Merit scholarship program for foreign students (PBEEE) 2026-2027

1. Objectives

In support of the Québec government’s science policy, the Merit Scholarship for Foreign Students program has the following objectives:

• Support the internationalization of research activities in Québec’s higher education institutions;
• Attract top foreign researchers and students and promote international recognition of Québec universities and College Centres for the Transfer of Technologies (CCTT);
• Create cultural links and pave the way for the setting up of joint scientific research projects.

The Fonds de recherche du Québec – secteur Nature et technologies (FRQ) is responsible for managing the program. It was commissioned by the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur du Québec (MES) which provides the funding.

2. Characteristics

The program has a component open to students of all countries and five specific components reserved for students from Brazil, China, India, Israel and Wallonia. These specific components arise from agreements concluded between Québec and foreign governments.

This program covers higher education as a whole by providing CCTT researchers and administrators with the opportunity to participate.

The Merit Scholarship Program for Foreign Students has four components:

• Master’s research scholarships (VM)
• Doctoral research scholarships (V1, 1B, 1C, 1I, 1IS, 1W)
• Postdoctoral scholarships (V2, 2B, 2C, 2I)
• Short-term research or professional development scholarships (V3, 3B, 3C, 3I, 3IS, 3W)

All-countries scholarships

• Master’s research scholarships (VM)
• Doctoral research scholarships (V1)
• Postdoctoral scholarships (V2)
• Short-term research or professional development scholarships (V3)

Québec-Brazil scholarships 

• Québec-Brazil Doctoral research scholarships (1B)
• Québec-Brazil Postdoctoral scholarships (2B)
• Québec-Brazil Short-term research or professional development scholarships (3B)

Québec-China scholarships 

• Québec-China Doctoral research scholarships (1C)
• Québec-China Postdoctoral scholarships (2C)
• Québec-China Short-term research or professional development scholarships (3C)

Québec-India scholarships

• Québec-India Doctoral research scholarships (1I)
• Québec-India Postdoctoral scholarships (2I)
• Québec-India Short-term research or professional development scholarships (3I)

Québec-Israel scholarships

• Québec-Israel Doctoral research scholarships (1IS)
• Québec-Israel Short-term research or professional development scholarships (3IS)

Québec-Wallonia scholarships

• Québec-Wallonia Doctoral research scholarships (1W)
• Québec-Wallonia Short-term research or professional development scholarships (3W)

The annual value of a Master’s research scholarship (VM) is $20,000. The maximum amount that can be awarded is 6 instalments (6 semesters) totalling $40,000.

The annual value of a Doctoral research scholarship (V1, 1B, 1C, 1I, 1IS, 1W) is $25,000 for the first 9 sessions, and $12,000 for the last 3 sessions if an extension is requested. The total duration of the scholarship is a maximum of 12 sessions (12 installments), with a maximum allowable amount totaling $87,000.

The annual value of a Postdoctoral scholarship (V2, 2B, 2C, 2I) is $35,000. The maximum amount that can be awarded is 3 instalments (one year) totalling $35,000.

The value of a Short-term research or professional development scholarship (V3, 3B, 3C, 3I, 3IS, 3W) is $3,000 per month. The maximum amount that can be awarded is 4 instalments (4 months) totalling $12,000.

In addition to the scholarship, MES offers all scholarship recipients an exemption from paying the higher tuition fees required for foreign students and the medical insurance coverage offered by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ).

3. Eligibility

Candidates must meet all eligibility requirements in effect at the time of application as set out in the program rules and the CGR.

3.1 Target group and eligibility period

These scholarships are intended for foreign students or researchers from all research sectors (health, humanities and social sciences, arts and letters, natural sciences, and engineering) preselected by a Québec university or the CCTT network or the China Scholarship Council (CSC) who wish to begin or continue studies or research activities in Québec. No research sector is given preference.

Master’s research component (VM)

Master’s research scholarships are intended for students who wish to undertake or continue a master’s research program. To be considered a research program, a master’s program must lead to the writing of a thesis (note that an essay, research report, dissertation or paper are not accepted). Professional master’s programs are not eligible.

Candidates are eligible for master’s research scholarships for the first six semesters of their master’s studies. To apply, candidates must have been enrolled in a master’s program for up to three full-time semesters (1 year) or less before May 1, 2026.

Semesters already completed in a master’s program (or equivalent) at the time the scholarship takes effect are subtracted from the funding period.

Candidates who have obtained a first master’s degree by research but wish to pursue a second one in another discipline may submit an application if their first master’s degree was not funded under the PBEEE program. Applicants must demonstrate that the

master’s project covered by their application is in another discipline. This demonstration must be attached to the “Other Documents” section of the form. The list of evaluation committees is available in the toolbox. In the absence of this demonstration, the Fonds reserves the right to reject an application if it deems there are too many similarities between the two master’s projects.

Doctoral research component (V1, 1B, 1C, 1I, 1IS, 1W)

Candidates are eligible for doctoral merit program scholarships for the first nine semesters of their doctoral studies. All doctoral semesters, funded or unfunded, completed before the scholarship takes effect, are subtracted from the eligibility period.

Candidates who have obtained a first doctoral degree in research but wish to undertake a second one in another discipline may submit an application if their first doctorate was not funded under the PBEEE program. The candidate must demonstrate that the doctoral project covered by their application is in another discipline. This demonstration must be attached to the “Other documents” section of the form. The list of evaluation committees is available in the toolbox. In the absence of this demonstration, the Fonds reserves the right to refuse an application if it considers that there are too many similarities between the two doctoral projects.

A candidate admitted into a doctoral program from a bachelor’s program and one who fast-tracks into a doctoral program without writing a thesis must apply to the doctoral scholarships competition to obtain the scholarship during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th years of their graduate studies (semesters 7 to 15). In this case, candidates can first apply to the Master’s research component (VM) in order to obtain a scholarship during the first six semesters of their doctoral studies.

Postdoctoral component (V2, 2B, 2C, 2I)

Postdoctoral scholarships are intended for researchers who have obtained their PhD no more than two years before the competition deadline or who submitted their doctoral dissertation by January 15, 2026.

The postdoctoral research must be conducted in an institution other than the one that granted the doctoral degree. A candidate’s doctoral supervisors and co-supervisors may not act as their postdoctoral supervisor, even if they have changed institutions.

The maximum duration of this scholarship is 12 months. This scholarship is not renewable.

Short-term research or professional development component (V3, 3B, 3C, 3I, 3IS, 3W)

Short-term research or professional development scholarships are intended for technical and university students (option A) or researchers who have completed a doctorate no more than five years before the deadline for the competition (option B).

The short-term research or professional development must be conducted in an institution other than the one at which the student was enrolled when they applied.

The duration of this scholarship is four months. The scholarship is not renewable.

3.1.1 Exceptions in calculating the eligibility period 

The Fonds reserve the right to refuse any request for exceptional measures that is insufficiently justified.

The rules governing the eligibility period for training grants allow for exceptional measures in circumstances beyond the applicant’s control, particularly in cases of serious illness, major family obligations, or disability.

• Extension. An applicant who has interrupted or delayed their studies, particularly due to parental leave, major family obligations, or health reasons, may have their eligibility period extended. The Fonds determines the extension to be granted based on the supporting documents provided with the application.
• Exemption. An individual may be exempt from the eligibility period rules if they have interrupted or delayed their studies due to a disability as defined in the Act to secure disabled persons in the exercise of their rights with a view to achieving their academic, professional, and social integration (CQLR, c. E-20.1). The maximum duration of the scholarship remains six semesters at the master’s level.The exception request and supporting documents must be submitted with the application (see section 5.2). If such an exception is requested, it is recommended to validate the eligibility of the exception with the program manager before submitting the application form. The Fonds reserves the right to refuse any request for the application of exceptional measures that is insufficiently justified.

3.2 Citizenship and residence requirements 

This competition is open to all candidates who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and who have not applied for permanent residence under Canadian immigration laws.

 3.3 Restrictions 

Candidates must not have already received a Merit Scholarship for Foreign Students from the ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur du Québec (MES)..

Québec-Wallonia scholarship candidates must have previously studied in a French-language university-level institution in Belgium at the time they are awarded their scholarship.

4. Preselection of candidates

Only candidates preselected by a Québec university or the CCTT network as of October 23, 2025 can be part of this competition. Candidates to the Québec-China scholarship must be preselected by the CSC as of March 31st, 2026.

The universities and the CCTT network and the CSC assume full responsibility for candidate preselection. You can consult the various deadlines for the preselection competition of each Québec university and the CCTT network on the FRQ website.

Those in charge of candidate preselection must refer to the instructions for candidate preselection available in the toolbox of the program web page.

Those in charge of candidate preselection in a Québec university or at CCTT network (Synchronex) must complete the form for nominating candidates for the Merit Scholarship Programs for Foreign Students available through the FRQnet system of the FRQ. It must be transmitted electronically by 4 p.m. on October 23, 2025.

Candidates must meet all the eligibility requirements of this program. Candidates proposed by a Québec university or the CCTT network or the CSC may be declared ineligible by the FRQ if these criteria are not met.

Candidates preselected for the general program components (V1, V2, V3) can also be preselected for the Québec-Brazil-India-Israel-Wallonia program components.

All-countries scholarships (VM, V1, V2, V3) 

Academic institutions may recommend a maximum of 16 applications distributed across the four components depending on the number of applications received by each academic institution, the quality of the applications and the needs according to the scholarship components.

The CCTT network can recommend four candidates for Postdoctoral scholarships (V2) and Short-term research or professional development scholarships (V3).

There are no quotas per country.

Québec-Brazil scholarships (1B, 2B, 3B)

Universities can recommend one candidate per year for each of these three components.

The CCTT network can recommend one candidate for Postdoctoral scholarships (2B) and Short-term research or professional development scholarships (3B).

Québec-China scholarships (1C, 2C, 3C) 

The CSC will recommend at least 10 applicants for each of the competition’s three components. The CSC must take into account Québec’s linguistic specificities.

Québec-India scholarships (1I, 2I, 3I) 

Universities can recommend one candidate per year for each of these three components.

The CCTT network can recommend one candidate for Postdoctoral scholarships (2I) and Short-term research or professional development scholarships (3I).

Québec-Israel scholarships (1IS, 3IS) 

Universities can recommend one candidate per year for each of these two components.

The CCTT network can recommend one candidate for Short-term research or professional development scholarships (3IS).

Québec-Wallonia scholarships (1W, 3W) 

Universities can recommend one candidate per year for each of these two components.

The CCTT network can recommend one candidate for Short-term research or professional development scholarships (3W).

5. Applications

Once preselected, the candidate must create an account in the FRQnet system. The FRQ- secteur Nature et technologies will then contact all preselected candidates to complete an electronic form to which the required documents will be attached, and which must be submitted electronically by the competition deadline time and date set by the Fonds.

For information on the language of submitted forms and documents, please refer to Section 3.6 of the Common General Rules.

Please refer to the Presentation Standards for Attached Files in the FRQnet protal when preparing the files to be attached to the form.

Files cannot be updated after the application deadline.

5.1 Required documents 

All required documents must be included in the application for it to be considered eligible. Any documents that are illegible, of a poor resolution or that do not allow verification of the application’s eligibility will be rejected.

Submitting a funding request is accompanied by a commitment to read and respect the standards of ethics and integrity, the Open access dissemination policy (2022)    and the Responsible Conduct of Research of the Fonds de recherche du Québec.

Documents submitted in a language other than French or English must be accompanied by a basic translation.

5.1.1 For all components of the program 

• A photocopy of the identification page of a passport from the candidate’s country of origin or any other official document establishing the candidate’s citizenship;
• Transcripts for every year of all university studies, whether completed or not (certificates, diplomas, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Ph.D. etc.). You do not have to include a copy of the diploma unless it shows academic grades. Transcripts for equivalences granted for courses taken at other institutions or for previous programs must be included. For transcripts from outside North America, candidates must enclose a letter explaining the grading system used by the institution concerned. The FRQ reserves the right to verify with institutions the authenticity of any information given by candidates. Transcripts must be organized chronologically from newest to oldest;
• Acknowledgements of receipt from the publisher for all articles submitted and notices received from editors for articles accepted for publication (acknowledgements of receipt for articles already published are not sent to the evaluation committee).

5.1.2 Additional document for the Master’s and Doctoral research components (VM, V1, 1B, 1C, 1I, 1IS, 1W)

• If applicable, an attestation from the registrar’s office identifying part-time or unregistered semesters;
• If applicable, an official attestation of interrupted enrolment and, if necessary, a medical certificate indicating the duration and the reasons for the interruption.

5.1.3 Additional document for the Postdoctoral scholarship component (V2, 2B, 2C, 2I) 

• A copy of the doctoral diploma (or attestation of the first reading of the dissertation). If these documents cannot be provided, a copy of the doctoral transcript is required.
• A letter of acceptance from the supervisor. To allow the supervisor to complete the letter of acceptance, the candidate must enter the supervisor’s account information in the FRQnet form. The supervisor will then have access to the letter of acceptance through the FRQnet portal in the section “As a Director, Supervisor or Mentor”. Candidates are responsible for ensuring that their supervisor submits the letter of acceptance by the competition deadline.

In order for the Fonds to verify the authenticity of the submitted letters, supervisors must proceed themselves with the submission following the described procedure. Under no circumstances may the applicant create an account on behalf of a supervisor to submit a letter of recommendation themselves. If this is the case, their application may be considered as incomplete and, consequently, ineligible.

5.1.4 Additional document for the Short-term research or professional development component (V3, 3B, 3I, 3IS, 3W),

A letter of acceptance from the supervisor. To allow the supervisor to complete the letter of acceptance, the candidate must enter the supervisor’s account information in the FRQnet form. The supervisor will then have access to the letter of acceptance through the FRQnet portal in the section “As a Director, Supervisor or Mentor”. Candidates are responsible for ensuring that their supervisor submits the letter of acceptance by the competition deadline.

In order for the Fonds to verify the authenticity of the submitted letters, supervisors must proceed themselves with the submission following the described procedure. Under no circumstances may the applicant create an account on behalf of a supervisor to submit a letter of recommendation themselves. If this is the case, their application may be considered as incomplete and, consequently, ineligible.

5.2 Documents for Exception measures

Candidates wishing to benefit from an exception measure regarding the eligibility period (see section 3.3) must provide:

• Justification for the request for an extension or exemption of the eligibility period (maximum 1 page): The applicant must justify the exception request and, in the case of an extension request, provide the dates and duration of the interruptions. This document must be attached to the “Other Documents” section of the form and will not be shared with the evaluation committee.
• Supporting Documents: Documents supporting the exception request (e.g., medical certificate, disability recognition, child’s birth certificate, caregiver tax credit application, official document or letter from the employer, etc.) allow the FRQ to determine the length of the extension to be granted. They must be attached to the “Other Documents” section and will not be shared with the evaluation committee.

5.3 Notice 

After receiving the applications, the FRQ will verify their eligibility. A notice will be sent by email no later than the month of December following the competition deadline.  Candidates will be informed of the results of the eligibility review of their application and, if applicable, its transmission to the evaluation committee. Applications transmitted to the evaluation committee may nevertheless be declared ineligible at any time. Applicants who have not received this notification should contact the program manager before December 15.

6. Evaluation

For more details about the rules governing the scholarship evaluation process, please refer to Section 4 of the CGR.

Applications are assessed according to the following evaluation criteria and weighting:

7. Awarding of scholarships

Scholarships are offered following a competition process, based on the excellence of the applications.

Scholarship holders are selected by multidisciplinary evaluation committees composed of professors/researchers.

Scholarships are offered according to the availability of funds.

All decisions are final and cannot subject to appeal. There is no review process.

The competition results are announced at the end of April. In accordance with Article 5.2 of the CGR, the person receiving a funding offer must notify their acceptance or refusal no later than 30 days following the notification submitted to the FRQnet protal. A refused funding offer by the applicant cannot be reactivated.

8. Rules for using scholarships

Scholarship holders must comply with all the rules described in detail in the scholarship holder’s guide.

IMPORTANT 

Please note that scholarship payments will only begin after the Fonds has received a copy of the study permit (for doctoral scholarships) or a copy of the work permit (for postdoctoral scholarships).

At the time candidates receive their scholarship payments, they must be full-time dedicated to the program of study, research, or professional development for which they were awarded the scholarship.

Scholarships are awarded for the duration of the eligibility period.

By accepting the grant, you grant a non-exclusive, irrevocable, non-transferable licence to the Ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur (MES) or its partners and to the FRQ on the final report and the research findings that have been made public. This licence allows them to reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, make public communications by any means whatsoever, represent or demonstrate these findings in public, and carry out further research studies based on these findings. This licence is granted without territorial limits and for an unlimited period of time.

By accepting the grant, scholarship holders commit to clearly indicate in any report, article, presentation or other communication that the research was funded by the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur in partnership with the Fonds de recherche du Québec.

Period for using scholarships 

The scholarship period must begin between May 1, 2026, and January 15, 2027. For individuals whose training program is already underway at the time the grant letter is issued, the first payment will be made from May 30, 2026.

Barring exceptional circumstances, scholarships cannot be carried over from one year to the next. It is therefore not possible to delay the scholarship starting date after January 15, 2026.

The scholarships are not retroactive, and semesters completed before summer 2026 cannot be funded.

Place where scholarship is used

Scholarship recipients must attend the Quebec university or the College Centre for Technology Transfer (CCTT) at which they were preselected and study or conduct their research there. Physical presence in Québec is required throughout the entire funding period, excluding scheduled academic breaks as outlined in the university calendar.

Joint (cotutelle) degree programs are not eligible.

Rules regarding concurrent scholarships

The scholarship may not be held concurrently with:

• Scholarships granted by government departments or by Canadian or Québec government grant agencies.

The scholarship may be held concurrently with:

• Scholarships from the private sector, from the government of the scholarship holder’s country of origin, and university scholarships.

Paid employment 

The scholarship holder must respect the requirements of their study permit or work permit with regard to part-time work. These requirements are specified by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Part-time work, if any, may be accepted only if the supervisor of the scholarship holder does not object and if such activities do not affect the research program.

The salary that students receive from their supervisor for working solely on their research project is considered a scholarship for which concurrent funding is permitted.

9. Open Access Dissemination Policy

The doctoral and master’s thesis resulting from the research made possible by this grant must be made openly accessible, without embargo, in an institutional or disciplinary repository, in accordance with the Open Access Dissemination Policy (revised in 2022). Furthermore, peer-reviewed publications arising from the research made possible by this grant must be disseminated immediately in open access (without embargo), under an open license.

10. Effective date

The rules apply to the 2026-2027 fiscal year.