How It Works

Program Details

The Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship provides a long-term funding and internship option for master’s and PhD students. Recipients can also access professional development training that helps them ensure project success and gain in-demand career skills.

Interested applicants can apply for the Accelerate Fellowship at any time. All other Accelerate program guidelines apply.

Eligibility

Academic supervisors

  • Academic supervisors are eligible if they are faculty at a Canadian academic institution who are eligible to hold Tri-Agency funds.

Partner organizations

  • Partner organizations can be for-profit corporations (must receive more than 50% of their funds from non-government sources), eligible not-for-profit corporations, municipalities, or hospitals in Canada.
  • For-profit businesses and not-for-profit corporations operating outside of Canada are eligible as additional partners on projects with a Canadian partner organization.
  • Eligibility can be confirmed with a Mitacs Advisor.

Intern

An intern can be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, international student with a student visa, or international postdoctoral fellow with a valid work permit. Interns must be 18 years old or over, and fall into one of the following categories:

  • Registered students and postdoctoral fellows at Mitacs partner colleges and universities in Canada. Postdoctoral fellows are eligible if the date of graduation from a PhD program is less than five years to the start date of the project. Exceptions are available for extenuating circumstances such as parental leave or military service. Fellows must not have been employed full-time at the partner organization prior to applying.
  • Recent graduates (must be within two years of graduation at the start of their project), and non-degree students (diploma, certificate, etc) are eligible at the academic institution’s discretion. (Any interested applicants should check with their institution to first determine whether they are able to support other types of university interns before drafting an application.)
  • Visiting students and researchers at Canadian academic institutions who are completing a degree at a university abroad may also be eligible at the discretion of the Canadian institution.
  • How many internships can one intern do?
    • Post-secondary students are eligible for any number of internships at the discretion of their institution. Interns must be enrolled as a student at an eligible institution throughout the course of the internship and have time in their schedule to commit to the project.
    • Postdoctoral fellows can do up to nine (9) four-month internships (up to three (3) years)
    • Recent graduates can complete up to three (3) four-month internships within two years of their graduation date
    • Interns may not participate in more than internship at the same time.

Further, all parties must declare any potential conflicts of interest upon application submission, including:

  • An academic supervisor in a position of ownership, employment or influence over operations at the partner organization.
  • An intern is in a position of ownership, employment or influence over operations at the partner organization.
  • Programs participants with a close family relationship with each other, or with someone in a position of ownership employment or influence at the partner organization.

Interns may interact remotely with an international partner organization and/or travel to interact in person. Any travel must be in accordance with their Canadian academic institution’s policies.

How to Apply

Effective April 1, 2025, the Indigenous Pathways initiative will be reopening for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. As part of the new funding criteria, each partner organization will be limited to 12 Internship Units per submission year. Please contact your Mitacs advisor for questions or concerns.

For further details and before initiating an Accelerate application in the respective provinces, please contact your Mitacs Advisor

How to apply

  1. Review the following information when you begin writing your proposal:
  • Mitacs Responsible Conduct of Research Policy ( found on “Mitacs Terms, Conditions & Policies”, including information on eligible research)
  • Adjudication criteria (see at the bottom of this page under “Program Administration”)
  • Writing Your Proposal guide (under “Application”)
  • Mitacs’s other relevant policies (including Mitacs Indigenous Research Policy, Research Security Plan, etc), all findable on “Mitacs Terms, Conditions & Policies”.

2. Reach out to one of our Business Development team members to be paired with a Mitacs Advisor

3. Determine the right application process for your project (information below)

Option 1: Our Digital Application Process Option 2: Our Non-Digital Process
 

In 2024, Mitacs launched a new digital application portal as a first step towards digitizing our entire application process, leveraging digital tools to further enhance your application experience.

To be eligible for the new digital process, your project must:

  • Use one, or a combination of the following Award values:
    • $10,000 Standard Award (1:1)
    • $15,000 Standard Award (1:1)
    • $13,333 Cluster Funding (1:1.2) – Requires 3+ unique interns, 6+ internship units
  • Not jointly funded with another funder such as NSERC, SSHRC, Genome Canada, etc.
  • No known COIs at the point of application
  • Please note our digital platform cannot currently accommodate applications to our Indigenous Pathways program or post-doctoral fellowship funding models. We are striving to enable these as soon as possible.

We are striving to enable the above exclusions in our digital application as soon as possible.

Steps to apply using our digital process (RAP):

  1. Click here to download the Accelerate application for the digital process.
  2. Apply on the Accelerate Registration and Application Portal (RAP).
  

Mitacs Accelerate is incrementally transitioning to a digital application process.

To see if your project is a good fit for the digital process, please review the Accelerate Digital Application Process option.

All applications eligible to be submitted via our digital process will be asked to do so. For applications that cannot yet be accommodated in our online portal, the below non-digital option remains open.

Steps to Apply:

  1. Download the Accelerate application for the non-digital process. These can be downloaded in the “Application” section below.
  2. Collect all required signatures: intern(s), professor(s), partner contact, and university Office of Research Services or equivalent.
  3. Email your proposal package to your Mitacs Advisor for submission.

Proposal Package Requirements:

  • Accelerate proposal (under Applications). Please note that only the latest version of the Mitacs Accelerate template proposal will be accepted.
  • Intern CV located under Applications (interns may use Mitacs’s optional template).

Please be sure to include supporting documents as required by your university or province.

 

What happens next

Your application will be peer reviewed, which will take approximately six to eight weeks. Proposals with multiple internships or that require revisions may take longer. Please note there is a chance your application will be returned with a request for revisions before it is approved.

Following submission, partner organizations will receive an invoice (refundable if not approved), so that the intern receives payment when the project begins. Please note this invoice may be received before application approval, and does not guarantee approval.

Once an outcome is available, Mitacs will contact all participants with the decision and applicable instructions.

Following formal approval and the receipt of the partner contribution, Mitacs forwards the Accelerate funds to the academic institution to administer the award.

Please note no work should begin on a project until an Award Letter has been issued and funds have been distributed to the institution.

Application timeline

Questions? Consult the FAQ or reach out to [email protected]

Additional resources for partner organizations:

 

TAX CREDITS FOR YOUR R&D

Read our blog post

 

HOW ACCELERATE HELPS COMPANIES

View our industry-survey infographic

 

MITACS TERMS, CONDITIONS & POLICIES

View and download our documents

 

Application
Accelerate Budget & Invoice Schedule
Download
Accelerate: Guide to Writing Your Proposal
Download
Accelerate Proposal
Download
Accelerate Independent Administrator Profile
Download
Accelerate Intern CV template
Download
Intern Eligibility & Conflict of Interest Declaration form
Download
Mitacs Academic Institution Acknowledgement form
Download
Complete Package - Paper
Download
Complete Package - RAP
Download
Project Name Terms, Conditions & Policies
Accelerate Code of Conduct: Travel Abroad
Download
Accelerate Code of Conduct: Travel to Canada
Download
Accelerate Project Start/End Dates Policy
Download
Mitacs Travel Subsidy
Download
Mitacs Virtual Interaction Guide
Download
Mitacs Participant Expectations
Download
Application
Budget et calendrier de facturation Accélération
Download
Guide Accélération — Rédiger votre demande
Download
Demande Accélération
Download
Profil d’administratrice indépendante ou d’administrateur indépendant Accélération
Download
Modèle de CV pour stagiaire Accélération
Download
Formulaire Accélération — Nouveau profil de stagiaire
Download
Formulaire d’attestation de l’établissement d’enseignement de Mitacs
Download
Trousse complète — Papier
Download
Trousse complète — PID
Download
Project Name Terms, Conditions & Policies
Code de déontologie Accélération : voyage du Canada
Download
Code de déontologie Accélération : voyage vers le Canada
Download
Politique relative aux dates de début et de fin de projet Accélération
Download
Programme de subvention de déplacement Mitacs
Download
Guide des interactions virtuelles
Download
Mitacs Attentes des participants
Download

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Program Administration

Release of funds Intellectual property Adjudication

Mitacs invoices a partner organization upon submission of their Accelerate proposal. Upon receipt of the partner’s contribution, Mitacs forwards the research award to the Canadian academic institution. No funds will be released to the academic institution until the invoice has been paid and the proposal is approved. Mitacs has no control over when funds are administered by the academic institution. If you have questions about your Accelerate award after Mitacs has released funds, contact your academic institution’s Office of Research Services (or equivalent).

Mitacs’ policy is to take no position and claims no intellectual property (IP) from projects it funds. All Mitacs Accelerate participants are bound by the IP terms of the academic institution where the intern is enrolled. IP is left to be shared between the academic institution, its researchers, and the partner organization, according to the IP rules of the academic institution, unless a separate agreement is negotiated.

The following universities have developed their own IP terms for Mitacs projects:

Note that these IP agreements may not apply to joint applications with other funding organizations.

External reviewers for internship proposals receive the following questions to guide their assessment of the proposal:

  1. Mitacs Accelerate supports research-based internships. Does the proposed project qualify as research in its discipline?
  2. Is the project appropriate for the academic degree level of the intern(s)?
  3. Are the objectives clear?
  4. Is the methodology appropriate to achieve the objectives?
  5. Is the timeline realistic?
  6. Other comments and suggestions for the applicants. For example, is there prior work that should be considered by the researchers?
  7. Confidential comments for Mitacs:
  8. Will the research work potentially have adverse effects on the environment? Do you recommend that an additional environmental impact review be conducted?

Proposals for large and long-term projects may sometimes involve significant technical or scientific uncertainties, complex project management plans, or highly structured intern recruitment, supervision, and training plans. In these situations, Mitacs reserves the right to hold a review meeting between applicants and reviewers to support the assessment of such proposals before arriving at a final funding decision. The need for such a review meeting will be determined as part of the review process, and applicants will be notified as soon as possible if a review meeting needs to be scheduled.

Responsibilities

The following steps outline the responsibilities of each Mitacs Accelerate participant before, during, and after their project. For projects with multiple internships, each intern is responsible for his or her individual steps.

Interns travelling internationally (whether to or from Canada) may have additional or different responsibilities, which can be found on the Accelerate International page.

Mitacs Accelerate Terms and Conditions outline participants’ responsibilities in further detail — each participant is expected to understand and adhere to the Terms and Conditions of the program.

Before the internship During the internship After the internship
  • Confirm the internship start date with your professor and partner. Notify Mitacs if your start date changes. 
  • Develop a research plan with your professor and partner. Confirm intellectual property requirements with your academic institution. 
  • Ensure appropriate insurance coverage, as necessary. 
  • Start the internship only after funds have been forwarded to the academic institution. Your stipend will be managed and distributed by your institution. 
  • For internships with international travel: International Pre-departure form and Code of Conduct must be received before the internship can begin. Please consult with your home university for any visa-related questions. 
  • Maintain student, postdoc or recent grad status at the academic institution for the duration of your internship. 
  • Interact with your partner organization and academic supervisor as described in your approved proposal.  
  • Follow through on any commitments outlined in the Mitacs project to the best of your ability 
  • Behave in a respectful and civil manner through your gestures, words, and relations with others throughout your program participants, and avoid any form of harassment, discrimination, or incivility. 
  • Be on time to work and dress appropriately for the work setting, virtually and in person 
  • Welcome constructive professional criticism and continually strive to improve your performance 
  • Adhere to relevant procedures of your academic institution and/or host organization. 
  • Share any concern with your academic supervisor and host organization if you experience ongoing issues with your project, and notify Mitacs of any corrective measures in a timely manner 
  • Meet all necessary travel requirements for your intended destination, including completing Mitacs’s pre-departure forms (if applicable) 
  • Consider taking a Mitacs Training workshop before or during your internship. Topics include essential interpersonal, project management, and entrepreneurial skills. 
  • Complete the Accelerate Intern Exit Survey. You will receive an email from Mitacs with the survey link shortly after you complete your internship.  
  • Add your Accelerate internship and Training courses to your CV and LinkedIn profile   
  • Sign up for the newsletter (optional). As a participant in a Mitacs program, you can receive exclusive updates on job postings, funding and research opportunities, courses, and more. 
  • Acknowledge all Mitacs-sponsored results, including work by professors, postdocs, other interns, and research associates with the following statement: “This work was supported by Mitacs through the Mitacs Accelerate program.” 

Before the project During the project After the project
  • Develop a research plan with the intern(s) and partner. Confirm intellectual property requirements with your academic institution. 
  • Provide feedback to the intern(s) to improve the quality of the proposal. 
  • Ensure appropriate insurance coverage, as necessary. 
  • Confirm the internship start date with the intern(s). 
  • Start the internship only after funds have been forwarded to the Canadian academic institution. 
  • Take fiduciary responsibility for the Mitacs grant (Canadian university professors only). 
  • Provide ongoing direction and research support to the student prior to and during the research project. 
  • Update Mitacs as necessary of any changes to project scope or timeline. 
  • Supervise the intern(s) during their internship activities at the academic institution. 
  • Behave in a respectful and civil manner through your gestures, words, and relations with others throughout your program participants, and avoid any form of harassment, discrimination, or incivility. 
  • Adhere to relevant procedures and procedures of your academic institution. 
  • Complete an exit survey.
  • Acknowledge Mitacs-funded results with the following: “This work was supported by Mitacs through the Mitacs Accelerate program.”

Before the project During the project After the project
    • Before the project 
    • Develop a research plan with the intern(s) and professor(s). 
    • Provide feedback to the intern(s) to improve the quality of the proposal. 
    • Confirm the project start date with the intern(s). 
    • Agree to protect and keep confidential intern(s)’s personal information with any third party, unless granted written permission by intern(s). 
    • Ensure appropriate insurance coverage, as necessary. 
    • Pay the contribution upon receipt of the Mitacs invoice. Please note that the financial contribution of organizations is subject to applicable Goods and Services Tax (GST), Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) and/or Quebec Sales Tax (QST) (Collectively the value added tax or VAT). Projects can only begin after Mitacs has received the partner payment and forwarded the Accelerate grant to the academic institution. 
  • Attend monthly status meetings and update Mitacs as necessary. 
  • Supervise the intern(s) during their on-site internship activities. 
  • Provide access to the project site for an in-person assessment at Mitacs’s request. 
  • Behave in a respectful and civil manner through your gestures, words, and relations with others throughout your program participants, and avoid any form of harassment, discrimination, or incivility. 
  • Adhere to all relevant policies and procedures of your organization. 
  • Do not tolerate any behavior that undermines the dignity, self-esteem, or productivity of any Mitacs interns, staff, facilitators or affiliated members. If such occurrence arises, you must speak out and report any behavior to your academic institution in accordance with its policies, and the Mitacs team responsible for your program.  
  • Strive to recognize and avoid biases, and give fair treatment to all participants, Mitacs and academic institution representations, host organization and academic supervisors, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or any protect ground established by the applicable Canadian human rights legislations 
  • Complete an exit survey.
  • Acknowledge Mitacs-funded results with the following: “This work was supported by Mitacs through the Mitacs Accelerate program.”

Cancellations

Refer to the Mitacs Project Cancellation Policy

FAQs

Before You Apply When You Apply After You Apply During the Fellowship

In order to participate in any Mitacs program, it is preferred that interns have full-time student or postdoctoral fellow status at their academic institution. However, part-time students are also eligible for Accelerate internships that do not include international travel, provided that the following conditions hold:
• They have student status at the academic institution for the duration of the internship
• They are covered under the institution’s insurance, the same as full-time students
• The institution is able to pay the intern a salary or stipend from the Mitacs grant
• The student is able to commit to the project for the appropriate duration (Accelerate internships are four months and may be spread over up to six months to accommodate other commitments)

Yes. Partner organizations are welcome to contribute additional funding but Mitacs will not provide any additional funding outside of the standard award. [This additional partner funding should be included in the application budget and the anticipated use of funds (e.g., stipend/salary top-up, specialized equipment)]. Top-up funds must be received at Mitacs at the same time as the minimum contribution and will be added to the annual award and forwarded to the university.

Yes, Accelerate supports internships based in Canada and around the world, provided those internships include at least one intern travelling to or from Canada, university, or partner organization that is based in Canada. See Accelerate International for more information.

No. Accelerate internships are full-time internships, which means participants are expected to be spending 50% of their time at the partner organization and 50% of their time at their host academic institution.
• Interns cannot simultaneously hold Accelerate internships, or combine them with any other Mitacs internships or fellowships that overlap.
• While a Mitacs intern can hold multiple awards over time based on their degree level, internship or fellowship start and end dates cannot overlap.
Participants who hold another Mitacs award or internship must complete it prior to receiving an Accelerate Award to start an internship.

Mitacs cannot support an internship in which the intern is doing work they were previously doing as an employee or contractor. We can allow internships where the student has previously been an employee or contractor under the following conditions:
• The intern has gone back to school to pursue a new post-secondary diploma or degree following their employment
• The proposed internship is substantially different to the work they were doing as an employee or contractor
• The intern is not an employee or contractor during the internship
Postdoctoral fellows are not eligible for internships/fellowships at organizations where they have already been a full-time employee. Only if their employment was part time and/or very short-term can their eligibility for Mitacs programs be considered. Please discuss this situation with a Mitacs Business Development representative before applying.

Mitacs does not have any restrictions on its recipients holding other grants.
You are responsible to determine if your other grants have such restrictions prior to applying to Accelerate.

No, Mitacs does not offer any scholarships to cover university tuition fees. Our programs are designed to offer support to students conducting research projects.

Internships are 4–6-month units of a research project, valued at $15K per unit, with $7,500 from both the partner organization and Mitacs, to support post-secondary research projects. Funds flow through the academic institution with a stipend to the student at a minimum of $10K, with up to $5K to support research costs. Please refer to the Funding section for an illustrated explanation.

The maximum allowable number of internships varies depending on your current academic designation: 

  • College students can complete up to three internship units 
  • Undergraduate students can complete up to three internship units 
  • Master’s students can complete up to six internship units 
  • PhD students can complete up to twelve internships 
  • Postdoctoral fellows can complete up to nine internships 

Graduate students seeking longer-term funding can also apply for Accelerate Fellowship funding, in which: 

  • Master’s students can complete an 18 or 24-month project  
  • PhD students can complete a three or four-year project  

Applicants can apply for Accelerate and Accelerate Fellowship funding at any time. 

Mitacs cannot find partner organizations for individual interns. For tips on finding a partner organization, view the Research Partnerships 101 webinar, talk to your academic supervisor, or visit the Researchers Wanted page.

Yes. Mitacs Accelerate is open to any academic discipline.

Please note that the financial contribution of organizations is subject to applicable Goods and Services Tax (GST), Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) and/or Quebec Sales Tax (QST) (Collectively the value added tax or VAT).

Please refer to Mitacs Conflict of Interest Policy for more details. If there is a conflict of interest, please discuss with your Mitacs Advisor before applying.

In order to apply for Mitacs Accelerate projects, you would need both an academic partner and a non-academic partner (e.g. a partner organization such as a for-profit or not-for-profit corporation) who would also be benefiting from the research.

Mitacs forwards Accelerate funds to the student’s academic institution only after it has received the contribution from the student’s partner organization. Please allow two weeks for processing upon receipt of this contribution. Interns travelling to Canada should be aware that their funding may not be available until they arrive in Canada. Mitacs recommends that interns contact their Canadian host university’s Office of Research Services prior to the project to determine when they can access funds.

Mitacs follows Tri-Agency eligible expenses for use of funds. Please refer to the Mitacs Use of Funds policy for details of eligible expenses for Mitacs programs.

Accelerate is offered in partnership with a student’s university, which administers their award. We recommend that students speak with their professor and institution about student status (“employees” or “trainees”), funding policies (“stipend” or “salary”), and potential deductions of benefits. Universities administer funds according to their individual institutional policies, which are flexible under Tri-Agency guidelines. If benefits are included, they may be deducted from either a student’s pay or the accompanying research funds.

Students are welcome to revise and resubmit either a new version of the current proposal or a new proposal on a related, eligible project, per the guidance provided in the decision letter. We provide feedback from Mitacs Research staff, external expert reviewers and/or the Mitacs Research and Innovation Council in all decision letters in order to help applicants improve proposals which were not initially approved.

Masters and PhD students must hold student status at their academic institution and meet all eligibility criteria for the Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship before applying.

After their research proposal has successfully passed the research review, they will receive an email that confirms Mitacs received the partner contribution confirmation. They will also be asked to confirm their start and end dates at that time. Students should not start until they receive the email confirming that Mitacs has received the partner funds. This is necessary to be able to pay the intern on time.
Please read the Mitacs Accelerate project start and end dates policy found in the downloadable Application Package zip file in the How To Apply section.

Invoices must be paid in full to Mitacs prior to any internship funds being sent by Mitacs to the university. Please note that all partner funds must be sent directly to Mitacs and not to the university. The funds must be received in advance of the internship start date.

To maximize your experience, we ask students to complete the Mitacs Accelerate Orientation online session to prepare them for their internship, and the Mitacs Virtual Interactions Resources online session if they have virtual partner interaction.
The other online courses in the Accelerate Curriculum are skills-development courses suggested for students to support your professional development.

Certain requirements must be met to be eligible to request a project extension. Please see the criteria below and contact your Mitacs Advisor for next steps. If your case does not meet the criteria below, you may submit a new project funding application.

1. Applicants who have an approved Mitacs Accelerate project may apply for a funding extension of 1 internship unit (IU) per intern — to a maximum of 10 IUs per project. Applications for an extension can be submitted once the internship(s) being extended is/are at least 75% through their original timeline. The funding extension shall be used to:

• Complete the existing project in cases where the project has experienced delays due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g., lack of access to facilities due to COVID-19, sample delays due to transportation, seasonal delays in fieldwork, etc.)

• Broaden the scope of the project (e.g., conducting additional tests, including additional samples, adding data sources for analysis, etc.)

• In either case, the request cannot be used to add new objectives or change existing project objectives.

2. Extensions must be requested within 4 months from when the intern completed their last IU on the project. In cases where a new intern is being added to the project, the request must be submitted within 4 months from the end of the last IU completed on the project.

3. If the extensions will be used to add a new intern to the project, a New Intern Profile form and the new intern’s CV will be required along with this completed form.

4. All interns must remain eligible (including respecting maximum internship allocation) to hold Mitacs internships for the duration of the extension period.

5. No discounts or enhanced leveraging options are available to fund the extension internships. Only standard funding models may apply, regardless of the funding models for the original project. Partner organizations are required to contribute additional funds for the extension period.

Yes. This should be communicated to their supervisor, organization partner and university. The internship will be put on hold for this period of time, and the student will not be paid from their internship. Once a return date has been determined, the student will need to inform Mitacs of when they plan on returning to the fellowship to complete their term.

Once the exit survey submission is confirmed, a Mitacs Program Certificate of Completion will be available in the interns/postdocs e-campus on EDGE.

Mitacs Accelerate internships require the active participation of the intern, professor, and partner organization. All participants should attempt to fulfill their project obligations.
If all parties are in agreement, a project or individual internship may be terminated. If one party wants to cancel the internship without other parties’ agreement, s/he must first notify them in writing and allow 30 days for resolution of outstanding issues.
Any funds remaining after a cancelled internship must be returned to Mitacs. For more information, please refer to the downloadable General Mitacs Terms, Conditions & Policies zip file found under How To Apply.

Students should check their spam or junk folder. If they still haven’t received it, they should contact [email protected].

Students should receive an invitation within the 30 days following the completion of their internship/fellowship.

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