Queen Elizabeth Scholars

Please note: this funding opportunity is for faculty members and staff, rather than students.

The Queen Elizabeth Scholars (QES) program was created to improve global talent exchange between Canada and other nations. The program aims to develop the next generation of innovative leaders and community builders by providing enriched academic, professional, and cross-cultural experiences and by facilitating lasting local and global community engagement.

The 2025 QES competition will support projects that focus on the adaptation, response and resilience to a changing climate. This includes (but is not limited to) projects focused on biodiversity, agriculture, energy, climate and public health, economic impacts of climate change, air quality, community resilience, education, ecosystems and water quality. Projects will support international study, research or internships for outbound Canadian students and/or study and research for inbound international graduate students. All QES funded activities must be for academic credit/recognition. 

Each Canadian university may submit one multi-year project proposal seeking funding of up to $300,000. Proposals must demonstrate a partnership between a Canadian university and a partner institution/organization in at least one of the eligible countries.* Priority will be given to project proposals that focus on diversity and inclusion and result in an increased contribution to local and global communities by young leaders.

*List of eligible partnership countries can be found on page 17 of the QES 2025 Guidelines.