Advance your research career in Canada with the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA), a prestigious new opportunity designed to support outstanding PhD students working or studying around the world.
The Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards recognize and support international researchers at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. By providing high quality training opportunities in priority fields, the program strives to attract global talent and strengthen Canada's research ecosystem. Doctoral awards are $40,000/year for up to three years. Students who choose to study at Waterloo and are successful in the major federal and provincial competitions will also receive the President's Graduate Scholarship.
Read the full announcement from the tri-agencies to learn more about these awards.
The University of Waterloo deadline to apply for wave one of CIRTA closed on February 17, 2026.
Waterloo’s wave two of CIRTA have now launched, with a quota of five PhD students who will begin their studies in fall 2026 or winter 2027 term. Supervisors wishing to nominate their PhD applicant, please review the timeline below.
Timeline for CIRTA nominators
- 12 noon EDT, May 8, 2026: Deadline for the University of Waterloo faculty members to submit nomination for a PhD applicant.
- Summer 2026: Results announced
- PhD student start: fall 2026 term; latest intake: winter 2027 term.
Eligibility
- Supervisors
- Must be the primary grant holder (PI) on an active tri-agency grant (April 2025 - March 2027), as listed on the CIRTA Q&A page
- Must be eligible to supervise a doctoral student as per University of Waterloo regulations
- Must commit to providing support for PhD student for the full duration of their PhD degree program (beyond the 3 years CIRTA funding) as per institutional minimum funding level
- PhD student nominees
- Must be currently outside of Canada and not affiliated with a Canadian institution
- Must meet date requirements: must begin studies in fall 2026 or winter 2027, with an active application and/or offer of admission
- Proposed research conducted at Waterloo must align with at least one of the following priority research areas:
- Advanced digital technologies (AI, quantum, cybersecurity)
- Health, including biotechnology
- Clean technology and resource value chains
- Environment, climate resilience, and the Arctic
- Food and water security
- Democratic and community resilience
- Manufacturing and advanced materials
- Defence and dual-use technologies
University of Waterloo faculty members interested in nominating a PhD student, please complete the CIRTA PhD nomination form wave 2 (WatIAM login required).