Aspiration Post-doctoral Fellowships
The Vice-President Research and Innovation provides competitive match-funding for faculty to recruit outstanding new post-doctoral fellows to conduct cutting-edge research at the 51³Ô¹Ï. This investment advances our world-class training and commitments to develop the next generation of research leaders.
Aspiration Post-doctoral Fellowships provide two years of critical salary support, research training, and recognition for outstanding post-doctoral fellows. These fellowships are intended to recruit post-doctoral fellows new to the 51³Ô¹Ï.
In the 2025-26 competition, four fellowships will be awarded in a competitive process. Proposed research may be in any area. Proposals will be evaluated in part on their ability to make an impact through fundamental inquiry in alignment with Aspiration 2030’s impact areas. The five impact areas are: climate, environmental change and sustainability, health and wellness, indigenous-led scholarship, social justice and equity, and technology and the human experience. Proposed research that has the potential to raise the external profile of the university in high impact areas will be prioritized. Post-doctoral candidates must demonstrate how they will advance Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in their research and discipline.
The 2025–2026 competition will also introduce the Aspiration Post-doctoral Fellowships in BC Biodiversity Conservation. These fellowships will be awarded to candidates whose proposed research advances understanding of BC biodiversity conservation, with a preference for research that centres on or considers the impacts of climate change. One or two of these fellowships will be awarded in addition to the four other Aspiration Fellowships.
About Aspiration 2030
The Aspiration Post-doctoral Fellowship program is an initiative of Aspiration 2030, UVic’s Research and Creative Works Strategy, which identifies the university’s research aspirations, actions, outcomes and impact areas. UVic’s vision is creating a better world through curiosity, engagement and innovation. The aspirations and actions outlined in Aspiration 2030 reflect the university’s unwavering institutional commitment to research and creative work in all its forms.
Key information
Salary
Eligibility
Candidates must be new to UVic and have received their PhD by the start date of the fellowship, but not more than two years prior to the application deadline, barring special circumstances. There is no citizenship requirement. The proposed research may be in any area.
Duration
Help
For the 2025–2026 competition:
Number of fellowships
Application deadline
Start date
Results
How to apply
Applications must be submitted using the online . In addition to the questions in the form, the application components consist of a candidate statement, a supervisor statement, a research proposal, a candidate CV, and a special circumstances document (if applicable). Candidates must also secure two letters of reference that must be sent directly to postdocadmin@uvic.ca.
Instructions for each application component are provided below. These instructions, as well as the eligibility requirements, conditions of the fellowship and information about adjudication are available as a pdf. All submitted documents must be on an 8.5 x 11-inch size page with 12-point font text and a minimum of 2 cm margins on all sides.
The deadline for the 2025-2026 competition is Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 5pm Pacific.
Application checklist
- Confirm eligibility and review conditions
- Compile required documents into a single pdf to submit via the application form
- Candidate statement (1 page)
- Supervisor(s) statement (1 page)
- Research proposal (2 pages + references)
- Candidate CV (no page limit)
- Special circumstances (if applicable, 1 page)
- Request two letters of reference be sent to postdocadmin@uvic.ca
- 51³Ô¹Ï by completing the online
The application form will request the following information. You will not be able to save your responses, so please ensure you have all of the required information available before completing the form.
Post-doctoral candidate information
- Name
- Current position (e.g. PhD student, post-doctoral fellow)
- Current institution
- Whether or not your doctoral degree is completed
- If yes, the date of completion
- If no, the anticipated date of completion and the name and email of your current primary supervisor
-
- Name
- Position title
- Academic unit
- Research centre affiliations (if applicable)
- Project title
- Lay abstract (max 300 words)
- Proposed start date (must be on or before September 1, 2026)
- External fellowships
- List at least one external fellowship that you intend to apply for or have already applied for
- Please note the application deadline, as well as when you would be able to begin the external fellowship if your application was successful
- This list will be used in part to assess the demonstrated and potential research and leadership success of the candidate (Evaluation Criterion I)
- Letters of reference
- Provide the names and email addresses of your two referees
- Your proposed supervisor(s) may not be a reference
- Letters of reference must be submitted directly by email to postdocadmin@uvic.ca before the application deadline and not uploaded by the candidate
- We will not email the referees to request letters
- Aspiration 2030 Impact Areas
- Indicate, if applicable, the alignment of your research project with one or more of the five impact areas of the Aspiration 2030
- Climate, environmental change and sustainability
- Health and wellness
- Indigenous-led scholarship
- Social justice and equity
- Technology and the human experience
- Indicate, if applicable, the alignment of your research project with one or more of the five impact areas of the Aspiration 2030
- Aspiration Post-doctoral Fellowship in BC Biodiversity Conservation
- Indicate if you wish to additionally be considered for the Aspiration Post-doctoral Fellowship in BC Biodiversity Conservation
- To be considered, your proposed research must advance understanding of BC biodiversity conservation, with a preference for research that centres on or considers the impacts of climate change
- If you choose to be considered for this fellowship, you will still be considered for all other Aspiration Post-doctoral Fellowships
- You will then be required to upload all materials as a single pdf named using the following format: "AspirationPDF_CandidateLastName(s)_CandidateFirstName(s).pdf". This must include the candidate statement, supervisor statement, research proposal, candidate CV, and special circumstances (if applicable).
- Maximum of 1 page.
- To be completed by the post-doctoral fellow candidate.
- The candidate statement should summarize how this fellowship will help the candidate advance their independent career, provide an outline of their background and training, describe their past contributions and future plans to advance EDI in their research and discipline(s), discuss the training and experience they expect to receive, and justify their choice of supervisor(s).
- This document will be used primarily to assess the demonstrated and potential research and leadership success of the candidate (Evaluation Criterion I) but may also be used to assess the quality of the proposed research environment, including synergy with the proposed supervisor(s) and integration with a research centre, group, lab, and/or partner organization (Evaluation Criterion III).
- Maximum of 1 page.
- To be completed by the UVic faculty supervisor(s). If there is a primary and co-supervisor, the maximum length is still 1 page, and the supervisors should collaborate on the statement.
- The supervisor(s) statement should address both the synergy of the proposed research with their own research, as well as the research environment.
- The supervisor(s) statement should describe the fit between their research interests and those of the candidate and the anticipated mutual benefits, provide specifics about how the proposed research complements their ongoing projects and/or new research directions, detail the contributions that both they and the candidate have made in the design and development of the proposed research, as well as highlight the contribution the candidate would make to their academic unit and/or research centre.
- The supervisor(s) statement should provide details co