Excellence doctoral scholarships

CONTEXT

This scholarship program aims at recruiting up to 4 students who will start a PhD in oceanography at ISMER on a full-time basis in the fall 2026 or winter 2027. The excellence fellowships, in the amount of 30 000 to 35 700 $/year (+ a scholarship to cover the additional tuition fees required for international students, if applicable), will be for a period of three years.

The doctoral thesis will be carried out in co-direction with researchers from ISMER and the Geological Survey of Canada. The team of supervisors foster an equitable, diverse and inclusive training environment that facilitates the personalization of ideas and originality of the research work. The research teams accompany each student on their research journey and emphasize the development of critical thinking skills, the personalization of research goals, and the dissemination of science in the public sphere. In addition to available scholarships, the costs associated with research, fieldwork and some research dissemination activities are covered by the research projects.

Les CANDIDATES ET candidats doivent remplir les critères suivants pour être éligibles

• Start the doctoral program in the semester of Fall 2026 or Winter 2027;
• Be enrolled full-time in the PhD program in oceanography at ISMER at the time of the award;
• Meet the basic requirements for admission to the PhD program in oceanography at UQAR;
• Hold a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.7/4.3 or equivalent (e.g. ≥ 14/20);
• The doctoral thesis must be completed under the supervision of a regular professor at ISMER or UQAR and a researcher at the Geological Survey of Canada;
• Have obtained a letter of support from the team of supervisors in charge of one of the available projects (link here).

Interested candidates have to submit a complete CV (including scientific communications, grants, awards, missions at sea or fieldwork, examples of leadership, etc. ), a letter of motivation explaining the candidate’s background and how it relates to the proposed project and the PhD in oceanography at ISMER, all university grade transcripts, a letter of support from team of supervisors responsible for the project and three (3) letters of recommendation (one of which must be from a supervisor of the student’s research) in electronic format (a single .pdf document smaller than 15 Mo) before March 20, 2026 at ismer@uqar.ca

Students with atypical academic backgrounds are encouraged to detail the acquisition of skills from their experiences in their cover letter. Please note that ISMER is able to offer accommodations during the recruitment process for the persons concerned. We invite you to inform us of your needs if necessary. ISMER, MLI and OFI place great importance on the diversity of the research community where individual differences are recognized, appreciated, respected and valued, in order to develop the full potential and to take advantage of the talents and strengths of each person.

Only complete applications that meet the criteria for this scholarship program will be evaluated by the selection committee after the application deadline. We are committed to an equal opportunity philosophy and strongly encourage applications from women, persons with disabilities, visible and ethnic minorities, and Aboriginal people.