Nominators are primary grant holders on an active grant from an eligible funding opportunity. A full description of eligibility for nominators can be found here. 

Step 1: Confirm your eligibility

CIRTA program requirements for nominators include: 

• USask faculty member 
• Primary grant holder on an active grant from an eligible funding opportunity from one of the three federal funding agencies at the time of nomination
• Eligible to supervise doctoral students and/or postdoctoral researchers 
• Able to facilitate the nominee conducting researcher in one of the identifed priority areas

Step 2: Identify an eligible nominee 

CIRTA program requirements for nominees include: 

• Any citizenship, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected people
• Cannot have a current affiliation with a Canadian institution and must be currently studying or working abroad 
• Doctoral award: must be eligible to enroll in a doctoral program at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date and have applied to a program. Priority will be given to nominees who have been accepted to a program at USask at the time of nomination. 
• Postdoctoral award: Must be qualified to undertake postdoctoral research at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date. 
• Should be aware of STRAC policies 

Step 3: Submit a nomination form

An online nomination form is expected to be avilable on January 15th, following the release of more application requirements by CIRTA. 

Nominees will also be expected to contribute to the nomination process - depending on what is required by the agency - and can only be nominated to one eligible institution. 

There may be additional information required from the nominator and nominee, depending on what the CIRTA program requests from institutions. 

USask Award Allocations

The CIRTA one-time program operates in two waves and allocates a set number of awards provided to Canadian institutions. 

Wave 1 nominations must be submitted by March 4th, 2026, with decisions announced by the Tri-Agencies in early April. Wave 2 is expected to run in early summer. 

For Wave 1, USask has been allocated 8 doctoral awards and 5 postdoctoral awards. 

• Doctoral awards: $40,000 per year, up to 36 months
• Postdoctoral awards: $70,000 per year, up to 24 months 

USask Adjudication Process 

USask nominations will be adjudicated by a committee chaired by the Dean of CGPS with representation from all Tri-Agencies as well as the Awards Committee. Only those nomination packages that meet the program's eligibility criteriea will be considered. 

USask adjudication will be based on: 

• The nominee's academic and research achievements 
• Alignment and representation in the eight priority research areas and the three funding agencies 
• Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) considerations for both nominators and nominees 

Priority will be given to: 

• Nominees who are Canadian citizens and who have previously left Canada for research and/or work experience who wish to return to Canada to continue their research 
• Doctoral nominees who have already been accepted to a USask program 
• Postdoctoral candidates who have received their PhD within the last 2 years 
• Nominators whose grants extend beyond December 31, 2026

Note: If a nominee is unable to accept the award, the nominator may redirect the nomination to a new individual at USask in Wave 2. 

For more information, contact Leah Johnson, Director, Graduate Scholarships & Awards Services, CGPS.

• Contact Leah Johnson