UBC Public Scholars Award

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Deadline

May 2018

Annual Value

Up to $10,000

Citizenship

Canadian
Permanent Resident
International

Degree Level

Doctoral
 

Application for the 2017/18 PSI Award is now closed. next round of applications will begin in spring 2018.

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 per student is available to support innovative/collaborative scholarship which the student would otherwise be unable to pursue. Funding can be used for:

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

Funding is available for up to 30-40 new students in 2017-18. Students may be eligible for renewal for a second year (pending new PSI funding).

Listen to the PSI Info Session from last year, recorded on March 9, 2016:

 

Eligibility

  • UBC Vancouver doctoral students (PhD, EdD, and DMA) in years 1-5
    • Applicants must have completed no more than 48 months of doctoral study as of 31 August 2018
    • Applicants must be registered in a UBC doctoral program as of 1 September 2018

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

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 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

Applicants are to submit the completed PSI application form (download) and attachments (Canadian Common CV, letters of support, and checklist) to graduate.awards@ubc.ca by 4:00pm on Friday, 12 May 2017. APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2017-8 PSI AWARD IS NOW CLOSED.

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 June.

Profiles of Award Holders

Jeremy Stone

Doctor of Philosophy in Planning (PhD)
Discursive Gentrification: Neighborhoods, Resistance, and the Urban Commons

Emma Feltes

Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (PhD)
The Constitution Express and the Making of Indigenous Rights in Canada

Kaylee Byers

Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies (PhD)
Rats as a Source of Emerging Zoonoses: Understanding the Interactions between Rats, Pathogens, and the Urban Environment

Sean Patrick Kearney

Doctor of Philosophy in Soil Science (PhD)
Mapping, Modeling and Enhancing Ecosystem Services from Smallholder Agriculture in El Salvador

Bulmaro Valdés Benavides

Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering (PhD)
Reducing Compensatory Movements in Stroke Therapy through the Use of Robotic Devices and Augmented Feedback

Sereana Naepi

Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies (PhD)
Nai tavi ni na marama ena matavuvale: How Indigenous Women Agitate for Change in Higher Education

Ashley Whillans

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
The Benefits & Barriers of Buying Happier Time

Ron Darvin

Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching English as a Second Language (PhD)
Digital Identities, Educational Inequities: Investigating Social Class and New Literacies of Migrant Filipino Youth in the Knowledge Economy

Graham McDowell

Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability (PhD)
Socio-Ecological Adaptation to Hydrological Change in High Mountains
View All Profiles

Further Information

For questions about the Public Scholars Initiative and application procedures, contact Dr. Efé Peker (Public Scholarship Coordinator): efe.peker@ubc.ca