In Black Studies | Queen's University Faculty of Arts and Science

An Opportunity to Research, Teach, and Network

This is a unique opportunity for PhD students. Pre-doctoral fellows for Black Studies students will not only receive financial support while they complete their degrees – they will also expand their professional network and advance Black Studies, studies of race and Black histories while contributing to intellectual life at Queen's. Perhaps most importantly, the experience will provide Fellows with a competitive advantage in their careers.

For the Fellows' home institutions, this opportunity offers financial support to their PhD students in the final stages of their doctoral work, encourages them to complete their degrees on time, and provides future examples of successful Black Studies alumni.

Queen's, the Fellows' home institutions, and all Canadian universities will benefit from the scholarly collaboration and advancement of Black Studies that the Fellowships support. Through this collaboration and engagement with African and Black diasporic students, faculty and communities, the researchers will be able to contribute to relationship-building, knowledge-sharing and Black Studies curricula.

Fellowship Details

Applications are invited from doctoral students enrolled in a PhD program and working on doctoral research in the creative arts, humanities, social sciences or natural and physical sciences at an accredited university other than Queen’s University.

Candidates must have completed all doctoral degree requirements except the final doctoral project (e.g. dissertation). They will be expected to compete their doctoral project during their tenure as a Fellow to receive their degree from their home institution.

Applicants should be committed to advancing the histories and contemporary struggles of African and Black diasporic communities.

The Fellowship holder will have the opportunity to teach one 3-unit (four-month) university course in the Faculty of Arts and Science, and to contribute to the intellectual life of the university. Candidates are expected to be based in Kingston or its environs through the duration of the fellowship.

The Pre-Doctoral Fellowship provides an annual stipend of $37,000. In addition, if the incumbent opts to teach a course, they will be separately appointed and compensated as a Term Adjunct to teach a half-course (3 unit) university course. The Term Adjunct appointment shall be governed by the Queen’s-QUFA collective agreement. In addition, up to $3,000 will be available for research and conference travel. Successful candidates are eligible to request funds in support of relocation.

Applications are open. The application deadine is January 31, 2024.
Pre-Doctoral Fellowship award period: July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025

Qualifications

Candidates for the fellowship must:

be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
be registered in a PhD program in the creative arts, humanities, social sciences or natural and physical sciences at an accredited university other than Queen’s;
have completed the degree requirements necessary to identify them as in an advanced stage of research or writing on an approved doctoral research topic; and
demonstrate exceptional academic merit and a commitment to advancing the histories and contemporary struggles of African and Black diasporic communities.

Application Process

A complete application consists of:

Cover letter outlining background, training, and plans, including any work with Black or African communities, groups or organizations;
Doctoral research proposal (approximately 10 pages or 3,000 words) detailing the doctoral research program and proposal and its potential to contribute to the advancement of the histories and/or contemporary struggles of African and Black diasporic communities;
Undergraduate and graduate transcripts;
A letter from the department chair, confirming that the applicant has passed their qualifying examinations and has achieved advanced standing in the program and can be expected to complete their doctoral project during the fellowship period; and
Two confidential letters of support from faculty on the supervisory committee, sent under separate cover, one of which must be from the student’s supervisor, commenting the student’s performance, potential and expected time to degree completion.

Applicants are encouraged to send all documents in their application package electronically as PDFs to Kim Bellefontaine at deanartsci@queensu.ca, although hard copy applications may be submitted to:

Ms. Kim Bellefontaine
Assistant to the Associate Deans
Faculty of Arts and Science
Main Floor, Dunning Hall
94 University Avenue
Queen’s University
Kingston, Ontario
CANADA K7L 3N6

The University will provide support in its recruitment processes to applicants with disabilities, including accommodation that takes into account an applicant’s accessibility needs.

Current and Former Pre-Doctoral Fellows

Please see our story about the 2022-23 Pre-Doctoral Fellows.

Black Studies at Queen's

The Black Studies program at Queen’s University examines the complexities of global Black communities. The interdisciplinary program spans multiple faculties and units to bring together world-leading experts in art and activism, geography and planning, global health, literature, creative writing, history, music, philosophy, political thought, religion, and cognate studies of racism and anti-racism. The Pre-Doctoral Fellows for Black Studies students will have the opportunity to collaborate with, and receive mentorship from, activists, artists, scholars, students, and staff who are committed to engaging the connections between the arts, social justice, decolonial thought, and practices of anti-oppression. Pre-Doctoral Fellows will also have the opportunity to teach courses in Black Studies and partner units courses and cognate fields (including, but not limited to, English, Music, Gender Studies, Sociology, Economics, History).

See the Queen's Alumni Review story tilling the soil and the Queen's Gazette stories bolstering Black Studies at Queen's, connections beyond boundaries, and an exciting new chapter for Black Studies at Queen’s.

Learn more about Black Studies at Queen’s

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