Graduate fellowships 2025/2026

The Centre for Studies in Religion and Society (CSRS) at the University of Victoria welcomes applications from graduate students for several one-year fellowship appointments commencing September 1, 2025.

Deadline – the application for 2025-26 graduate student fellowship competition is now closed. Please check this page for 2026-27 completition in September 2025.

Topics

In accord with the centre’s mandate (see: www.csrs.uvic.ca), research fellows should be working on projects that involve the scholarly study of religion in relation to any aspect of society and culture, both contemporary and historical. This includes, but is not limited to, critical examinations of religious themes in the areas of ethics, health, environment, public policy, gender, sexual identity, technology, human conflict, art, literature, the media, law, and social currents and debates within philosophy and/or the natural sciences. Religion does not need to be the central focus of the student’s research, but it should be a significant consideration. Applications from all disciplinary backgrounds are welcome.

General eligibility

The fellowships are meant primarily for graduate students (both MA and PhD) at the University of Victoria (but may also be awarded to students from other universities) whose projects fall within the centre’s research mandate as described above. The awards are intended for students who have completed course work and will be at the writing stage of their graduate thesis or dissertation during the period of their fellowship. We will also consider students enrolled in one-year MA programs if they are in the writing stage of their programs. Students who have received a previous CSRS award at the MA level may only reapply after they are registered in a PhD program. PhD students may hold a CSRS fellowship only once. Applicants may simultaneously apply for fellowships at other centres at the university; however, because this fellowship includes dedicated office space, students are only eligible to accept one of these awards. For that reason, successful students are required to notify the Centre if they are granted multiple awards before commencing their fellowships with the Centre.

Our graduate student fellowships are CSRS Graduate, Ian H. Stewart Graduate, Rev. Heather J. Lindstedt & Dr. Brian A. Pollick, and Scales Family Graduate student fellowships. For Rev. Heather J. Lindstedt & Dr. Brian A. Pollick Fellowship, we award this special fellowship to a student in Art History and Visual Studies each year (students may only receive the Fellowship once). Please visit here for more application details for this fellowshp. 

Value

$6,500 for a 12 month fellowship. Fellows will have access to office space at the CSRS, access to UVic’s libraries and special collections; a mailbox, scanner and photocopier services and opportunities to participate in all CSRS social and academic activities.

Successful applicants must secure their own research funding to cover other costs associated with travel and housing if they are from outside of Victoria. They are also asked to make their own arrangements for housing, and are encouraged to begin this process well in advance of their visit to Victoria. Please visit this page for advice. 

Conditions

Graduate student fellows are required to give a public lecture or seminar presentation on a theme in the area of their research, and to participate in the regular activities of the CSRS (e.g., daily informal meetings over coffee and tea, weekly public lectures of other centre fellows) for the majority of their fellowship duration, taking advantage of the research space provided in the centre. Fellows do not need to participate in all events but are expected to be actively involved in the thriving academic and social life of the centre. The centre may reassess the award for fellows not meeting these conditions during the course of their fellowship.

Application Procedure

Applications are accepted once a year via email and should include:

  • a current CV;
  • university transcripts (copies are acceptable);
  • this completed Graduate Student Fellowship application form;
  • two PDF letters of support for the project from both the applicant's supervisor and another professor, emailed directly to .

Please note that any research involving human subjects will require approval of the UVic Human Ethics Review Board. Applications will be reviewed by the CSRS Program Committee in December. All materials should be submitted via email to , addressed to Dr. Paul Bramadat, Director.

Please note: Candidates are responsible for ensuring their applications are complete and submitted by the competition deadlines. As well, fellowship winners from abroad are responsible for additional costs and protocols, including visas, health insurance, etc.

Download CSRS 2025-26 Graduate Student Fellowship Application form.

Note: The deadline is Monday, November 18, 2024.