Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
The Killam Scholarship and Prize Programmes were established in memory of Izaak Walton Killam through the Will of his wife, Dorothy Johnston Killam, and through gifts made during her lifetime. Their primary purpose is to support advanced education and research at five Canadian universities and the Canada Council for the Arts.
The UBC Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are provided annually from the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Fund for Advanced Studies and are available for most fields of research. The fellowships are awarded for a maximum of two years, subject to review at the end of the first year. The number of awards presently varies between three and five per year.
It was Mrs. Killam's desire that those selected to receive fellowships: "Be likely to contribute to the advancement of learning or to win distinction in a profession. A Killam scholar should not be a one-sided person... Special distinction of intellect should be founded upon sound character."
Please note that the applicant's eligibility criteria have been updated for the 2013-14 competition.
Annual Value:
Annual stipend of $50,000 plus a travel and research allowance of $4,000 over two years
Award Status:
Active
Deadline:
Mid-October to early November - check with the UBC department or unit of interest regarding internal deadline
Eligibility
Applicant
In keeping with the original spirit of the Killam Endowments, the goal of the fellowship is to bring outstanding junior researchers to the University of British Columbia. As such, applicants:
must have obtained a PhD no more than 24 months prior to the anticipated fellowship start date
must not have pursued PhD-level studies at any campus of the University of British Columbia
must not currently hold faculty positions at other universities or colleges
must be able to contribute fresh intellectual insights to UBC
should have shown outstanding ability in research, in that they would be likely to contribute to the advancement of learning or to win distinction in their profession
should not be one-sided, and have a sound character that complements their intellect
may be citizens of any country; though there are no restrictions regarding nationality of applicants, successful candidates must be able to meet all Canadian immigration requirements
Preference will be given to applicants who have not already held a postdoctoral award or fellowship.
Fellowships are tenable only at UBC, and fellows are expected to make the UBC campus their base while holding the fellowship, apart from necessary research trips (no more than three months in each year of the fellowship).
Fellowships starting in the 2013-14 cycle may not begin earlier than May 1, 2013 and no later than January 2, 2014. Most fellowships commence between May and October.
Prospective applicants who do not meet the requirements above may refer to the Killam Trusts for opportunities at the other Killam institutions or to the Post Doctoral Fellows Office and Office of the Vice-President, Research and International for other opportunities at UBC.
Proposed UBC Supervisor
The proposed supervisor must be a continuing faculty member with a tenure-track appointment at UBC. Proposed supervisors must make a commitment to supervise the applicant's research for the entire 24 months of the fellowship.
Citizenship:
Canadian
Permanent Resident
International
Degree Level:
Doctoral
Applicant Status:
Incoming Students
Evaluation Criteria
Applications are judged on the basis of the candidate's demonstrated excellence in scholarly work and independent research and their potential for making substantial contributions to their field of endeavour.
The adjudication committee will also consider the following:
the qualities of the research project (e.g., clarity, feasibility, suitability of location, proposed supervisor, and facilities)
the strength of the letters of reference
the fit of the proposed research to the host department or unit
Preference will be given to applicants with no previous postdoctoral award. Fellowships will be distributed as evenly as possible among the various disciplines, though the primary criteria are academic excellence and research ability.
The search is for candidates whose work is beyond "excellent" and whose research is convincingly innovative and ground-breaking. It is crucial to assert distinctiveness and to demonstrate to the committee how the candidate's work is exceptional.
In this very prestigious competition, the Faculty of Graduate Studies receives over 40 nominations each year (pre-screened by individual departments and units from a much larger number of applications).
Procedures
Application Procedures:
An applicant completes an application form and submits all required documents to the UBC department or unit under whose supervision the applicant plans to complete their research. Each UBC department or unit sets its own deadline for receipt of applications.
The Guidelines for Applicants and the application form will be available online in mid-August 2012.
Nomination Procedures:
Each UBC department convenes a committee to review and rank all the Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellowship application packages received. Each department may nominate ONE applicant to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for consideration in the university-wide competition. The Faculty of Graduate Studies must receive completed nomination packages, including all supporting documents, by 4:00 PM on Friday, November 23, 2012.
http://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/killam...rch-fellowship