Contact information:
For any questions regarding postdoctoral fellowships at the Faculté des sciences, please contact stagesfs_postdoc@uqam.ca.
Finding an internship:
If you have not yet contacted a supervising professor, you can submit a letter of motivation, a curriculum vitae, and a description of the research project you intend to undertake to the professor with whom you would like to work. The directory of UQAM professors allows you to discover which professors are developing expertise relevant to your research interests. There is also a directory of research opportunities where professors post current openings in their laboratories.
Eligibility:
The candidate must hold a postgraduate degree (Ph.D. or equivalent recognized by a Quebec university) for less than five years before the start of their postdoctoral internship. If the candidate is awaiting graduation, they must submit a letter from the Registrar’s office of the institution issuing the degree, confirming that they have successfully defended their thesis.
Normative framework:
A postdoctoral internship is carried out for a minimum period of six months, unless specific funding conditions apply. Postdoctoral stipends are paid as salaries from professors’ research funds. No scholarship can be paid from research funds to cover the equivalent of a salary (a scholarship is not a salary). However, some postdoctoral fellows hold scholarships from external organizations (e.g., FRQNT).
Appendix 8 to UQAM’s Policy No. 10 on Research and Creation (only available in French) specifies the roles and responsibilities of the University, faculties, and professors regarding postdoctoral fellows. Any request for deviation from the internship conditions specified in this appendix must be submitted in detail to stagesfs_postdoc@uqam.ca.
Process overview:
Step 1 – Internship Agreement
Any offer of a postdoctoral internship must first be the subject of an agreement signed by both parties: the supervising professor and the trainee. It is the responsibility of the professor to establish this agreement using templates available on the human resources website dedicated to postdoctoral internships (Tools section at the very bottom).
The agreement must specify the hourly rate to which the trainee is entitled. To assist you in calculating this hourly rate, a document is available on the human resources website dedicated to postdoctoral internships (Tools section; salary scenario). This hourly rate must be determined carefully, as it will be specified in the work permit, in the next step.
Step 2 – Work Permit (Foreign Individuals)
In Canada, an internship (paid or unpaid) is considered work. Foreign nationals wishing to undertake a postdoctoral internship in Canada must therefore obtain a work permit.
It is the responsibility of the professor to initiate this process in collaboration with the resource person from the Faculté des sciences (stagesfs_postdoc@uqam.ca). Please send us:
- a copy of the information page of the trainee’s passport,
- a completed internship agreement,
- a salary scenario,
- a completed form for requesting an exemption from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA),
- the employer compliance fee ($230 RIG with your UBR).
The resource person from the Faculté des sciences will generate a job offer number on the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada portal and communicate it to the trainee, in order to initiate the process of obtaining a work permit and an entry visa to the country. Upon arrival in Canada, trainees must obtain a Social Insurance Number (SIN) to open a bank account and receive their salary.
Step 3 – Health Insurance (Foreign Individuals)
Every trainee must have health insurance for the entire duration of the postdoctoral internship. Foreign nationals must obtain private insurance covering the 3-month waiting period before the start of the Quebec Health Insurance Plan (RAMQ). Individuals from countries that have signed a social security agreement with Quebec (France, Belgium, etc.) may, under certain conditions, benefit from the health insurance plan without a waiting period. Consult the RAMQ website for more information.
Step 4 – Status at UQAM
The status of postdoctoral trainee is typically granted for a period of one year. It is renewed as needed according to the agreement between the supervising professor and the trainee, and according to the trainee’s eligibility period. Registration is done through the Registrar’s Office by the resource person from the Faculté des sciences (stagesfs_postdoc@uqam.ca).
Step 5 – Hiring Form
Once the trainee is registered, their supervisor can complete their hiring on the human resources website. Unless there is an exception, the start of the employment period is on a Monday and the end is on a Sunday (even if in practice the person works until Friday). In the case of postdoctoral fellows holding scholarships from external organizations, an amount of $0 must be entered in the hiring form.
The procedure for completing the online hiring form is described here.
Additional Resources:
For prospective candidates: [link to the human resources page for postdoctoral trainees (in French)]
Foreign nationals with temporary work permits can benefit from free French language courses.
For professors (intranet): [link to the human resources page for offering postdoctoral internships (in French)]
last update: April 10th, 2024 (kfb)