2024 - Detweiler Travelling Fellowship

PLEASE CONSULT – FAQ section

Intended to improve the quality of medical and surgical practice in Canada. The fellowship will enable the recipient to visit medical centres in Canada (other than their own) or abroad, to study or gain experience in the use or application of new knowledge or techniques or to further the pursuit of a project relevant to clinical practice or research.

General Policies

  • This fellowship is not intended to support individuals in their completion of Royal College accredited training programs.
  • Applicable to visits of 3 to 12 months' duration; visits may be broken into separate time blocks but must be completed within two years. An amount equivalent to 75% of the award will be given at the beginning of the fellowship and the remainder upon receipt of the final report at the end of the fellowship. The fellowship may be used to supplement financial assistance granted from other sources.
  • Fellowships should ideally begin in 2024, but may commence as early as July 1 2023. Timing of disbursement of money awarded is determined by the start-date of the Fellowship and the Royal College’s fiscal year.
  • This fellowship is not restricted to Canadian medical centres. Any centre is eligible as long as it is a recognized centre in your field.
  • Long distance or online training does not qualify for this fellowship. If a program includes both on-line and in-person components, the in-person component must be at least three months in duration.
  • Detweiler Travelling Fellowships are reviewed in a two-tiered process, with the first tier conducted by external reviewers, and the second tier by the Awards Committee.
  • French applications will be reviewed by French reviewers in Tier 1 and, if successful at Tier 1, will be translated to English to accommodate all members of the Awards Committee. Both versions will be provided to the Committee.
  • Incomplete applications will be automatically removed from the adjudication process without informing the applicant. Please refer to the application requirements section below to ensure that all necessary components are included.

Eligibility

  • Applicants must be Fellows of the Royal College, or residents in the final year of their training who will be admitted to Fellowship in the Royal College prior to December 31 of the year following receipt of the Detweiler Fellowship. In the latter case, the award will be conditional upon admission to Fellowship (including payment of membership dues). Fellowship must remain in good standing for the duration of the funded activity.
  • Applicants must be permanent residents of Canada and must reside in Canada.
  • Fellows are eligible to receive the Detweiler Travelling Fellowship only twice in their career: once in the junior (still-in-training) category and once in the senior category. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply if the Fellowship is still within the eligible timeline.
  • The selection is based on the overall merit of the application and the degree to which the proposal meets the described objectives. Specifically, the Awards Committee assesses: (a) the applicant’s education and experience; (b) the benefits to the individual and to the community; (c) the quality of the program to be undertaken.
  • Ensuring distribution of funding to applicants with high quality proposals, who might not otherwise be able to undertake their proposed fellowship, is an important objective of the Detweiler. As such, candidates who hold or will hold $100,000 (CAD) or more of funding for their fellowship will not be considered. Additionally, the income available to the applicant may be considered in the adjudication of applications of equal merit.

Award

  • Five (5) or more fellowships offered annually to a maximum of $25,000 will be reserved for junior applicants (i.e., those who have held Royal College certification for five years or less, based on the date of obtaining primary or first RC specialty certification).
  • Two (2) additional fellowships offered annually will be reserved for senior applicants: who has held Royal College certification for five (5) years or more and has been in practice for at least three (3) years
  • Funding:
    • Junior applicants: $2,085 per month to a maximum of 12 months - up to $25,000
    • Senior applicants; $1,040 per month to a maximum of 12 months - up to $12,500

Application Requirements

  • Introduction letter, one page in length presenting your proposed Fellowship to the adjudicating committee. Your introduction letter should contain the following information;
  1. Full Name
  2. Email
  3. Royal College ID#
  4. University and year of primary specialty certification:
  5. Specialty (if more than one please indicate):
  6. Location of Fellowship;
  7. Duration of Fellowship (start date, end date, length in months) ;
  8. Topic of Fellowship.

  • Two letters of reference from Royal College Fellows. To determine if someone is a Fellow of the Royal College please consult the Royal College directory. 

  1. Letters must be one page in length. Reference letters should be clear, succinct, intentional and one page in length (Calibri or Open Sans font, size 10 if possible but not mandatory). 
  2. Furthermore, letters shouldn’t be provided by friends, relatives, or close relationships. 
  3. Only two support letters will be considered by the Committee. If the applicant includes additional letters, these will be removed. 
  4. Letters shouldn’t have institutional logos. 
  5. Royal College staff are not eligible to provide a reference letter. 
  • Letter of acceptance from the Host Institution. If a letter of acceptance is not available at the time of the application, the award is conditional on provision of a letter.
  • The applicant is required to provided two documents that would outline the following information:
    • Present in detail:
      • the nature and purpose (objective) of your proposed study;
      • how the proposed course of study will support the achievement of your personal learning objectives and the objectives of the Detweiler Travelling Fellowship;
      • why you have selected the center(s) you plan to visit;
      • ways in which this fellowship will be of particular value to you, your home institution and your community.
    • Present in details your future career plans.
  • Host institution and home institution must both provide letters indicating the amount of financial support provided (including if no financial support is provided).
  • The applicant must also provide curriculum Vitae (without profile picture), abbreviated if necessary (maximum of 10 pages).

FAQ

Items required:

  1. Intro letter
  2. Two reference letters
  3. Acceptance letter (if available)
  4. Letters regarding your fellowship (1. Nature and purpose 2. Future career plan)
  5. Home institution letter regarding funding
  6. Host institution letter regarding funding
  7. Abbreviated CV

Please submit your application via our online platform – 2024 Detweiler Traveling Fellowship application. It is also preferred for support letters to be submitted via the online platform.

Submission Deadline
September 6, 2023 – late applications will not be considered

Questions about the Detweiler Travelling Fellowship please consult the FAQ section. Additional questions may be submitted via email awards@royalcollege.ca

The first $500 of an educational grant is exempt from income tax; grants in excess of $500 must be included in income in the year received. The Royal College will be issuing a T4A Supplementary for grant income received within each calendar year. Please refer to Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) Income Tax Act, Interpretation Bulletin IT-75R4 for an explanation of taxation of scholarships. Successful applicants in receipt of one or more grants/awards exceeding $500 within the calendar year will receive a T4A.