Quebec Merit Scholarship Program for Foreign Students (PBEEE)

Applications are now open for the 2027-2028 Quebec Merit Scholarship Program for Foreign Students (PBEEE). The Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT) is responsible for managing the scholarship program. It was commissioned by the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur du Québec (MES) which provides the funding. The competition launches in July 2026, and the deadline for applications is December 2, 2026, at 4:00 PM (EST). Results will be announced in April 2027.

The Quebec Merit Scholarship 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. The program covers higher education as a whole and offers researchers and CCTT administrators the opportunity to participate.

The objective of the Quebec Merit Scholarship Program for Foreign Students (PBEEE) is to support the internationalization of research activities in Québec’s institutions of higher education, to attract the best foreign researchers and students, and to promote abroad Québec universities and College Centres for the Transfer of Technologies (CCTT).

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. No research sector is given preference.

Program Details

• Host Institutions: Higher Education Institutions in Quebec, Canada.
• Area: Any research area (health, humanities and Social Sciences, arts and letters, Natural Sciences, and engineering etc.).
• Duration: Variable. Master’s: up to 6 semesters. Doctoral: up to 12 semesters. Postdoctoral: 12 months. Short-term: up to 4 months.
• Number of Awards: Not specified.
• Target Group: Open to students and researchers of foreign nationalities who do not hold Canadian citizenship or permanent residency.

Quebec Merit Scholarship Program Benefits

In addition to the scholarship, the Quebec Merit Scholarship 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) for the period covered by the funding.

• Master’s research scholarship (VM): $20,000 a year. The maximum amount that can be awarded is 6 installments (6 semesters) totaling $40,000.
• Doctoral research scholarships (V1, 1B, 1C, 1I, 1IS, 1W): $25,000 a year. The maximum amount that can be awarded is 12 installments (12 semesters) totaling $100,000.
• Postdoctoral scholarships (V2, 2B, 2C, 2I): $35,000 for one year (3 installments, 12 months, not renewable).
• Short-term research or professional development scholarships (V3, 3B, 3C, 3I, 3IS, 3W): $3,000 a month for a period of up to four months. The maximum amount that can be awarded is 4 installments (4 months) totaling $12,000.

Types and Features of the Scholarships

This funding program has different types of scholarships with six components as shown below:

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).

Quebec Merit Scholarship Program Eligibility

All candidates willing to apply for this government scholarship must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Meet all eligibility conditions at the closing date of the competition.
2. Have been preselected by a Québec university or the CCTT network (or by the CSC for the Québec-China component).
3. Cannot have already received a Merit Scholarship for Foreign Students from MEPS, FRQNT, or the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).
4. Cannot be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.
5. Cannot have applied for permanent resident status under Canadian immigration law.
6. 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.

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 research thesis (an essay, research report, dissertation or article are not accepted).
• Professional master’s programs are not eligible. Cotutelle programs are not eligible.
• To apply, candidates must have been enrolled in a master’s program for up to three full-time semesters before May 1, 2027.
• If awarded, the recipient can receive a maximum of 6 installments during the first 9 semesters of master’s studies (or equivalent).

Doctoral candidates (V1, 1B, 1C, 1I, 1IS, 1W)

• To apply for the regular component, candidates must have been enrolled in a doctoral program for up to 14 full-time semesters before May 1, 2027.
• If awarded, the recipient can receive a maximum of 12 installments within the first 15 semesters of doctoral studies (or equivalent).
• Professional doctoral programs are not eligible. Cotutelle programs are not eligible.
• Candidates who are not enrolled but plan to begin doctoral studies are eligible if they start their program between May 1, 2027, and January 15, 2028.

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

• Postdoctoral scholarships are intended for researchers who have obtained their doctorate no more than two years before the competition deadline or who will submit their dissertation by January 15, 2028.
• Postdoctoral research must be conducted in an institution other than the one that granted the PhD degree.
• A candidate’s doctoral supervisors and co-supervisors may not act as their postdoctoral supervisor, even if they have changed institutions.
• The duration of this scholarship is 12 months and not renewable.

Short-term research or professional development candidates (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 he or she applied.
• The duration of this scholarship is four months. The scholarship is not renewable.

How to Apply for the Quebec Merit Scholarship?

These scholarships to study in North America are intended for foreign students or researchers from all research sectors preselected by a Québec university or the CCTT network who wish to begin or continue studies or research activities in Québec. Only candidates preselected by a Québec university or the CCTT network by October 27, 2026, can participate in this competition. Candidates for the Québec-China scholarship must be preselected by the CSC no later than March 31, 2027.

Applicants must apply to nominating bodies, who will then nominate them. The FRQNT will then contact all preselected candidates to complete an electronic form, to which the required documents will be attached. Documents submitted in a language other than French or English must be accompanied by a translation. The form may be completed in French or English. Results will be announced in April 2027.

The deadline to submit to FRQNT the preselected candidates by responsible bodies (Québec university or the CCTT network) is October 27, 2026 at 4 PM. The deadline for preselected candidates to submit their application to FRQNT is December 2, 2026, at 4 PM.

Required Documents

• A photocopy of the identification page of a valid passport from the candidate’s country of origin or any official document establishing the candidate’s citizenship.
• Academic transcripts for all years of university studies undertaken, completed or not (certificate, diploma, bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, etc.). Do not include a copy of the diploma unless a grade appears on it. If equivalences were granted for courses taken at other institutions or in previous programs, transcripts from those institutions must be attached. For transcripts obtained outside North America, the candidate must attach a document explaining the grading system in use at the institution concerned. For the program in progress at the time of application, the transcript must be up to date and present all results obtained at the last session completed before the competition deadline. Transcripts must be organized chronologically, from most recent to oldest.
• For the postdoctoral component: a copy of the doctoral diploma (or a certificate of first thesis submission); an acceptance letter from the supervisor. The candidate must enter the supervisor’s account information in their FRQnet form. The supervisor must submit the acceptance letter themselves by the competition deadline. The candidate cannot create an account on behalf of the supervisor.
• For the short-term component: an acceptance letter from the supervisor, submitted by the supervisor themselves via FRQnet.

Frequently Asked Questions

The deadline to submit applications is December 2, 2026, at 4:00 PM (EST). For more details on the Quebec Merit Scholarship Program for Foreign Students (PBEEE), please visit the official page.