Mitacs Globalink Research Award: Funding a Short International Research Placement During Your Degree

What the Award Covers

The Mitacs Globalink Research Award funds a research trip abroad while you stay enrolled in your Canadian graduate program. One internship unit pays $6,000 CAD for a project running 12 to 24 weeks. You can apply for two units, worth $12,000 total, to fund either a single 24-48 week placement or two separate 12-24 week trips, according to Mitacs's program page . The research runs under joint supervision: your home supervisor in Canada and a host supervisor at the international institution both sign off on the project.

Where You Have to Be

Mitacs requires you to spend at least 75% of the award period physically at the host institution abroad, with up to 25% of your time allowed back at your home institution. This is a research placement, not a remote collaboration with occasional travel.

Which Countries Are Eligible

Outbound placements from Canada can go to most countries. The exclusions follow Global Affairs Canada's travel advisory levels: any country the government rates "Avoid all travel" or "Avoid non-essential travel" is off the table for a Globalink placement. Check the current Global Affairs Canada travel advisories for your target country before you plan a project around it, since ratings change.

The program runs through two streams. The Allocation stream gives each participating Canadian university a limited number of spots per round, so availability depends on your institution. The Quantum stream, for projects in the quantum sector specifically, has no institutional cap.

Finding a Host Supervisor

Mitacs does not place you with a lab. You have to identify a potential host supervisor abroad and develop the project idea with them, usually through your own academic network, conference contacts, or cold outreach based on published research that matches your interests, before you put in an application. A practical starting point is your own home supervisor: ask them directly for introductions, since they often know researchers abroad working in adjacent areas and can vouch for you. The host supervisor also has to qualify to hold Tri-Council funding and to supervise graduate students at their institution, so confirm that before you build a project around them.

Your home supervisor stays involved even once you leave. They hold fiduciary responsibility for the Mitacs grant on the Canadian side and are expected to help you prepare for the logistics of travelling and working abroad, on top of co-supervising the research itself. Build the supervisor relationship early. A 16-week lead time before your planned start does not leave room to also spend months finding a host supervisor from scratch.

Allocation Stream vs Quantum Stream

Most students apply through the Allocation stream, where Mitacs gives each participating Canadian university a set number of spots per application round. Your odds depend partly on how many other students at your own institution apply in the same round, not just on your project's strength against a national pool. If your research sits in the quantum sector specifically, the separate Quantum stream has no institutional cap, which removes that competition-for-spots factor for eligible projects. Ask your graduate studies office which stream fits your project and how many Allocation spots your institution typically gets per round before you plan your timeline around it.

Who Can Apply

• You must be enrolled full-time as a graduate student (or, for some rounds, a senior undergraduate or postdoc) at an eligible Canadian institution.

• You cannot do the placement at an institution where you already earned a degree.

• You cannot do the placement in a country where you hold citizenship.

• You can hold a maximum of two Globalink Research Awards or Mitacs-JSPS Summer Program awards across your entire academic career.

Budgeting Beyond the Award

The $6,000 or $12,000 award is meant to offset your costs abroad, not necessarily cover every expense outright. How far it stretches depends heavily on your destination: a 12-week placement in a lower cost-of-living country leaves more room than the same 12 weeks in a major research hub with high rent. Price out flights, visa costs if the host country requires one, housing, and daily living costs for your specific destination before you commit, and treat the award as a contribution toward that total rather than a full budget.

Timeline to Apply

Submit your application at least 16 weeks before your planned start date. Mitacs takes 10 to 12 weeks after submission to return a decision, which leaves a narrow window to arrange travel, a visa if the host country requires one, and accommodation once you hear back. Build that lag into your planning rather than applying close to when you want to leave.