CIHR Strategic Master’s Award
The CIHR Strategic Master's Award (external link) program provides financial support to scholars who are engaged in an eligible master's program in Canada and that are relevant to specific CIHR priority research areas. This support allows these scholars to concentrate on their studies in their chosen fields.
The CIHR Strategic Master's Award program is supported by CIHR Institutes and Initiatives with specific priority areas and is administered by CIHR.
Research Areas
This funding opportunity will support projects relevant to the following research areas:
- CIHR - Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (external link) : The CRPPHE's mandate (external link) is to grow Canada's research leadership in preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery from pandemics and public health emergencies (external link) , including by building and supporting Canadian research capacity in these areas. CRPPHE encourages interdisciplinary applications, including (but not limited to) those that are focused on questions requiring One Health (external link) approaches, more than one of the emergency management pillars (external link) (i.e., preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery), and/or spanning more than one pillar of health research, i.e. biomedical; clinical; health systems services; and population health.
- CIHR - Institute of Genetics (IG) (external link) : Applications must focus on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and Health Data Science in genetics and genomics. Applications that address health equity, sex and gender and/or Indigenous health and wellness issues are encouraged.
- CIHR - Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) (external link) : Applications must focus on Sex, Gender and Intersectionality in Health Research. The IGH mandate, includes but is not limited to 2S/LGBTQIA+ Health and Wellness and Women's Health through an intersectional lens as well as race, racism, gender and health.
- CIHR - Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health (IIPH) (external link) : Applications must focus on First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis Health and Indigenous Health. IIPH fosters the advancement of a national health research agenda to improve and promote the health of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples in Canada, through research, knowledge translation and capacity building. The Institute's pursuit of research excellence is enhanced by respect for community research priorities and Indigenous knowledges, values and cultures.
Up to $17,500 per year for up to one year.
Apply through the ResearchNet portal (external link) by December 14, 2023.
Eligibility to Apply (external link)
For an application to be eligible, the applicant must:
- be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) as of the application deadline date
- be enrolled in or have applied for full-time admission* to an eligible master's program (external link) :
- Program of study eligibility: An eligible master's program must include a significant research component that leads to the completion of a thesis, major research project, dissertation, scholarly publication, performance, recital and/or exhibit that is merit/expert-reviewed at the institutional level as a requirement for completion of the program.
- Joint programs (equivalent to a master's level) with a professional degree for example, MD/PhD, DVM/PhD, JD/MA, JD/PhD, MBA/PhD, MA/MBA) as well as clinically oriented programs of study, including clinical psychology, are eligible if they have a significant autonomous research component, as described above.
- Master's programs that are based only on course work are not eligible since they do not include a significant research component, as described above.
- The Institution Paid must be authorized to administer CIHR funds (external link) by the application deadline (see List of CIHR Eligible Institutions (external link) )
- identify a primary supervisor (external link) on the application. Consult the funding opportunity and the CIHR Application Administration Guide (external link) for more information.
- have completed, as of December 31 of the year of application
- either between 0 and 18 months of full-time studies (or full-time equivalent) with a minimum of 12 months of study remaining upon award activation in the program for which the applicant is requesting funding,** which may be one of the following:
- a master's program
- a combined master's-doctoral program
- a master's program that will transition to an eligible doctoral program, either before or after award activation, with no master's degree conferred (fast-track)
- either between 0 and 18 months of full-time studies (or full-time equivalent) with a minimum of 12 months of study remaining upon award activation in the program for which the applicant is requesting funding,** which may be one of the following:
- not be currently holding a CGS M scholarship from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC
- complete one of CIHR's three interactive modules on sex and gender in research and include the completion certificate with their application (How to Apply (external link) section for further details).
Note: Applicants may submit a maximum of one CIHR Strategic Master's Award application per academic year. Applicants may also submit an application to the CGS Master's program for the same academic year. Note that nominations to the Vanier CGS (external link) program and applications to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships (external link) program do not count toward this limit (other exceptions may apply to CIHR internships).
*Refer to the Tri-agency research training award holder's guide (external link) for details regarding part-time admission.
**All studies credited toward the eligible program will be counted, whether or not they were completed at the degree-granting institution.
- The application process for this funding opportunity is comprised of one step: Full Application using ResearchNet.
- To complete the Full Application, follow the "Specific Instructions" listed. Please read all instructions regarding the application process before applying.
- Applicants who are Protected Persons must contact CIHR's Contact Centre (external link) for additional instructions
- Applicants and their Primary supervisor are required to:
- Have/obtain a ResearchNet account (external link)
- Have/obtain a CIHR PIN (external link)
- Complete the Self-identification Questionnaire (external link) .
Applicants and their supervisor(s) should each only have one ResearchNet account. If you have already accessed ResearchNet in the past, do not register for a new account.
Review Process and Evaluation (external link)
Funding Decision
Upon completion of the peer review, CIHR will generate ranking lists for each pool (research area). These lists will be used for funding decision-making purposes and will remain anonymous. Applications will be funded by pool from the top down in order of ranking as far as the budget will allow. Each relevant pool will have its own, separate funding budget as described in Funds Available (external link) .
CIHR reserves the right to break ties in ranking by using the consolidated percent rank for ties between applications within a committee.
The names of successfully funded applicants will be published on the CIHR website.
Sponsor Description (external link)
(PDF file) CIHR Strategic Master’s Award Webinar for Applicants