists of the following as a single PDF file:

1. A nomination letter from the graduate unit/department Chair (max. two pages). The letter should:
   
   1. address how the nominee meets the selection criteria, clearly state which underrepresented group (Indigenous and/or Black) the nominee identifies as, and confirm that the nominee intends to accept the offer if funding is made available;
   2. illustrate the synergy between the research proposal and the research goals of the supervisor/unit/department, as well as the mission of the University; and
   3. outline support of the nominee by describing how the applicant and Faculty/unit/department will mutually benefit from this engagement.
2. A supervisor statement from the faculty advisor/mentor (max. two pages). The statement should:
   
   1. describe the complementarity between the research interests/background of the supervisor and nominee, how the proposed research complements the supervisor’s ongoing projects and/or new research directions, and the anticipated mutual benefits;
   2. reveal information specific to the field of study (e.g., benchmarks of excellence, publication norms/standards/practices, impact factor of research contributions) that would otherwise not be known outside the discipline;
   3. provide details regarding the applicant’s proposed research environment, clearly stating the supervisor’s and department’s commitment. Examples of commitment include (but are not limited to) mentorship, opportunities for collaboration, dissemination, and/or knowledge translation, resources (e.g., funding, facilities, personnel) that will be available to support the nominee as they carry out their proposed research; and
   4. illustrate the supervisor’s commitment to the applicant’s academic and professional trajectory, clearly indicating the resources and/or mentoring activities that are available through the training environment to support career development.
3. Research or scholarship proposal from the nominee (max. two pages, plus up to two additional pages for references/citations);
    
4. Training statement from the nominee (max. 1 page). The statement should describe:
   
   1. their professional, academic, and extracurricular experiences/achievements and how it will contribute to their training success (1/2 page); and
   2. how the training they expect to acquire will contribute to their productivity and to the research goals they hope to achieve. Indicate why they decided upon the proposed training location and what they expect to learn from the training experience (1/2 page).
5. Nominee’s C.V. (no page restriction); and
    
6. A short personal biography written by the nominee (max. 1/3 page), which may be used on the SGS Postdoctoral Fellows website or other communications, should they be successfully selected as a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow.

Nominations received by the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) will be evaluated based on the following selection criteria. Nominees, supervisors, graduate units/departments, and faculties are encouraged to consider these criteria when developing their applications and when selecting nominees to be forwarded.

The committee will adjudicate the two self-identification categories independently.

In selecting Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellows, preference will be given to nominees who have not yet held a postdoctoral fellowship. In addition, the School of Graduate Studies will be seeking to balance diversity of the candidates and distribution of Postdoctoral Fellows across academic divisions to ensure that program goals and objectives are met.

Using a holistic approach, committee members assign a score for each nomination package they review, using the following as a guide:

Results of the competition will be made available and communicated to Faculty Research Offices in mid-June 2026.

Shirley Chan
Research Services Officer
John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design
Email: shirley.chan@daniels.utoronto.ca

Statement of Land Acknowledgement

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.