Doctoral Training for Medical Students (M.D.-Ph.D.) / 2019-2020

• Applicants with an undergraduate or graduate university degree.
• Applicants who hold a diploma of college studies and who have earned at least 90 credits of courses in a university program.

Applications from individuals holding a college diploma but who have not accumulated 90 course credits in a university program must be validated by the faculty of medicine in a letter of recommendation from the dean.

• Canadian citizens or permanent residents domiciled in Québec (as defined in the Common General Rules, art. 2.1).

Canadian citizens or permanent residents that did not reside in Québec previously OR individuals who are not currently Canadian citizens or permanent residents are eligible to submit an application for training awards under certain conditions (see section 2.1 of the Common General Rules).

Citizenship and residency in Québec status must remain in effect for the entire duration of the award.

• Individuals must be enrolled:

in a regular undergraduate medical program in a Québec university

and simultaneously, in a regular research doctoral program (Ph.D.) and whose research project is directly concerned with human health within a structured M.D.-Ph.D. program recognized by the FRQS in that Quebec university.

• Submit a research project that can be completed within a maximum of 3 years (Ph.D.).

• To be considered “a research program,” the doctoral program must consist of a minimum of 36 credits dedicated to research and lead to the writing of a doctoral thesis.

• Awardees must temporarily interrupt their regular medical studies for a maximum of 3 years.

• Individuals must be supervised by a university researcher or clinical university researcher  (as defined in the Definitions section of the Common General Rules).

Basic research ethics training is compulsory for all FRQS awardees conducting research projects that involve human beings.

Research on human beings involves:

• Participation of human beings
• Use of human biological materials (parts, products, tissue, cells, genetic materials, derived from a living or dead individual)
• Assisted procreation activities or the use of human embryos derived therefrom, within the meaning of the Act respecting clinical and research activities relating to assisted procreation (CQLR c. A-5.01)
• The use of administrative, scientific or descriptive data from human participants

Awardees must therefore successfully complete levels 1 and 3 of the Online Tutorial in Research Ethics developed by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.

This training must be completed in the year following the receipt of a confirmation from the FRQS that the award was granted.

The FRQS encourages awardees to follow a one-credit research ethics training course in addition to the compulsory basic research ethics training, whenever possible.

Documents sent via mail or e-mail will not be accepted

Transmission via the FRQS electronic Portfolio  only

Any missing document or document that is not in conformity with the program rules and forms may result in the ineligibility of the funding application.

No extension will be permitted. After the application deadline, forms that are not already submitted will be automatically rejected.

IMPORTANT : Once the application is submitted, it will no longer be possible to modify it.

• Canadian Common CV, Funding CV version, for the FRQS (updated since June 2016);

• Detailed contributions updated since June 2016 (attachment required through the FRQS Electronic Portfolio on the Canadian Common CV page),  consult the document entitled Guidelines for the CV attachment in the Toolbox

• Electronic application form : Formation de doctorat pour les étudiants en médecine (M.D.-Ph.D.)
  PDF version – for information
• A copy of official academic transcripts for all university courses taken, whether completed or not.

Academic transcripts must be complete and include grading scales (at the back of the transcript), for candidates from Québec as well as for candidates from outside Québec.

For transcripts from institutions located outside North America, the applicant must include a note explaining the institution’s marking system.

• Copies of all awards, honours and distinction notices, including FRQS awards
• Acknowledgements from publishers for articles submitted or accepted for publication
• Only applicants who have not earned 90 course credits in a university program must submit a letter of recommendation from the dean of the faculty of medicine.

For individuals with a Canadian citizenship or permanent residency and domiciled in Québec :

• a copy of a valid Quebec health insurance card OR evidence of eligibility to the RAMQ (official RAMQ document before the issuance of the card).

For individuals with a Canadian citizenship or permanent residency and domiciled in a province other than Québec :

• an official document confirming that the individual lived in Québec on a regular and daily basis for at least six months within the seven months preceding the submission deadline of the competition  (see the list of accepted documentation in the Toolbox)

AND

• a proof of application, registration or admission to a Québec university at the time of the application submission.

For individuals without a Canadian citizenship or permanent residency:

• an official document confirming that the individual lived in Québec on a regular and daily basis for at least six months within the seven months preceding the submission deadline of the competition (see the list of accepted documentation in the Toolbox)

AND

• a proof of application, registration or admission to a Québec university at the time of the application submission.

Candidates will be notified of the reception of their application and of their eligibility via email by the month of November at the latest.

• Canadian Common CV, Funding CV version, for the FRQS (updated since June 2016);

• Detailed contributions updated since June 2016 (attachment required through the FRQS Electronic Portfolio on the Canadian Common CV page), consult the document entitled Guidelines for the CV attachment in the Toolbox

•  Supervisor’s electronic form and co-supervisor, if applicable
  PDF version – for information

To start the second year of the award , the awardee will have to provide:

• a confirmation from the supervisor indicating that the student is still under his/her supervision (and annually thereafter) (by email)
• ethics training certificates (levels 1 and 3), if applicable (by email in a single PDF document)

A recognized research establishment in Québec.

Awardees must complete their research training in the physical location of the host institution. Distance learning is not allowed.

Awardees who wish to change their research project, supervisor, program or training institution must submit the FRQS request form Change of research project, supervisor or training location (see Toolbox) and the required documents in a single PDF file.

May 2019 (Summer term), September 2019 (Fall term) or January 2020 (Winter term).

If the study program is already in progress in May 2019, the award should begin in May 2019, with some exceptions.

6 years, 3 of them must be devoted to full-time research or until the completion of the awardee’s doctoral studies (final submission of the thesis), whichever the earliest.

The awardee may benefit from an award payment deferral during parental leave (maternity, paternity or adoption) for a maximum period of 12 months as described in section 6.13 of the Common General Rules.

Awardees must fill out the Award payment deferral form, accompanied by the documents supporting the leave, to inform the FRQS of their intention to receive a supplement to their award for a parental leave.

The FRQS reserves the right to reject any request that is not properly justified.

The FRQS reserves the right to reject any request that is not properly justified.

$21,000/year* for 3 years of full-time enrolment in a research program

$10,000/year* for 3 years during which the awardee completes the research project or pursues research activities (seminars, thesis writing) concurrently with medical studies

*except in some cases (see the section Awards in partnership)

One new award per year, per university

Exceptionally two awards, if no application for the M.D.-M.Sc. program is submitted by the university

The award will be paid to the awardee by installments. Three installments per year will be made at the end of May, end of September, and end of January.

The awardee is responsible for paying the income tax due on the amounts received from the FRQS. The FRQS does not make any deductions on the amounts disbursed during the taxation year.

The payment date determines the year in which the awardee must declare the amounts received as income for personal tax calculations.

Revenue Canada’s T4A form and Revenue Québec’s Relevé 1will be sent to the awardee’s mailing address (the one specified in the Module My funding (Gérer mon financement) in the FRQS Electronic Portfolio) in February of the following year of taxation.

The details provided in these program rules are for information purposes only. The FRQS is not responsible for the validity of any income tax information.

This program does not benefit from the amount paid out by FRQS to cover indirect costs of research of the institutions.

Awardees may accept additional funding from the institution or their research supervisor.

Holding several scholarships is not allowed.

Awardees who obtained an award from another public agency or a foundation recognized by the FRQS must notify the FRQS and decline the FRQS funding as soon as the award is offered.

However, if the amount of the other award is lower than the one given by the FRQS, the awardee is eligible to receive the difference.

Under the responsibility of the FRQS, all applications are evaluated by committees of experts so as to ensure a subject area and institution balance.

Note: previously under the responsibility of each university.

By submitting an application, the applicant must :

• Comply with the obligations outlined in the Common General Rules of the three Fonds and in the Policy Regarding Open Access to Published Research Outputs as well as with the conditions and requirements outlined in the electronic form and program rules.

• Comply with the ethics and integrity standards outlined in the FRQS document Standards en éthique de la recherche et d’intégrité scientifique and in the Policy for the Responsible Conduct of Research of the Fonds de recherche du Québec.

• Authorize the FRQS to retain and use the personal and scientific information included in the application documents, in keeping with the terms outlined in the document Énoncé relatif à la protection des renseignements personnels et confidentiels des dossiers des candidats, candidates et titulaires d’un octroi and provided that the people who are granted access to the information respect its confidentiality.

The supervisor and co-supervisor must :

• Oversee the awardee’s work and provide the awardee with the material and financial means necessary to carry out the research project.

• Comply with the ethics and integrity standards outlined in the FRQS document Standards en éthique de la recherche et d’intégrité scientifique and in the Policy for the Responsible Conduct of Research of the Fonds de recherche du Québec.

• Ensure that the awardee also complies with them.

The FRQS offers a number of awards in collaboration with partners. The financial contribution of FRQS and the partner as well as other funding conditions (i.e. funding period and renewal option) may vary according to the agreements in effect.

Eligible applicants are selected through a three-step process:

1. Applicants must select by priority order, one or more partners whose research areas are in line with the themes of their application in order of preference (see section Partenariats [partnerships] on the form).

2. The FRQS sends the partners a list of applications for relevancy review based on their interests and research priorities.

3. Applications are then reviewed by the regular FRQS committees of experts or peers. Applications with a scientific excellence score of at least 70% and also relevant to one or more partners may be considered for funding in partnership.

Like all other FRQS awards, the awards in partnership are granted based on merit following a scientific evaluation by a committee of experts or peers.

The Jacques de Champlain Award in Cardiovascular Health and Hypertension fields includes a research support supplement (maximum of $10,000 per year).