
Our goals in action
Research and innovation
Advancing research through partnership
One of our core research goals is to be a catalyst for advancing research and knowledge. Our Partnerships and Innovation team helps strengthen Queen’s local, national, and global impact by providing the university and regional community a variety of business start-up and accelerator programs. These services offer researchers, students, and professionals the tools and mentorship they need to move big ideas forward as well as strategic guidance, legal and marketing services, physical space, workshops, and events.
Teaching and student life
QuARMS program
“Queen’s recognizes that Indigenous peoples and Black Canadians have been historically underrepresented in the medical profession, and that standard medical admissions practices have imposed barriers to these groups. With this new approach to the QuARMS pathway, we are hoping to reach individuals who may not have considered Queen’s or the medical profession otherwise. Our faculty aims to become a leader in Canada in cultural safety, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and anti-oppression in health professions education.” — Dr. Jane Philpott, Dean, Queen’s Faculty of Health Sciences

Supporting women of all ages
The Ban Righ Centre assists women of all ages, especially those who are returning to university to continue formal or informal education. The Centre offers supports including student advising, workspaces, napping rooms, free meals, and financial assistance, as well as community-building events and programs.

Supports for local and Indigenous applicants
Our Indigenous Students Admission Pathway offers Indigenous candidates an additional and alternative pathway for admission to the first year of a full-time, first-entry undergraduate degree program, known as the Indigenous Admission Policy. Students are also eligible for a need-based Indigenous Admission Award through the Admission Bursary Application.
The Promise Scholars program also aims to reduce financial barriers and increase access to Queen’s for local, first-generation students with financial supports between $60,000 – $100,000 over four years.
Community impact
Giving back to those in our community who are in need
Our annual United Way campaign supports over 53,000 local citizens through the programs funded by United Way of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington. Donations from Queen’s staff, faculty, and retirees raise hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
Supporting community housing
Through the PhD-Community Initiative collaboration with Kingston Community Housing, an interdisciplinary team worked with the City of Kingston to investigate the needs of individuals on the city’s community housing waitlist and make appropriate recommendations on how to meet these needs.
Empowering regional innovation
The Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre Summer Initiative Program offers local post-secondary students and community members the opportunity to participate in a 16-week incubator program where they receive no-cost training, mentorship, and office space to launch their ventures.
Through our partnership with Ottawa’s startup accelerator L-Spark, Compass North offers a five-month accelerator program for women-led tech-based start-ups in the greater Kingston region as part of the Women Entrepreneurship-CAN (WE-CAN) program at Queen’s.
Global reach
Opportunities for international students
Queen’s is committed to supporting students from across the globe in accessing quality education. We are proud of our long-term agreement with the Karta Initiative, which enables talented, low-income youth from rural India to study at Queen’s. Our Queen’s University chapter of World University Service of Canada (WUSC) also sponsors eligible students through the WUSC Student Refugee Program, which combines resettlement of young refugees with opportunities for higher education through a peer-to-peer model.
The Principal Wallace Freedom of Opportunity Award, established by Alfred and Isabel Bader in recognition of Queen’s 11th Principal, Robert Charles Wallace, offers financial support for students from developing countries who demonstrate financial need. Preference is given to refugee students.
Global impact
The Smith School of Business’ Centre for Social Impact empowers current and future leaders to create a better world by providing them with services and programs that support research, foster education, and promote collaboration across sectors.
Administration and operations
Ensuring bottom financial quintile student success
Through a range of anti-poverty programs, we seek to support and admit students who fall into the bottom 20% of household income group (or a more tightly defined target) in the country.
Programs include our Admission Bursary, the Queen’s Work Study Program, and Student Academic Success Services.