Mitacs Funding Opportunities

This webpage summarizes key points about Mitacs funding opportunities. Mitacs supports fellowships for Ph.D. students & post-doctoral fellows, internship programs, and student travel awards. A key feature of many Mitacs programs is that contributions by partner organizations (i.e., companies or not-for-profit organizations) are matched by Mitacs at a minimum 1:1 basis.

To learn more about Mitacs and related funding opportunities, visit mitacs.ca .

Important Update (June 26, 2024):

Mitacs has announced significant reduction of available funding in 2024-2025 for the  Accelerate program, including joint Mitacs–Tri-Agency applications. Queen's has been allocated a maximum submission limit of 170 Accelerate Internship Units for the current fiscal year (April 1, 2024 through to March 31, 2025).

Read the full update.

 

Ongoing Programs

Eligibility

  • Interns may be students (undergraduate or graduate), post-doctoral fellows with an appointment at Queen’s or recent graduates (within two years of graduation).
    • Undergraduate students participating in a Mitacs project when not concurrently enrolled in academic courses are not covered under Queen‘s insurance. If any interns will be in this position, please speak with your discipline specific Research Projects Advisor.
    • For information on hiring a post-doctoral fellow, please visit the Office of Post-Doctoral Training Hiring a Post-Doctoral Fellow  
    • If more than 5 years have passed since the fellow obtained their PhD, an exception request must be submitted to Mitacs.  Please contact your Research Projects Advisor for more information.
    • Recent graduates must be employed as Research Assistants/Associates for the duration of the internship.
  • An intern may be “To be Determined” (TBD) at the application stage.  Once the name is known the investigator must notify Mitacs and provide the intern’s CV before they may be added to the project. 
  • Once the funding has been awarded, any changes to an intern’s status, project dates or intern replacements must be reported to Deirdre Hindmarch, Research Facilitator and the Mitacs office.
  • To participate in any Mitacs Accelerate program, it is preferred that interns have full-time student,  postdoc or employment status at the academic institution of the project supervisor. However, part-time students are also eligible for Accelerate internships that do not include international travel, provided that certain conditions are met. Please speak with your Research Projects Advisor for more information.

Key Points

  • Deadline: Apply anytime
  • Amount: $10K, $15K or $20K per internship unit
  • Duration: 4-6 months per internship unit
  • Time spent with partner: 25-75% of time
  • Funding formula
    • “Standard” internships with $10K, $15K, or $20K units.  The minimum stipend is $10K and up to $5K can be used for research costs & travel. 50% of the funding comes from Mitacs and the remainder from the partner. 
    • “Clustered” internships with $13.3K units.  The minimum stipend is $10K per unit. Increased partner leveraging to 1:1.22. Available for projects with 6+ internship units and 3+ interns.
    • Funding options can be mixed-and-matched
  • Scalable: The Mitacs Accelerate internship program is scalable in its design and can range in value from $10,000 to $10,000,000+. Projects can go from a single four-month internship unit to multiple units combined together to accommodate projects up to 5 years.

Accelerate program details 

Eligibility

  • Interns must be Master’s or PhD students.
  • An intern may be “To be Determined” (TBD) at the application stage.  Once the name is known the investigator must notify Mitacs and provide the intern’s CV before they may be added to the project. 
  • Once the funding has been awarded, changes to the intern’s status, the project dates or any intern replacements must receive prior approval from Mitacs. 
  • In order to participate in any Mitacs program, it is preferred that interns have full-time student status at their academic institution. Please speak with your Research Projects Advisor for more information.

Key Points

About the Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship
 
The Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship provides a long-term funding and internship option for master’s and PhD students. Recipients can also access professional development training that helps them ensure project success and gain in-demand career skills.

Interested applicants can apply for the Accelerate Fellowship at any time . All other Accelerate program guidelines apply.

Funding Master's Master's PhD  PhD 
Project length 18 months
(1.5 years)
24 months
(2 years)
36 months
(3 years)
48 months
(4 years)
Internship Units (IU)
(6 months/IU)
3 IU 4 IU 6 IU 8 IU
Total research award $40,000 $53,333 $80,000 $106,666
Minimum intern stipend $30,000
($20,000/year)
$40,000
($20,000/year)
$60,000
($20,000/year)
$80,000
($20,000/year)
Partner organization contribution $18,000 $24,000 $36,000 $48,000

Fellowship program details 

Eligibility

  • Interns must be post-doctoral fellows who are named at the time of application stage.
    • For information on hiring a post-doctoral fellow, please visit the Office of Post-Doctoral Training Hiring a Post-Doctoral Fellow  
    • If more than 5 years have passed since the fellow obtained their PhD, an exception request must be submitted to Mitacs.  Please contact your Research Projects Advisor for more information.
  • Fellows who have held a Mitacs Accelerate award as a Master's or PhD student are eligible as long as they have not completed more than one year (three internship units equivalent) of Mitacs Accelerate at postdoctoral level. This must be completed before the start of the Mitacs Elevate fellowship
  • Fellows cannot apply to multiple Mitacs programs for the same period of time.
  • Candidates may apply if their date of graduation from a PhD program is no more than five years prior to the proposed start date of the research project.

Key points

  • A $60,000 minimum annual stipend/salary
  • Partner organization contributes $30,000 per year
  • An exclusive professional development curriculum
  • Proposal assistance, including application feedback, from Mitacs representatives
  • Certificate of completion after receipt of their exit survey and final report submission
  • Duration: 1-2 years
  • Time spent at partner: At least 50% of the fellowship working at the industry partner on-site on a research project of mutual interest 
  • Explore enhanced leveraging opportunities available to your partner organization by contacting the Queen’s Business Development Representative   

How to apply

Eligibility

  • The Mitacs Globalink Research Award provides $6,000 for full-time senior undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in Canada to conduct research projects at universities overseas (partner countries). Eligible research projects are to be conducted over a 12-24 week duration, and successful applications will include a strong statement on the 'benefits to Canada'.
  • Interns must be “named” at the time of the application and must retain “full-time” status throughout the duration of their Globalink Research Award.
  • Postdoctoral fellows may apply if their date of graduation from a PhD program is no more than five years prior to the proposed start date of the research project and they have postdoctoral status at an eligible institution 
  • Interns:
    • Cannot hold more than one Globalink Research Award per academic lifetime 
    • Cannot undertake a research project at an institution where they have previously completed a degree
    • Cannot undertake a research project in a country where they hold citizenship
      • Permanent residents or citizens of Canada who are enrolled in an eligible country other than Canada and who wish to do a project in Canada are eligible to apply 
      • Permanent residents or citizens of Canada who are enrolled in a Canadian institution and who hold citizenship in an eligible country may apply to do a project there 

There are two “Streams” within the GRA:

Program Name Stream Key Points
International travel award for senior undergraduate or graduate students Standard GRA
  • Co-funding required ($2000 required from Queen’s supervisor that cannot come from a tri-agency grant and $4000 from Mitacs)
  • Queen's may submit a limited number of applications to this program per year. All applications (inbound and outbound) must be received by internal deadlines  and receive institutional approval before submission to Mitacs.
  • Projects involve international institutions that are not already a Mitacs Partner
GRA with International Partner
  • Fully funded (i.e. no additional funds required from Queen’s supervisor)
  • No limit to the amount of Queen’s applications
  • Projects must involve a Mitacs international partner 
  • Check the Mitacs website  for specific details related to eligibility, direction of travel (i.e. to/from Queen’s), the timelines associated with each application and the call deadlines with each partner.

Please contact Adam Jeziorski for this program (Mitacs Globalink Research Awards (GRA)).

If you are a Queen's researcher interested in obtaining more information about the Mitacs GRA program, eligible partners or countries, please contact Michael Lacasse at mlacasse@mitacs.ca 

Contacts

For enquiries or assistance regarding any Mitacs application, please contact the corresponding representative:

Kristin Spong

Mitacs Business Development Advisor

Email  kspong@mitacs.ca

Deirdre Hindmarch

Research Facilitator

Email:  d.hindmarch@queensu.ca

Health Sciences

Dora Baczyk Jennifer Robinson

Research Projects Advisor
(Life and Health Sciences)

Email:  d.baczyk@queensu.ca

Research Projects Advisor (Health Sciences)
Faculty of Health Sciences

Phone: 613-533-6000 ext. 32944
Email:  j.robinson@queensu.ca

Natural Sciences and Engineering

Adam Jeziorski Bei Cai
Research Projects Advisor
(Faculty of Arts and Science)

Email:
 adam.jeziorski@queensu.ca
Research Projects Advisor
(Smith Engineering)

Email:
 beicai@queensu.ca

Social Sciences and Humanities

Adrian Kelly Diane Davies

Research Projects Advisor
(Social Sciences and Humanities)

Phone: 613-453-5027
Email:  adrian.kelly@queensu.ca

Research Projects Advisor
(Social Sciences, Humanities, and International Collaborations)

Phone: 613-533-6000 ext. 79422
Email diane.davies@queensu.ca

Adam Jeziorski

Email:  adam.jeziorski@queensu.ca