The CITA National Fellows (CNFs) Program is a hallmark of the CITA National Programs. CITA Inc members who are faculty at Canadian universities may sign up as potential hosts for CITA National Fellowships. Usually, they are invited to do so by an email sent out to CITA Inc members in the middle of August. Thus, the list of hosts is updated each year before the beginning of the CITA Postdoctoral Fellow and National Fellow competitions in early November.

The updated host list gets embedded in the job application website for that year, so that applicants can choose up to three hosts from the list.  When all the applications have been submitted (after the deadline), the website sends out to each potential host the application materials for each applicant that has chosen them, asking for a ranking of up to three.  These are added to the shortlist that the CITA Council reviews and ranks before offers can be made.

In recent years, CITA Council has ranked CITA Fellows for hire at the CITA “Flagship” in Toronto and CNFs in the same competition.  In selecting CNFs that will receive an offer from the proposed host, Council has followed three rules:

•  CNFs may not be held at the University of Toronto;
• Any member of CITA Inc may host no more than one CNF at the same time. For example, a host cannot participate in the competition at the end of 2024 if they already have a National Fellow whose term continues in school year 2025-26;
• In a given year, only one new CNF can be allocated to a given university. Thus, even if one faculty member is already blocked that year because of a Fellow continuing from a previous year, another faculty member of the same university might still be awarded a new CNF.

A CITA Inc member who signs up as a potential host should anticipate having sufficient funding, so that, when matched by CITA, allows them to make a two or three year offer (ideally three years) to the applicant. To become a CITA Inc member, fill out the form.

The above rules and evaluation process are intended to ensure that, over the years, CNF hosting opportunities are spread across the country.