UBC Public Scholars Award

Deadline

Likely in May 2023

Annual Value

Up to $10,000

Citizenship

Canadian

Permanent Resident

International

Degree Level

Doctoral

the application period for the PSI scholarship 2022/23 is now closed. thank you very much for your interest.

results will be announced late july/early august to all applicants.

This award is part of the UBC Public Scholars Initiative (PSI) which intends to build connections, community, and capacity for doctoral students who are interested in explicitly linking their doctoral work to an arena of public benefit and integrating broader and more career-relevant forms of scholarship into their doctoral education process.

Up to $10,000 twice, for a total of $20,000 per student is available to support innovative/collaborative scholarship which the student would otherwise be unable to pursue. Funding can be used for:

A research allowance (including allowance for professional development or travel relevant to the scholarly work)
Student stipend, if the student’s current funding source would not allow the alternative project(s)

This year funding is available for up to 30-35 new students. Students may be eligible for renewal for a second year (pending new PSI funding). This year we are also accepting applications for a unique "Climate Emergency Stream" (CES). The CES is a dedicated funding source to further increase the numbers of PSI Scholars working on issues related to the Climate Emergency, understood broadly. For more information on the program, the application details, and any other questions, please register for one of the following general information sessions.

This year PSI is also accepting applications from the Okanagan Campus. Students from the Okanagan Campus considering applying should register to the information session from the link below.

Eligibility

UBC Vancouver doctoral students (PhD, EdD, and DMA) in years 1-5 and; UBC Okanagan doctoral students in years 1-5
- Applicants must have completed no more than 48 months of doctoral study as of 31 August 2022
- Applicants must be registered in a UBC doctoral program as of 1 September 2022
- Applicants in their 6th year (48 to 60 months of doctoral study) will be accepted only in the most exceptional circumstances

Requirements for all funded students:

Submission of a report at the end of their first (and if applicable, second) year of funding
Presentation of their work at a Network event PhDs Go Public.

All students, faculty, and collaborators will be asked to complete a questionnaire at the end of their funding/involvement. Student dissertations and student completion and career outcomes will also be reviewed as part of the assessment of this pilot initiative.

Evaluation Criteria

Student’s past accomplishments and future promise. Breadth of interest and accomplishment will be important, as well as an indication of the student’s fit with the proposed project.
Project’s relationship to PSI goals, which is to encourage and enable a broadened conception of doctoral education, such that:
- Students' work extends beyond the academia and beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries;
- Students gain experience in the environments and types of scholarship they may productively engage in post-graduation;
- Students’ work is evaluated as part of the degree, ensuring it is of the highest quality, and signaling that the university considers these diverse forms of scholarship worthy of recognition;
- Students gain enhanced career opportunities and they foster positive public perception of the value of the doctorate;
- Students can contribute to the public good in diverse ways through rigorous scholarship;
Quality of proposed scholarship. The following factors will be taken into account:
- The work requires a high level of expertise in a discipline(s) and/or methodology;
- The goals are clearly defined, realistic, and identify important questions;
- Adequate preparation for and understanding of the subject is indicated;
- Appropriate methods are proposed to achieve the goals;
- Plans to document and disseminate the work are appropriate and effective;
- The work has significance and is likely to contribute positively to the public good;
Need for alternative funding sources
Consideration will also be given to breadth of the initiative across disciplines

Application Procedures

(1) Download these 2 files from the link below (under the 'Further Information' section): PSI Fellowship Application 2022-2023; and PSI Fellowship Application Instructions 2022-2023

(2) Once the form is downloaded you can edit and save the form by renaming it. Name your application: LastName_FirstName_PSI

(3) Following the guidelines, complete the Application form. Please note that each section ("Outline of Proposed Scholarly Work" and "Relationship of Proposal to PSI Goals") is individually capped at 4000 characters and 1 page.

(4) Upload the completed PSI Fellowship Application 2022-2023 form and your Canadian Common CV as one pdf file (see instructions for details) to this page. The page is a Qualtrics form that will require 5 minutes to complete once all your documents are ready to be uploaded. Please read the Overview section on that page carefully before proceeding to ensure your application is submitted correctly.

(5) For the mandatory supervisor letter of support and the optional letter(s) of support from collaborators, your letter writers should go to this page. You can open the page, and share the link with them. The page is a Qualtrics form that will require 2 minutes to complete once the letter is ready to be uploaded.

(6) This will complete your application.

Adjudication Procedures

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies will convene a multi-disciplinary adjudication committee to review eligible applications and select funding recipients. Funding decisions will be announced in the second half of July.

Previous Award Winners

For profiles of all existing and graduated scholars, please check the profiles section of the Public Scholars Initiative webpage.

Meet Award Holders

Kalysha Closson

Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)

Unpacking gender and relationship power inequities to advance sexual and reproductive health among young South African women and men in the time of COVID-19 : A youth-engaged study

Amir Michalovich

Doctor of Philosophy in Language and Literacy Education (PhD)

Language and literacy education of youth refugees

Alison Ariss

Doctor of Philosophy in Art History (PhD)

Salish Weaving in Relation with the Land: The Work of Wrapping Territory and Critiquing Institutions

Janina Krabbe

Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)

Stories of Resistance: identifying sites of change towards decolonizing research practices with women affected by violence

Tonya Smith

Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)

Lil'wat Food Security and Ecosystem Services

Jose Arias-Bustamante

Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)

Contested lands and climate change: A case study of adaptation to change in the context of Mapuche People

Kyle Loewen

Doctor of Philosophy in Geography (PhD)

To Market: Experimentation, Labor, and the Re-structuring of Last Mile Logistics

Áurea Vericat Rocha

Braiding Lived Experiences: The Making of a Collaborative Inquiring Community of Indigenous Early Childhood Educators

Dustin Grue

Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)

Repeat After Me: The Psychology and Inner Psychology of Speech Reporting Forms

Further Information

For questions about the Public Scholars Initiative and application procedures, contact Public Scholarship Coordinator Serbulent Turan: serbulent.turan@ubc.ca

psi_fellowship_application_2022-2023.pdf

psi_fellowship_application_instructions_2022-2023.pdf