Killam Faculty Research Prizes

Nominees must be full-time tenure-stream faculty at UBC, and have held an appointment at UBC for at least 3 years as of the closing date for nominations.

• For the November 15, 2024 deadline, 3 years means they must have started at UBC on November 15, 2021 or earlier.
• Nominees are eligible for only one Killam Faculty Research Prize in their lifetime.
• The Prize may be held only while the recipient is a full-time member of faculty. A Prize is tenable during a period of study leave; for other types of leave, it is deferred until the recipient returns to the University.
• Nominees may not receive a Killam Faculty Research Prize concurrently with a Charles A. McDowell Award for Research Excellence. They can be nominated for both awards in a given year, but cannot receive both.

Up to ten prizes in the amount of $5,000 each will be awarded each year. All fields of research are included. 

Five prizes are awarded for the types of scholarly activity associated with NSERC and CIHR, and five for the types associated with SSHRC and the Canada Council. Each type is adjudicated by a subcommittee, the Science and Applied Science Subcommittee or the Arts and Humanities Subcommittee. 

At least three prizes in each of the groups are allocated to faculty in the Established Category (faculty members who have held their final degree for 12 years or more as of the closing date for nominations), but typically at least one Early Career prize is also awarded.

Nominations will be evaluated against the following three criteria:

1. Demonstrated outstanding research and scholarly contributions relative to peer group at a comparable career stage.
2. Demonstrated research impact, accounting for context of the discipline or field of study.
3. Evidence that nominee has demonstrated national and/or international research leadership, where appropriate.

Self-nominations are not permitted. Faculty members must be nominated by at least one tenured, tenure-track, or emeriti faculty member in their Faculty. Nominators must complete and submit all documentation, and must select which sub-committee should adjudicate the submission (Science and Applied Science or Arts and Humanities).

Nominators must submit all required materials by the November 15 (11:59 pm) deadline using this nomination form.

Nomination form fields include:

• Nominator information: Name, title and affiliation, email address
• Nominee information: Name, faculty, department, title, rank, tenure/track, year of PhD/terminal degree, year started at UBC, email address, sub-committee to adjudicate
• Citation (50 words): Please include a brief 50-word citation of the nominee's research written for a non-expert audience.

Documents required:

1. Nomination Letter (1,200 words): 

A letter of nomination signed by at least one faculty nominator, including the name, title, and affiliation of each nominator. 

The letter should:

• Frame the achievements of the nominee for a non-specialist, multidisciplinary, university-wide committee.
• Set the subject matter and the contribution of the research in the context of the field. It should also illustrate how the nominee has had an impact in their field.
• Illustrate the nominee’s outstanding research and scholarly contributions.

1. Letters of Support (3): 

Three external letters of support from arm's-length referees. Recommended 1,200 words max per letter. The letters of support are critical to the selection process and should be objective assessments of the nominee’s suitability for the prize.

Referees should be external to UBC and internationally recognized in their field (i.e. outside of UBC and preferably one from outside Canada). Referees must be at arm’s length and may not include thesis or dissertation supervisor(s), anyone the nominee has supervised, or anyone with whom the nominee has collaborated (as co-author or co-investigator) within the past 6 years. Letters written by referees with a confirmed conflict of interest with the nominee will not be included and the package will be considered incomplete. 

• Incomplete packages will not be reviewed.
• Letters must be signed and dated.
• Letters in excess of three will not be considered.

1. CV: 

Official updated UBC CV including complete list of publications (no page limit). For instructions, please visit: http://www.hr.ubc.ca/faculty-relations/administrator-tools/forms/