Junior Fellow Academy Overview
The Junior Fellow Academy of CIFAR is an elite fellowship program designed to build research and leadership capacity in gifted young scholars at a critical early stage of career development. The program is targeted to individuals who have completed their PhD within the three years prior to advertised Junior Fellowship starting dates and have demonstrated outstanding scholarship and research potential. The Academy provides unique opportunities for personal and professional growth through close collaboration with and mentorship from some of the best researchers in Canada and around the world.
Through the Junior Fellow Academy, CIFAR aims to build a closely connected and long-lasting community of outstanding young leaders, representing a wide-ranging spectrum of expertise, who will help lay a strong foundation for the future of advanced research both within and beyond Canada’s borders.
How It Works:
CIFAR’s Junior Fellow Academy offers rare opportunities that distinguish it from other prestigious fellowship programs for recent PhD graduates:
- Junior Fellows are embedded in a CIFAR interdisciplinary research program throughout their appointment. Junior Fellows are treated as full program members, meaning that they have the opportunity to meet regularly and work closely with some of the most internationally renowned investigators in their fields on some of the biggest questions of importance to Canada and the world.
- Junior Fellows also benefit from career-building opportunities provided through the Junior Fellow Academy. One or two meetings per year enable Junior Fellows to network with their peers across CIFAR’s programs. The meetings are designed as much as possible by the Junior Fellows themselves, according to prevailing group interests. Typically, some sessions are devoted to exchanging research ideas, methodologies and approaches that might help others perceive new ways of problem solving. Meetings also feature distinguished guest speakers representing different realms of advanced research, policy and communications. Ample time for free discussion is always provided.
By participating in both an innovative CIFAR research program and the leadership-building Junior Fellow Academy, Junior Fellows learn to embrace CIFAR’s core values: to think broadly and imaginatively across disciplines and to collaborate on a deep level with colleagues. These unique opportunities are intended to profoundly impact a Junior Fellow’s future career path.
At full capacity, the Junior Fellow Academy is comprised of 24 Junior Fellows, with two participating in each of CIFAR’s twelve programs. Follow this link to view profiles of CIFAR’s current Junior Fellows.
Junior Fellowship positions within each program become available at different times. CIFAR will announce upcoming positions twice per year, in summer and fall. Follow this link to see the list of currently advertised positions. Follow this link to read general application instructions.
CIFAR Junior Fellowships are always held in conjunction with a formal university or research institute appointment. The typical form of university appointment for a Junior Fellow is a two-year postdoctoral fellowship, in which he or she works under the supervision of one or more CIFAR program members. An exception is made for candidates in the social sciences, where postdoctoral appointments are less common. Individuals in those disciplines may hold a Junior Fellowship as junior faculty members.
A Junior Fellow with a junior faculty appointment will have one or more designated mentors or research collaborators within the CIFAR program during the period of his or her Fellowship. For more details, please read Guidelines and Policies for Junior Fellow Appointments.