Killam Doctoral Scholarships

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Deadline
Likely in September 2025
Annual Value
$40,000 per annum for two years
Citizenship
Canadian
Permanent Resident
International
Degree Level
Doctoral

 

The Killam Scholarship and Prize Programmes were established in memory of Izaak Walton Killam through the Will of his wife, Dorothy J. Killam, and through gifts made during her lifetime. Their primary purpose is to support advanced education and research at five Canadian universities and the Canada Council for the Arts. The UBC Killam Doctoral Scholarships are provided annually from the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Fund for Advanced Studies. It was Mrs. Killam's desire that those selected to receive scholarships: "Be likely to contribute to the advancement of learning or to win distinction in a profession. A Killam scholar should not be a one-sided person... Special distinction of intellect should be founded upon sound character."

Killam Doctoral Scholarships are the most prestigious awards available to graduate students at UBC. Approximately 25 awards are offered each year to the top doctoral candidates in the Affiliated Fellowships competition . At present, the Killam Doctoral Scholarship provides an annual stipend valued at $40,000 for two years*.

*Killam Doctoral Scholarships awardees on the UBC-Vancouver campus also become Four Year Fellowship holders and receive additional tuition funding from the 4YF program if they are eligible.

 

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for Killam Doctoral Scholarship funding, applicants must have completed no more than 24 months of doctoral study as of the start date of the scholarship. Therefore, applicants to the 2025-2026 competition must have completed no more than 24 months of doctoral study as of 1 September 2025.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluated via Affiliated Fellowships-Doctoral award competition . Top students in the Affiliated Fellowships-Doctoral award competition are awarded Killam Doctoral Scholarships.

Application Procedures

The Killam Doctoral Scholarships are part of the Affiliated Fellowships-Doctoral award competition.  To be considered for the Killam Doctoral Scholarships, you must apply for the Affiliated Fellowships-Doctoral award competition .

Nomination Procedures

Nominated via the Affiliated Fellowships-Doctoral award competition .

Adjudication Procedures

Adjudicated via the Affiliated Fellowships-Doctoral award competition .

Meet Award Holders

Ben Nadeau

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

First-row transition metal catalysis

Gordon Tao

Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Sciences (PhD)

Rehabilitation games: bridging the gap between rehabilitation science and game design

Cassandra Elphinstone

Doctor of Philosophy in Botany (PhD)

Arctic Plant Genomics: Climate Adaptation

Jackson Moore

Doctor of Philosophy in Genome Science and Technology (PhD)

Domestication and ecology of the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson, KC

Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD)

Kil ‘yahda sing.Ga suu | Haida laws ceremony

Kerry Marshall

Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (PhD)

Social Justice in Nursing Education

Alan Knee

Doctor of Philosophy in Astronomy (PhD)

Gravitational waves from eccentric binaries with LIGO and LISA

Alex Lukey

Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health (PhD)

Preventing ovarian cancer: Human vs. machine intelligence

Katrina Bergmann

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (PhD)

Using conventional computations and quantum simulations to accelerate the in silico design of highly efficient optoelectronic materials

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Further Information

The Killam Laureates website provides information about Killam programs across Canada and information about the original donors, Izaak Walton and Dorothy J. Killam.