News & Events

Description:

This round of the HQP pooled resource competition aims to fund:

• New/Incoming Graduate (Master’s and PhD) students with a start date in Sept 2026 for up to two years
• Current Undergraduate students for four months 

The guideline and application form are provided. Funding for positions is available to those pursuing astroparticle physics research in Canada aligned with the McDonald Institute Research Strategy.

Eligibility: The applicant must be faculty/PI able to supervise at a Canadian academic institution and be eligible to hold an institutional account for grants or awards (e.g., granting agencies, or currently receives McDonald Institute funding).

The proposal must be in line with the McDonald Institute’s vision and scientific goals.

Proposal: Applicants can apply for multiple positions; however, a separate application form for each position must be completed. Where applicable, certain information may be copied between your applications, but each position is unique and will be considered based on the merits of the application package. Template completion is mandatory and includes several sections with assigned page limits.

For this stream, a student may not need to be identified at the time of applying.

Applications that are incomplete or fail to follow the template will not be considered. Once a proposal has been submitted, a confirmation email will be sent.

How it works: Successful supervisors will be granted one ticket for each successful position. The awarded ticket is expected to be filled by Sept 2026. The position is considered filled when a signed letter of offer or comparative letter is received by the McDonald Institute. All unused tickets and/or portions of funding will be returned to the pool.

Ticket Value:

The McDonald Institute recognizes that different institutions have different pay scales and arrangements for student salaries. The expectation is for salaries to be consistent with the norms in your department. You may offer a higher salary however, the absolute maximum contribution from the McDonald Institute in Direct costs will be:

• $30k maximum per year over two years for a PhD candidate, or
• $26k maximum per year over two years for a Masters student, or
• $12k maximum per four-month term for an undergraduate student.

Timeline:
Competition Closes: January 28, 2026, 4:00 pm EDT
Results Released: February 2026

Completed applications should be sent to admin@mcdonaldinstitute.ca with the subject line “MRS HQP Pooled Resources Round 2 – {Faculty Last Name}”.

• Download the program guidelines here (170 KB)
• Download application form and scoring matrix here (55 KB) 
• Download the ‘Alignment with the McDonald Institute Research Strategy’ document here (136 KB)