One of the most important academic research institutes in marine sciences in Canada, the Institut des sciences de la mer de Rimouski (ISMER) of the Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), in partnership with the Maurice Lamontagne Institute (MLI) of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) is launching a prestigious scholarship program for students from Quebec, other Canadian provinces or countries as part of OFI's Ocean Graduate Excellence Network (OGEN) program. This scholarship program aims at recruiting 3 students who will start a PhD in oceanography at ISMER on a full-time basis in the fall 2023 or winter 2024. The excellence fellowships, in the amount of $40,000 per year, will be for a period of three years.

The doctoral thesis will be carried out in co-direction with researchers from ISMER and the Maurice Lamontagne Institute in accordance with the scientific priorities of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The selected candidates will also benefit from all the activities and training opportunities of the Ocean Graduate Excellence Network (OGEN) program of OFI (https://oceangraduate.com/).

The team of supervisors foster an equitable, diverse and inclusive training environment that facilitates the personalization of ideas and originality of the research work. The research teams accompany each student on their research journey and emphasize the development of critical thinking skills, the personalization of research goals, and the dissemination of science in the public sphere. In addition to available scholarships, the costs associated with research, fieldwork and some research dissemination activities are covered by the research projects.

This scholarship program aims at recruiting 3 students who will start a PhD in oceanography at ISMER on a full-time basis in the fall 2023 or winter 2024. The excellence fellowships, in the amount of $40,000 per year, will be for a period of three years.

• Start the doctoral program in the semester of Fall 2023 or Winter 2024;
• Be enrolled full-time in the PhD program in oceanography at ISMER at the time of the award;
• Meet the basic requirements for admission to the PhD program in oceanography at UQAR;
• Hold a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.7/4.3 or equivalent (e.g. ≥ 14/20);
• The doctoral thesis must be completed under the supervision of a regular professor at ISMER and a researcher at the MLI;
• Have obtained a letter of support from the team of supervisors in charge of one of the available projects.

Interested candidates have to submit a complete CV (including scientific communications, grants, awards, missions at sea, examples of leadership, etc. ), a letter of motivation explaining the candidate's background and how it relates to the proposed project and the PhD in oceanography at ISMER, all university grade transcripts, a letter of support from team of supervisors responsible for the project and three (3) letters of recommendation (one of which must be from a supervisor of the student's research) in electronic format before April 2, 2023 to the ISMER Graduate Program Committee in Oceanography (etud_ocean@uqar.ca).

Students with atypical academic backgrounds are encouraged to detail the acquisition of skills from their experiences in their cover letter. Please note that ISMER is able to offer accommodations during the recruitment process for the persons concerned. We invite you to inform us of your needs if necessary. ISMER, MLI and OFI place great importance on the diversity of the research community where individual differences are recognized, appreciated, respected and valued, in order to develop the full potential and to take advantage of the talents and strengths of each person. For more information on possible accommodations, we invite you to contact Maxence St-Onge, research agent in equity, diversity and inclusion at ISMER: maxence_st-onge@uqar.ca

Only complete applications that meet the criteria for this scholarship program will be evaluated by the selection committee after the application deadline. We are committed to an equal opportunity philosophy and strongly encourage applications from women, persons with disabilities, visible and ethnic minorities, and Aboriginal people.

For more information on this excellence fellowship program, please visit the Institute's website.

April 2, 2023. The complete application, including the three letters of recommendation and the letter of support from the professor responsible for the project, must be submitted by this date. See the "Application" section for more details.

Artificial reefs and ecosystem productivity

Supervisor : Fanny Noisette, Chris McKindsey

Marine biogeochemistry as part of a UNESCO Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

Supervisor : Gwénaëlle Chaillou, David Lévesque

Quantitative approach to predict the combined effect of warming and acidification on performance of key invertebrates in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence

Supervisor : David Drolet, David Deslauriers, Fanny Noisette

Developing Passive Acoustic Monitoring from gliders

Supervisor : Pierre Cauchy, F. Aulanier, D. Barclay

Trophic ecology of herring larvae in the Magdalen Islands lagoons

Supervisor : Réjean Tremblay, David Drolet, Charles Tylney, Domnique Robert, Benjamin Grégoire

Impact of environmental changes on the past and present diversity of toxic Alexandrium in the St. Lawrence Estuary

Supervisor : El Mahdi Bendif, Charles Tylney

Tuition

In addition to the Ph.D. Excellence Scholarships of ISMER, DFO-MLI and OGEN-OFI, all applicants will be eligible for an exemption from foreign student differential tuition fees (website information in French only). If this exemption is granted, students will pay the same tuition fees as Quebec students.

See also : 

• Tuition simulation (French only) 
• Subsistence charges and budget (French only)

Application

• Application form (French only)
• Study permit in Canada (French only)
• Arrival in Canada (French only)