Banting Fellowships

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program sponsored by the Government of Canada provides funding to the very best postdoctoral applicants who will positively contribute to Canada’s economic, social and research-based growth. Please take special notice of the eligibility criteria listed below.

The objective of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program is to:

  • attract and retain top-tier postdoctoral talent, both nationally and internationally
  • develop their leadership potential
  • position them for success as research leaders of tomorrow

MIT is only eligible to accept Banting Fellowships under the following conditions as a non-Canadian institution:

  • the applicant is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and
  • they have received their PhD (or equivalent) from a Canadian university. 

For those that are interested in applying for placement at MIT, please note the application requires an MIT institutional letter of endorsement. To request an institutional letter of endorsement, all potential applicants must submit materials for internal review well in advance of the sponsor’s deadline. Applicants will be required to submit their materials to MIT by August 10, 2023. This deadline allows enough time for the applications to be reviewed, selected, endorsed, and for the letters to be processed and signed by the Office of the Vice President for Research. Late applications will not be reviewed.

Please note that submitting materials for placement at MIT does not guarantee an endorsement will be provided.

Who May Submit

Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are not in a tenure track or tenured faculty position; who have or will have received a Ph.D.; Ph.D. equivalent or health professional degree between September 15, 2020, and September 30, 2024 (inclusively) from a Canadian Institution; and will have received the degree before the start of the fellowship.

Applicants who have not fulfilled all requirements for their degree at the time of application must submit proof no later than October 15, 2024.

The sponsor expects that Banting Fellowship applicants will apply to institutions other than where they are currently affiliated. Current MIT Ph.D. students and Postdoctoral Fellows who wish to apply to the Banting Fellowship and remain at MIT must provide a strong justification for this exceptional circumstance which will be assessed as part of the selection committee review process. Please read the full details on this justification in the Special Circumstances section of the Banting website.  

Please note that applicants who currently hold or have held agency-specific (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) awards at the postdoctoral level are eligible to apply to the 2023-24 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program only if the term of that funding officially ends on or before September 30, 2024, and prior to the start of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Eligibility may be extended if an applicant’s career was interrupted due to parental leave; illness; health-related family responsibilities, or mandatory military service.

Instructions for MIT Letter of Endorsement

  1. Confirm eligibility. Please refer to the Banting Fellowship website for the list of criteria.
  2. Directly contact your desired MIT supervisor that you think may be a good fit for you and your research interests. Please confirm their willingness to host you as a postdoc.
    • The applicant and supervisor must carefully consider which selection committee should review the application. For more details on choosing the area of research, please see the Identify area of research section of the Banting website.
    • Discuss any established research-related policies and protocols (e.g., protocols for conducting research involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada; approvals for research involving the use of humans, animals or biohazards)
  3. After receiving confirmation that you have a potential host supervisor, please ask them who the most appropriate administrative officer is for their Department, Lab, Center or Institute (DLCI) to discuss the details of the appointment. This person can answer questions you may have about the below information. General information regarding postdoctoral fellows at MIT is at the MIT Postdocs website. 
    • details of the fellowship appointment.
      • any benefits offered to the Banting postdoctoral researcher
      • any financial obligations associated with the appointment (insurance premiums, etc.)
      • the rights and responsibilities of postdoctoral researchers
      • any other institution-specific policies that might apply to a Banting postdoctoral researcher
    • You will also need to request from the DLCI Administrative Officer a confirmation that if you are selected as a Banting Fellow, you will be appointed as a postdoc in their DLCI. This request will be a part of the MIT internal application materials
  4. Once you have confirmed your eligibility, your potential host supervisor, and you have contacted the appropriate administrative officer you should submit the following application materials to the internal submission portal for consideration of institutional endorsement.
  5. Please submit the following submission materials by August 3, 2022, at InfoReady.
  • Cover Page including applicant name, contact information, DLCI, current citizenship status, name of degree-granting institution, date degree was conferred, and the Canadian Institute/Council to which you are applying
  • Three to four sentences describing your research in general (layman’s terms)
  • Brief Research Proposal (2-page max)
  • CV or Biosketch (2-page maximum)
  • Brief pdf of email or letter from your prospective faculty host/supervisor confirming that you will be accepted as a postdoc in their lab if awarded a Banting Fellowship.
  • MIT Supervisor’s endorsement statement of synergy between their interests and background, the Institute’s strategic priorities, and the applicant’s proposed research program.  The letter must include a confirmation the applicant will be accepted as a postdoc in their lab if awarded a Banting Fellowship
  • Email confirmation from DLCI Administrative Officer confirming the applicant will be appointed as a postdoc if awarded a Banting Fellowship. PDF of email is okay for submission.
  1. In early September, all applicants will be notified whether they have been endorsed.
  2. Applicants selected for MIT endorsement will receive the required Institutional Letter of Endorsement for inclusion in their application package in early September.  Any questions regarding this letter should be directed to ResearchDev@mit.edu.
  3. If endorsed the applicant must provide, to their proposed supervisor, a copy of the completed application that will be submitted to the sponsor including the institutional letter of endorsement. A copy of the referee letters will not be included as the letters are confidential and submitted directly to the sponsor via a secure link. The proposed supervisor and their administrator will route those materials to Research Administrative Services (RAS). RAS will confirm you have arranged for submission by September 20, 2023. MIT Administrators, please note RAS requires only a summary budget of $70k to be included with the materials.

Deadlines

Internal Proposals due: August 10, 2023 (11:59 PM)

Proposals due to RAS: September 13, 2023

Proposals due to sponsor: 20:00 EDT September 20, 2023

Start Date of Fellowship: April 2024 - October 2024

Internal proposals must be received by August 10, 2023, in order to provide adequate time for committee review and selection, as well as preparation of the required institutional letter of endorsement. We anticipate receiving the committee’s endorsement decisions by late August. Letters of endorsement will be distributed by September 10th.

Applicants selected for MIT endorsement will receive the required institutional letter of endorsement for inclusion in their application package. Any questions regarding this letter should be directed to ResearchDev@mit.edu.

MIT currently requires proposals to be submitted to Research Administrative Services (RAS) to create a record of the Institute’s proposal commitment and to collect proposal certifications to screen for Conflicts of Interest associated with research performed at MIT.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • To access InfoReady where the submission portal is located, you can register without an MIT ID at InfoReady. 

    On the webpage, click “Login” on the top right corner. You will see a grey box titled “Login for non-MIT users”. Towards the bottom of that box, you will see a button to register for a non-MIT account. Please note you can only create a non-MIT account with a Google domain email address

  • References are not included in the page limit.

  • DLCI stands for Departments, Labs, Centers and Institutes. The MIT professor that is interested in supporting you will let you know what DLCI they belong to.

  • The internal committee reviews the nominations shortly after the submission portal closes. They are aware of the deadlines and eager to review the materials. They will review the proposals thoroughly and you should expect to receive a notification regarding the institutional endorsement via email. We hope to distribute notices by early September. The institutional letters of endorsement have typically been distributed by September 11, 2023.

    We recommend contacting your additional references as soon as possible to request their support and to give them enough time to prepare their letters of support. You may inform them you are currently in the process of seeking an MIT endorsement for the Banting Fellowship.

  • The committee will not be able to determine if the submission is qualified until it is received and reviewed. Please include all materials required for endorsement in the submission materials. Once the application is reviewed, endorsed candidates will receive a letter of endorsement typically by September 10th. Those who are not endorsed will also receive a notification. Please note that the committee will not provide feedback.

  • Please ask the MIT professor that is interested in supporting your application to connect you with the appropriate DLCI Administrative Officer. The objective is to have confirmation from the department that the candidate will be appointed as a postdoc if awarded a Banting Fellowship. This email can be a brief statement of confirmation.

  • While awards are made directly to the fellow, MIT currently requires all applications or proposals to be submitted to RAS to create a record of the Institute’s commitment and to collect proposal certifications to screen for conflicts of interest associated with research performed at MIT.

    MIT administrators, please note RAS requires only a summary budget of $70,000 to be included with the materials.