The Queen’s Public Scholarship Program (QPSP) is a new initiative for graduate students interested in public scholarship and community engagement. Through a series of specially designed workshops and activities, students will develop and refine their skills as socially engaged, responsive scholars and community members.
Students new to public scholarship or students whose research already reflects public scholarship are welcome to participate in the program. There are two streams for engagement.
Stream One is open to all graduate students. Programming will consist of a series of workshops and activities designed to support students whose research already qualifies as public scholarship as well as those students who are simply interested in learning to develop these skills. Students who complete a requisite number of workshops and activities will receive a Public Scholars Program Certificate of Completion.
Remote participation is available for those in online programs and in exceptional circumstances.
The second stream will identify 8 inaugural Public Scholarship Fellows through an application process (detailed below). These scholars will receive a $5,000 fellowship to engage in public scholarship activities through the year affiliated with their existing research. They will participate in monthly workshops and activities along with Stream 1 students, but also obtain additional training and receive mentorship from a faculty member skilled in public scholarship. Each scholar will be expected to produce a brief final outcomes report (2 pages max) that describes their work over the course of the fellowship and reflects on their learning.
Stream two is open to year 2 Master’s students and year 3+ Doctoral candidates in research-based programs whose thesis, major project, or dissertation research qualifies as public scholarship. This program is not intended to support new research projects and community engagement activities unrelated to the student’s research.
Details on how to apply can be found below.
Stream 2 is offered in person only.
Learn More: What is Public Scholarship? Who can be a Public Scholar?
Public Scholars create positive impact and facilitate change through knowledge creation, application, exchange, and/or collaboration with community partners at the local, national, and global level. Public Scholars range across disciplines and public scholarship can take many forms, including:
- Inquiry that serves the public good or public debate in meaningful and/or novel ways. This can include, but is not limited to social, economic, and cultural innovation in the form of reconciliation, delivery of health care, public policy, environmental or cultural stewardship, etc.
- Mutually beneficial partnerships between university researchers and community partners. This can include specific communities of people, non-profit organizations, cultural institutions, and government agencies, etc.
- The co-design of research projects with a community partner and sustained collaboration thereafter.
- Creative and/or new forms of scholarship, which can include non-conventional dissertations formats.
- Advocacy-based research and knowledge for public good.
- Scholarship that is academically rigorous, but also translated to be accessible to the public. This can include policy briefs, exhibitions, community programs, op-eds, websites, podcasts, feasibility studies, data-based reports, and program evaluations, etc.
How Does the Program Work?
The QPSP will offer a series of workshops and activities specially designed to support the development and refinement of skills relevant to engaging with diverse communities, the public, and institutions via academic research. This training supports professional development beyond the academic arena, with learning outcomes relevant across career paths.
Workshop topics and activities are currently under development; however, themes include:
- Principles of community-engaged research
- Research impact and indicators
- Systems and design thinking
- Media training
- Program evaluation
- Project management
- Knowledge dissemination and translation (traditional and alt publications, social media, etc.)
- Decolonizing research practices
- Leadership in collaborative environments
How to Participate in the Queen’s Public Scholarship Program
The following drop-down menus contain information on how to participate in the QPSP.
Please email Heather Merla (heather.merla@queensu.ca) to express your interest in participating in the QPSP workshops. Include your name, program, degree, and year of study in your email.
Remote participation is available for those in online programs and in exceptional circumstances.
To apply to the Public Scholarship Fellows stream (Stream 2) of the QPSP, you are required to submit an application. Your application package must consist of:
- A brief statement of interest (250 words max)
- Research statement (250 words max)
- Statement on intended public scholarship activities (500 words max)
- Curriculum Vitae
- Two letters of reference. One letter must be from a faculty member, preferably your academic supervisor. The second letter can be from another faculty member or a community member familiar with your research and/or community engagement activities.
Please use this form (PDF, 123 KB) for your statement of interest, research statement, and statement on public scholarship activities.
Application packages must be submitted as a single PDF file to Heather Merla (heather.merla@queensu.ca) by 5:00pm on July 26, 2023.
Applications will be adjudicated by a multidisciplinary panel comprised of Queen’s faculty members, administrators, and community members.
Application Dates and Timelines:
| Applications open | June 12, 2023 |
| Application deadline | 5:00 PM, July 26, 2023 |
| Notification of results |
August 16, 2023 |
Stream 2 is offered in person only.
QPSP Workshop Dates and Times
The monthly workshops and activities associated with the program will occur the second Tuesday of every month beginning at 4:00pm and last approximately 2 to 3 hours.
Those students interested in participating in the QPSP must ensure that they are able to attend these dates. Please speak to your supervisor early to make the appropriate arrangements if necessary. If you have concerns about your availability, email the program coordinator, Heather Merla (heather.merla@queensu.ca).
2023-2024 Workshops
Orientation Session
September 12
1:00 – 2:45, Theological Hall, room 307 (Stream 1 and 2)
3:00 – 4:30, Gordon Hall, 324 (Stream 2)
Facilitators:
Heather Aldersey, Associate Professor, Rehabilitation Therapy and Special Advisor to the Principal on UN Sustainable Development Goals
Lee Airton, Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies, Faculty of Education
Wendy Craig, Professor, Department of Psychology and Special Advisor to the Principal on Community Engagement
Project Management 101
October 10
4:00 – 5:45, Stream 1 and 2
6:00 – 7:00, Stream 2
Location: Ellis Hall, room 321
Facilitator: Marina Darling, BA (Hons.), MMIE’19, Organizational Development Consultant
Media Training and Sharing Your Work
November 14
4:00 – 5:00, Stream 1 and 2
5:15 – 6:15, Stream 2
Ellis Hall, room 321
Facilitators:
Melinda Knox, Director, Thought Leadership and Strategic Initiative
Julie Brown, Media Relations Manager
Keynote Speaker
December 12
4:00 – 5:30, Ellis Hall, room 324, Stream 1 and 2
5:45 – 7:00, Gordon Hall, room 401 (Stream 2)
Winter Term Workshops
Facilitators to be announced
Research Impact and Indicators
January 9
4:00 - 7:00pm
Location: TBD
February 13
4:00 - 7:00 pm
Location: TBD
Program Evaluation
March 12
4:00 - 7:00 pm
Location: TBD
April 9
4:00 - 7:00 pm
Location: TBD System Thinking
May 14
4:00 - 7:00 pm
Location: TBD