Institut national de la recherche scientifique

Admission model

INRS admits students at master's and doctoral level only. For most research master's and doctoral programmes, a professor must agree to supervise the candidate before the application is completed; INRS offers a "Trouver ma direction" questionnaire and a directory of master's and doctoral projects to help. This prerequisite does not apply to professional (non-thesis) programmes, some social-science master's programmes with thesis, DESS and short programmes. Each programme has its own admission conditions in the programme directory.

Required documents

• Birth certificate or extract showing name, date, sex, city and country of birth and parents' names
• Official transcripts and any university diplomas obtained
• Proof of language proficiency, where applicable
• Curriculum vitae and statement of intent
• Contact details for three referees familiar with the candidate's training and research aptitude (professor, supervisor, manager; colleagues and fellow students are not accepted), who complete a short form after submission

Documents not in French or English must come with a translation by a certified translator.

Language requirements

Candidates who did not study in French must provide proof of B2 French (Common European Framework), unless a programme requires a higher level. Accepted tests: TCF and TEF (comprehension only counted), TEFAQ, TEF Canada, DELF and DALF. Exempt are applicants who passed the Quebec uniform French exam, met the requirement at another francophone university, hold a degree from a francophone university or a bachelor's or master's completed mainly in French, or hold a French general baccalauréat. Applicants without functional French may be admitted by showing functional English through an English-language university degree or B2 English: TOEFL iBT 72, IELTS Academic 5.5, PTE Academic 59 or CAEL 60. Test results are valid for two years and must be submitted with the application.

International and out-of-province applicants

Credentials earned outside Quebec must be checked against INRS's diploma equivalency tables, which set the minimum credential for entry to master's (2nd cycle) and doctoral (3rd cycle) programmes by country (for example, a bachelor's degree for the master's and a master's degree for the doctorate in the United States, China and India). A recognized equivalence does not guarantee admission. International students need a valid study permit and CAQ where applicable. Prior learning recognition (RAC) is available.

Deadlines and applying

Apply online through the IDÉ portal and pay the admission fee by credit card via a link sent at submission. Deadlines: fall term 30 March, winter term 1 November, summer term 1 March. Exceptions: international applicants to the professional master's in water sciences, 15 February (fall); international applicants to urban studies programmes, 1 March (fall) and 1 August for winter (master's only). Applications received after these dates may still be reviewed. The selection committee reviews complete files and the Registrar's Office emails the admission decision. Candidates from INRS or the Université du Québec network, open-house participants and those who met an INRS representative at a recruitment fair are exempt from the admission fee.

Tuition 2026-2027 (CAD per trimester; amounts revised each 1 September)

Tuition is $103.92 per credit ($1,558.80 for 15 credits). A year has three trimesters. Quebec residents on a master's with thesis pay $1,732.40 per trimester in total (including general, student-service, federation and association fees) for the first three trimesters, then a $430.76 registration fee ($604.36 total). International students on a master's with thesis pay $11,147.90 per trimester including a $9,115.50 surcharge ($607.70 per credit) and $300 foreign health insurance; international doctoral students pay $10,055.00 per trimester, including a $8,022.60 surcharge. French and Francophone Belgian students do not pay the surcharge and pay $2,032.40 per trimester (including $300 health insurance, unless exempt). Non-Quebec Canadian students pay a surcharge of $220.43 per credit ($3,306.45 per 15 credits) on the master's. ASEQ health and dental insurance is $137.57 per trimester. Student association fees range from $10 to $20 by centre.

INRS operates from sites in five Quebec locations:

• Quebec City - 490, rue de la Couronne (INRS-Québec building): head office and administration, the Centre Eau Terre Environnement (water, earth and environment) and part of the Centre Urbanisation Culture Société. Large-scale scientific infrastructure is in the Parc technologique du Québec métropolitain (2605, boul. du Parc-Technologique). A research station operates at Sacré-Cœur in the Saguenay.
• Laval - 531, boulevard des Prairies, Cité de la Biotech: Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie (health and biotechnology, infectious disease research). The Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications is being progressively relocated to the Laval campus from autumn 2026.
• Varennes - 1650, boul. Lionel-Boulet: Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications (advanced materials, nanotechnology, photonics, telecommunications, sustainable energy), with micro- and nanofabrication and ultrafast-science facilities. An office is also at Place Bonaventure, 800, rue de La Gauchetière, Montreal.
• Montreal - 385, rue Sherbrooke Est: Centre Urbanisation Culture Société (urban studies, population studies, knowledge mobilization).
• Baie-Saint-Paul (Charlevoix) - 63, rue Ambroise-Fafard: Centre Ruralités durables, described as Quebec's first permanent university facility dedicated to research and graduate education on rural territories; its master's and doctoral programmes are yet to be announced.

The libraries of INRS are grouped as the Service de documentation et d'information spécialisées (SDIS), holding more than 50,000 print and digital documents, with loans through the Sofia catalogue shared by Quebec university libraries, databases, geospatial data and research data management support. Campuses offer relaxation areas, study and team-work spaces, and in some centres active-living rooms, bicycle racks and showers.