Student Funding

We welcome applications from students of all fields and disciplinary backgrounds (undergraduate, graduate, professional, and part-time), and we warmly welcome applications from international students. While we appreciate project proposals specifically designed for the purpose of this grant, students are also encouraged to use these grants to support ongoing studies and research. Grants can therefore be used to fund brand new projects, but they can also be used to further cultivate projects that are associated with a particular course or program of study, to continue ongoing projects first developed through a different funding opportunity (such as summer research mentorships), to support honours and advanced major projects, and so on. We invite proposals that range from traditional academic research to projects that blend academic work with social engagement in the form of activism, advocacy, or community outreach.

Applicants are encouraged to explore the topic of racial justice broadly by leveraging their disciplinary and academic background as well as the knowledge connected to their own sociocultural background and the complexity and diversity of Black and Indigenous lived experience. We welcome project proposals and applications that consider racial justice as a crucial aim in all areas of life and academia, and we therefore encourage proposals that represent a wide range of backgrounds and interests.

From studying racial bias in medicine and scientific research to examining the effects of the under-representation of Black and Indigenous scholars in the education system, to examining the history of environmental racism in Nova Scotia and its connection to economics and policy to uncovering the history of under-discussed Black and Indigenous artists in the Maritimes, to charting the links between racial segregation and mental and physical health to researching the historical challenges and present opportunities of business ventures in Black and Indigenous communities, we are excited to see applicants explore the widest possible range of projects that deploy academic research in unison with social engagement to indicate necessary paths toward racial justice.

How to apply:

By August 1, submit an application package including:

• Resumé
• 1,000-word project description
• 1-page “time budget” that outlines a rough plan for how you will spend the hours that the grant fund
• 2 Letters of support that speak to the quality of the applicant’s proposal and to the applicant’s abilities involved in carrying out the work proposed in the application (referees may include professors, teachers, coaches, mentors, employers, and so on)

The project description is the core of the application and should be carefully prepared. In this piece, applicants should clearly describe the project for which they are requesting funding through this grant. Applicants should outline what they would like to accomplish with the help of this grant and describe in detail how they plan on reaching the stated goals.

Your project description should consider and clearly answer the following questions:

1. What topic or problem do you wish to research or work on?
2. What is the significance or particular urgency of this topic or problem?
3. What would you like to accomplish with the help of this grant? What will be the specific goal(s) or outcome(s) of your proposed project?
4. What steps will you take to reach your goal(s)? How will you carry out your project?
5. What do you see as the long-term benefits of your proposed work?
6. How will you spend the time that is funded through this grant (300 hours for the academic year, 150 hours per semester)? Attach a “time budget” in order to outline your plan for the grant and its individual stages or steps.

Note: one way to organize the time spent on the grant may be to dedicate the fall semester to research, project development, outreach work, and so on, and to spend the winter semester on compiling and presenting results, participating in events, and sharing expertise with organizations and offices on our campus involved in efforts aimed at EDI.

Total time spent on the grant: equivalent to 300 hours (150 hours per semester).

Email your applications to: @email

The McKenna Advisory Board will adjudicate applications immediately following the deadline and inform the six grant recipients, who can begin their work in September.

To apply, send us a project proposal of circa 1,000 words in which you describe your project, the steps and activities that it will involve, and its intended outcomes. The proposal should include a detailed budget outlining how you will use the funds that the grant provides, and it will ideally include a timeline of proposed actions and steps to let us know what you are planning on doing over the course of the year. In your proposal, tell us how you plan on addressing an existing problem and how you aim to improve StFX or our wider community or how you intend to approach, for example, a larger social problem, environmental cause, and so on.

Along with your proposal, send us a current resumé and two letters of recommendation from professors, employers, etc. who are able to speak to the quality of your idea and who are able to assess your ability to carry out the project you are proposing. Recommenders should have read your proposal and should comment on its feasibility in their letters.

Submit your application by August 1 to @email.

Award funding may be used for travel (economy class), living expenses, conference fees, and other reasonable expenses. Award funding may not be used for tuition fees. Upon return, students should submit their receipts to the office of the Academic Vice President and Provost and the awards will then be distributed. Award winners must provide receipts for all expenses identified on the MacBain Riley application.

Students in all bachelor programs are encouraged to apply. To be eligible to apply, students must have been enrolled in full-time studies in a Bachelor’s degree program during the most recent complete academic term (prior to the application deadline) at StFX, and be intending to return to full time studies at StFX after receiving the award.

Submit your application by January 15 of each year to: @email

Allocation of the MacBain/Riley Global Engagement Awards will be based on consideration of the following criteria:

1. The academic record of the student
2. The quality of the proposed global engagement opportunity and its link to leadership development for the student
3. Distribution across faculties

The Application Applicants must submit a proposal including:

1. Full name, Student ID number and StFX email address
2. Program of study
3. Expected graduation date
4. Timing of the proposed global engagement opportunity
5. Total budget for the proposed global engagement opportunity and detailed budget for the MacBain/Riley Global Engagement Award portion
6. A description of the proposed Global Engagement Opportunity including a statement on how this opportunity will contribute to the student’s leadership at the international level. (maximum of two pages)
7. If the opportunity involves a placement or attachment to an organization, a letter from that organization supporting the proposal should be attached.
8. An up-to-date copy of the applicant’s StFX Student Grade Report
9. Names and contact information for 2 references – including at least 1 StFX Faculty member (no friends or family members)