Tri-Agency International Research Supplements for Vanier and CRTAS Holders

How Vanier's base portability works

A Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship is awarded through a nomination from a specific Canadian university, and you hold the scholarship at that institution for your doctoral program. Vanier funds your degree at your nominating institution rather than working as a portable grant you carry to a foreign university on its own. If your research plan includes time at a foreign lab or institution, that stay works as an addition to your Vanier funded program at home, not a transfer of your award abroad.

Where supplementary international funding fits in

NSERC's current funding opportunity listing uses the name Canada Research Training Awards Suite for this kind of supplementary funding, not a separate program called the Canada Research Training Award Supplement (CRTAS). Within that suite, Research Travel Supplements offer additional funding for active master's and doctoral award holders to cover research travel within or outside Canada, but that program is currently listed closed. NSERC's current terminology for the underlying master's and doctoral scholarships is also Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Master's and Doctoral (CGRS-M/CGRS-D), the post-Budget-2024 rename of CGS-M/CGS-D/PGS-D. Whether Vanier holders access a comparable travel supplement in a given cycle depends on the current competition, and this should not be assumed from the CGRS-M/CGRS-D program's terms.

The exact program name, which award holders currently qualify, the funding amount and the application deadline move between competition cycles. Confirm current terms directly on the NSERC , SSHRC or CIHR website, or through the Tri-Agency award holder's guide for your award year, before building a research stay around an assumed program or figure.

Vanier and CGRS-M/CGRS-D supplements compared

Research Travel Supplements under the Canada Research Training Awards Suite are the most established version of this kind of top up funding tied to CGRS-M and CGRS-D holders, though the program is currently listed closed. Whether an equivalent supplement is open to Vanier holders in a given cycle depends on the current competition, since Tri-Agency programs adjust which award holders qualify for which supplementary opportunities year to year. Ask your institution's Tri-Agency liaison or scholarships office which supplementary programs are open to Vanier holders in your specific award year, rather than assuming a program tied to CGRS-M or CGRS-D holders automatically extends to you or that CRTAS is the current name.

Why the base award and travel funding stay separate

Keeping your base Vanier funding separate from any travel or research stay supplement lets each program track its own budget and reporting requirements without one application blocking the other. It also protects your base award if a planned stay abroad falls through, since a cancelled or shortened research visit does not put your primary scholarship at risk the way it would if the two were bundled into one approval.

What a strong case for a stay abroad includes

A compelling application names the foreign host by institution and supervisor, states the specific research gap the stay addresses, and sets a defined start and end date tied to your degree timeline. Reviewers weigh a request built around a concrete milestone, such as training on a specific instrument or working with a dataset held only at the foreign site, more strongly than a general request to gain international experience.

Building a case for a stay abroad

Identify a foreign host, supervisor or lab tied to a specific gap in your doctoral research, such as an instrument, dataset, field site or expertise unavailable at your Canadian institution. Get a written invitation or agreement from the host before you apply, since supplementary funding applications generally ask for confirmation of the arrangement instead of a general statement of interest. Route the application through your institution's graduate or scholarships office the same way you would your original Vanier paperwork, since they track which supplementary programs are open in the current cycle and what documentation each one asks for.

What stays the same at home

A supplementary stay abroad does not change your registration, supervision or degree requirements at your Canadian institution. Your supervisor and thesis committee stay involved in your progress while you are away, and most programs expect you to keep in regular contact and continue meeting program milestones during the stay. Talk to your graduate office early about how a stay abroad interacts with any residency requirements your program sets, since some doctoral programs require minimum time on campus that a research stay needs to work around rather than replace.

Practical steps before you apply

Check whether your destination requires a separate visa or research permit for your planned stay length, since supplement funding covers research costs rather than immigration processes. Confirm how the supplementary funding interacts with any other travel or research grants you hold, since combining Tri-Agency funding sources has rules that change and your institution's scholarships office tracks the current version. Build enough lead time between your application, any approval decision and your planned departure to handle visa processing and travel arrangements without rushing.