Since 1982, IDRC has assisted Canadian graduate students to undertake their thesis research in the field of international development. IDRC Doctoral Research Awards are intended to promote the growth of Canadian capacity in research on sustainable and equitable development from an international perspective. Normally, such research is conducted in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East or Asia.

Eligible Fields of Study
Applications will be accepted for research at the doctoral level in areas corresponding to IDRC`s research priorities. IDRC`s research activities focus on four program areas:
* Social and Economic Policy
* Environment and Natural Resource Management
* Information and Communication Technologies( ICTs) for Development
* Innovation, Policy and Science

Eligibility
Applicants must meet the following conditions for eligibility:
* Hold Canadian citizenship or permanent residency status in Canada, orhold a citizenship of a developing country;
* Be registered at a Canadian university;
* Research proposal is for a doctoral thesis and has been approved by the thesis supervisor;
* Proposed field research will take place in a developing country;
* Provide evidence of affiliation with an institution or organization in the region in which the research will take place;
* Have completed course work and passed comprehensive examinations by the time of award tenure.

Duration
Award tenure corresponds to the period of field research. In general, this will be no less than 3 months and not more than 12 months.

Value
The award will cover justifiable field research expenses to a maximum of CA $20,000 per year. Candidates may apply for a renewal of funding for a second year of field work if the nature of the research requires a second season of data collection. Renewals are an exception and are provided for those disciplines that may need to deal with the uncertainties of growing seasons and climatic characteristics that affect data collection.

Number of Awards
Variable

Deadlines
There are two competitions each year:

1st deadline: April 1, 2007 (awards will be announced in August 2007).

2nd deadline: November 1, 2007 (awards will be announced in March 2008).

Applications
Applications will be evaluated according to criteria, such as relevance to sustainable and equitable development and to IDRC priorities, quality of the research proposal and suitability of the candidate.

Re-applicants must explain, in a covering letter, what changes have been made since the last application and specify where to find the changes in the proposal. Please note that Centre policy stipulates that an individual cannot apply more than twice, if unsuccessful, for the same IDRC award.

If there are ethical questions connected with the research, the applicant may, at IDRC`s discretion, be required to submit the appropriate approval from the Ethic`s Committee of the University.

Please submit all documents listed in the List of Supporting Documents to be Submitted. Complete applications must be received at the Centre by the deadline. Incomplete applications will NOT be considered for the competition. Applications must be sent to the following address:

By mail:
IDRC Doctoral Research Awards
Centre Training and Awards Program
International Development Research Centre
P.O. Box 8500
Ottawa, Ontario
K1G 3H9

By courier services:
IDRC Doctoral Research Awards
Centre Training and Awards Program
International Development Research Centre
250 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6M1

Fax: (1 613) 563-0815
Telephone: (1 613) 236-6163 ext. 2098
E-mail: cta@idrc.ca

We thank all applicants for their interest and will contact those candidates whose academic background, quality of the research proposal and skills best match the criteria of the Award.