The Prize for Excellence in Research for Outstanding Emerging Researchers celebrates early career researchers at Queen’s who have distinguished themselves through their significant contributions to research. Up to three $5,000 prizes will be awarded annually to early career researchers in any of the fields or disciplines in which research is carried out at Queen's. Recipients will typically receive their prize at spring convocation.
Eligibility
- Nominees must hold an academic appointment (tenure, tenure-track, and clinician) at Queen’s.
- Nominees must have earned their most recent highest degree (e.g., PhD, MD, LLB) in their last ten years. Career interruptions (e.g., parental leave, extended sick or disability leave, clinical training, family care, impact of COVID-19 pandemic) may be excluded from the ten-year limit and should be explained in the nomination letter.
- We encourage the nomination of individuals from equity deserving groups such as women, racialized/visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity, and others who reflect the diversity of Canadian society.
Nomination
Nominations must be submitted by Deans. Next deadline for nominations is Friday, March 20, 2026.
In alignment with the relative size of Queen’s Faculties, Deans are invited to submit up to the maximum number of nominations annually as outlined below:
- Faculty of Arts and Science: up to three nominations
- Faculty of Education: one nomination
- Smith Engineering: up to two nominations
- Faculty of Health Sciences: up to three nominations, one of which is reserved for a clinician researcher
- Faculty of Law: one nomination
- Smith School of Business: one nomination
Each nomination must include the following:
A letter from the Dean of the researcher’s Faculty outlining the rationale for the nomination, including the nominee’s:
- research contributions;
- promise of future distinction; and
- why the nominee deserves an award as an outstanding emerging researcher.
Maximum of two pages.
The nominee’s full curriculum vitae (maximum 10 pages), which includes the following knowledge mobilization activities:
- publications (referred and non-referred);
- invited lectures (referred and non-referred);
- prizes and awards received; and
- graduate students supervised.
Please note, pages submitted in excess of the 10-page maximum will not be reviewed.
Two letters of reference from individuals who are experts in the nominee’s field. Referees should be external to Queen’s and should not be present or former collaborators of the nominee.
Referees must be “arm's length” referees. An arm’s length referee must not be:
- a relative, friend, or anyone else with whom the applicant has a personal relationship;
- in a position to benefit from the funding of the application;
- affiliated with the applicant's current and/or proposed institution(s); or
- professionally affiliated with the applicant (currently, in the past, or in the immediate future), as a result of but not limited to:
- being the applicant's supervisor or trainee,
- collaborating, publishing or sharing funding with the applicant.
Reference: Application guide – Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships (March 15, 2024)
A short biographical note should be included for each nominee. The biographical note (maximum 100 words) will be read at convocation when the recipient receives their prize.
Nomination and reference letters should:
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Be persuasive, rather than summarizing information about the nominee’s scholarly output and publication record.
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Explain convincingly to a non-specialist audience the significance of the nominee’s discoveries and work.
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Make clear in what way(s) the nominee’s work is especially original, creative or ground-breaking.
Selection committee
The Selection Committee will be comprised of the following members:
- Vice-Principal Research or delegate
- Three recipients of major awards (e.g., Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada, Tri-Agency, etc.)
- Vice-Principal (Culture, Equity, and Inclusion) or delegate
- One graduate student
- One undergraduate student (if available at the time of the selection)
The selection committee will endeavour to award prizes in a way that represents broad research foci and disciplinary or interdisciplinary approaches.
Preference will be given to nominees who have not yet received a major, non-discipline-specific, provincial, national or international prize or award (e.g., Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Scholars; Sloan Fellowship, etc.).
Questions?
Please contact the Vice-Principal Research Portfolio.