C$100 Million: University of Toronto PhD Scholarship, Pays C$80,000 a Year

The University of Toronto PhD Scholarship program has launched the Presidents’ Impact Scholarship Program, a C$100 million fund to attract PhD students from Canada and abroad. They announced on 5 October 2026 that each selected scholar receives C$80,000 a year for four years, C$320,000 in total. At roughly ₹68.5 per Canadian dollar, that is about ₹54.8 lakh a year and ₹2.19 crore over four years. President Melanie Woodin called it the most lucrative PhD funding package in Canada. The first cohort starts in September 2027.

Exchange rate used: Rs.68.5 per CAD, October 2026. Verify the current rate before finalizing your budget. 

U of T Presidents’ Impact Scholarship: C$80,000 a Year for PhD Students

• Value: C$80,000 per scholar per year (about ₹54.8 lakh) for four years, totaling C$320,000 (about ₹2.19 crore).
• Number of scholars: 12 or 13 new recipients each year starting September 2027. The program reaches 50 scholars by the start of its fourth year, and it maintains that number permanently.
• Who can be selected: PhD students from within Canada or abroad, so international applicants are in scope.
• How it is funded: a C$50 million endowed gift from a Canadian family foundation, with the university matching the annual payout to reach C$100 million.
• How it compares: the university says it is comparable to top Ivy League packages and in a category of its own nationally.

How the program works. Each year U of T will pick a societal theme (it gave examples such as AI and Health or Sovereignty and the Arctic) and recruit scholars around it as a cohort. Scholars will work with two faculty supervisors from different disciplines and complete an external engagement experience, such as a government partnership, an international placement, or an industry internship.

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How It Fits With U of T’s Existing PhD Funding

The scholarship roughly doubles the university's current minimum PhD funding. Starting in fall 2025, all students in the funded cohort (the first four or five years) of U of T PhD programs will be guaranteed a base package of C$40,000 a year, including tuition, one of the highest base packages in Canada.

University President Melanie Woodin has framed the timing around global competition for researchers, saying top talent is highly mobile right now, as US science and research programs face funding cuts.

What Has Not Been Announced Yet

Several details that applicants will need are not in the announcement coverage:

• The application process and deadline. The university says a call for applications will be issued soon.
• Whether scholars are selected through departmental nomination or direct application is also a key eligibility criterion.
• Whether the C$80,000 figure includes tuition and fees is important, as international PhD tuition is a separate cost line.
• The formal eligibility rules and the theme for the first cohort are also important. U of T says candidates will be judged on academic excellence and a track record in innovation and real-world problem-solving, but it hasn't published the full criteria.

Treat C$80,000 as the announced award value and wait for the terms, including whether it covers tuition, before planning around it.

Why It Matters for Indian Students

Twelve or thirteen new awards a year across the whole university is a minimal pool, so this funding is a stretch opportunity, not a route most PhD applicants should plan around. What matters more is the signal. Canada's top research university is putting money specifically behind recruiting international doctoral talent, and it is doing so while the guaranteed base package already sits at C$40,000. For Indian students applying to PhD programs in Canada, that strengthens the case for U of T as a funded option even if you do not win this specific award.

Practical next steps: shortlist your target PhD programs now and identify two potential supervisors from different disciplines, since U of T says scholars will be co-supervised across fields and recruited around an annual theme, and watch U of T's official channels for the call for applications rather than relying on third-party summaries of the terms.

If you are comparing PhD routes, see our PhD in Canada guide for Indian students and our University of Toronto program guide.

Have questions about applying for a funded PhD in Canada? Book a free session with a LeapScholar counselor.