Upcoming changes to NSERC and SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship payments

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) are making changes to the way that NSERC and SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellows will be paid.

Effective April 1, 2022, all NSERC and SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships will be paid through eligible Canadian host institutions, including UBC. All postdoctoral fellowships with a start date on or after April 1, 2022 will be administered through eligible Canadian host institutions. 

The tri-agencies are currently working to develop procedures for this updated payment method for NSERC and SSHRC Postdoctoral fellowships. Specific payment details are still being finalized, but at this point, the tri-agencies can confirm the following details:

  • No portion of the fellowship can be withheld by a host institution without the prior consent of the award holder, except for taxation purposes. 
  • Host institutions will be required to issue T4As.

Specific policies pertaining to a Postdoctoral Fellow’s employment or award recipient status will continue to be governed by the terms of the agreement between the postdoc and UBC as laid out in the postdoc’s offer letter.

For more information on the change, visit the NSERC website.