SFU Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowships in the Humanities 2027–2028: Up to CAD $75,000 for Artists, Writers and Scholars
Simon Fraser University is accepting applications for 2027–2028 Shadbolt Fellowships, offering CAD $25,000 per term for engaged scholars, artists, knowledge keepers, practitioners and writers in the humanities and arts.
SFU Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowships in the Humanities 2027–2028: Up to CAD $75,000 for Artists, Writers and Scholars
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is accepting applications for the 2027–2028 Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowships in the Humanities. The fellowships support engaged scholars, artists, knowledge keepers, practitioners and writers whose work sits within the humanities and arts and can contribute to the intellectual and public life of the university.
This is a residency-style fellowship rather than a conventional tuition scholarship or project grant. A successful applicant is hosted by a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) academic unit or research centre and spends an agreed period working, creating, researching, teaching or engaging with the wider community. Applicants can request one, two or three terms. The stipend is CAD $25,000 per term, with a maximum of CAD $75,000 for a full 12-month academic year.
The current application deadline is October 23, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time. SFU asks applicants to submit a completed application form, current CV and cover letter by email, with one combined PDF preferred. The cover letter must explain the proposed project, preferred host affiliation and requested fellowship length. Shortlisted candidates will be asked for reference letters by December 7, 2026.
Key details at a glance
| Detail | Confirmed information |
|---|---|
| Opportunity | Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellowships in the Humanities, 2027–2028 |
| Funder and host | Simon Fraser University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences |
| Award type | Resident fellowship with stipend and university affiliation |
| Stipend | CAD $25,000 per four-month term, paid in two-week instalments |
| Maximum published value | CAD $75,000 for three terms, normally September through August |
| Available terms | One term, two terms or three terms |
| Application deadline | October 23, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time |
| Shortlist references due | December 7, 2026 |
| Application materials | Completed form, current CV and cover letter; one PDF is preferred |
| Host connection | Primary affiliation with an SFU FASS unit; a secondary SFU unit may also be named |
| Expected contribution | At least one public lecture, performance or other public outreach activity, plus informal consultations with students and faculty |
| Location | Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada |
| Official contact | [email protected] |
The stipend is described as having no benefits. The current public guidance does not promise relocation support, a separate research budget or health coverage. Applicants should therefore treat the stipend as the confirmed financial award and ask SFU about practical employment and residence arrangements before making a detailed move budget.
What the Shadbolt Fellowship supports
The program is built around the idea that humanities and arts work can engage directly with the social and natural worlds in which it is made. SFU describes the fellowship as a place for creative practice and critical engagement with major concerns of the present. That broad framing leaves room for different kinds of work, but it does not make the application generic. A proposed project still needs a clear purpose, a plausible host connection and a reason that a period at SFU will materially improve the work.
Fellows may undertake research, writing, artistic creation, teaching, knowledge keeping, community-building or public outreach. A project might take the form of a manuscript, a creative work, a community-based research process, an archive, a public humanities program, a performance, a pedagogical intervention or another defined body of work. The public application guidance does not require every fellow to teach a course, so applicants should describe teaching only if it is a realistic part of the proposed residency.
The fellowship is also designed to benefit the host community. Fellows are expected to deliver at least one public lecture, performance or other form of community or public outreach based on the project. They are also expected to be available for informal, occasional consultations with students and faculty. This means the project should include a credible way to share ideas with people beyond the applicant’s immediate practice or research circle.
SFU’s current overview says the program supports up to five fellows a year. The appointment is normally non-renewable. One-term and two-term requests are possible, so an applicant does not need to force a full academic year onto a project that can be completed well in four or eight months.
Who this opportunity fits
This fellowship is a strong fit for a person with an established body of work and a specific next project that would benefit from time, affiliation and public exchange. The eligible profile is intentionally wider than a standard academic postdoctoral call. SFU names academic scholars, artists, knowledge keepers, practitioners and writers, and the program can accommodate both emerging and established applicants.
The breadth is useful, but the proposal still needs to show why the work belongs in the humanities and arts as SFU understands them. A purely commercial product pitch, an unstructured sabbatical request or a general desire to network will be difficult to connect to the program’s stated purpose. The project should have an identifiable question, practice, audience or outcome and should explain how its methods engage with cultural, social, historical, ethical, political or creative concerns.
Applicants who work across disciplines can be especially persuasive when they explain the humanities and arts contribution rather than listing every adjacent field. For example, a community archive project might involve digital tools, but the application should focus on the histories, relationships, interpretive choices and public meaning the archive will create. A writer or artist can discuss process and form while still identifying the community or public question the work addresses.
Eligibility and important exclusions
The current SFU application page says resident fellows may be emerging or established engaged academic scholars, artists, knowledge keepers, practitioners or writers in the humanities and arts. The university particularly welcomes Indigenous applicants and encourages candidates from underrepresented groups. The program’s appointment process also considers equity, inclusion and diversity, the range of humanities and arts areas represented at the Faculty, and the inclusion of Indigenous, emerging and established fellows.
There are two explicit exclusions. People who hold a continuing appointment at SFU are ineligible, and current SFU students are ineligible. A person who is both a student and a practitioner should not assume that a strong creative portfolio overrides the student exclusion. If your status at SFU is changing before the fellowship would begin, ask the fellowship contact for a written eligibility answer before submitting.
The current application page does not state a citizenship restriction, a minimum degree, a required number of publications or a fixed career-age limit. Do not add those requirements based on assumptions about academic fellowships. Instead, use the evidence that best demonstrates the quality and relevance of your work: publications, exhibitions, performances, community outcomes, knowledge-keeping responsibilities, professional practice or other verifiable accomplishments.
Every applicant should identify a realistic primary unit in FASS. A secondary affiliation with another SFU unit, including another faculty, the Library or a non-academic unit, may also be named where it makes sense. The affiliation is not decorative. It helps the selection committee see where the proposed work can be situated and which conversations, resources or people might make the residency productive.
Build a project that belongs at SFU
The application asks for the project the applicant intends to take up during the fellowship, the desired primary and secondary affiliations, and the length of fellowship requested with an explanation. Those prompts create a useful structure for the proposal.
Start with the project rather than with a biography. State what you will make, investigate, write, collect, test or convene. Then identify the question or public concern that gives the work urgency. A project statement can be ambitious, but it should be possible to describe its first concrete outputs within the requested term length.
Next, explain the SFU connection. Review the list of FASS departments and programs and contact the unit you hope to work with before submitting. SFU strongly encourages this conversation. A short, specific exchange can help you check whether the unit is a good intellectual home and can help you name an affiliation that is based on actual fit rather than a broad university brand.
The project should also include a public dimension. This does not need to be a large event. It could be a public lecture, reading, performance, workshop, conversation, exhibition component or other form of outreach that fits the work. Explain who the activity is for, what it will share and how it will connect to the proposed project. If the work involves community knowledge, include a careful account of consent, reciprocity and how participants will influence the process.
Finally, choose the duration honestly. Four months may be right for a defined writing or creation phase. Eight months may allow research followed by a public output. Twelve months may be justified when the project needs sustained community relationships, a substantial manuscript or a longer creative cycle. The stipend rises with the number of terms, but the selection case should be based on the work, not on maximizing the award.
Application materials and submission process
The official application page identifies three core components: a fully completed application form, a current CV and a cover letter. The cover letter should outline the proposed project, desired primary FASS unit, any secondary affiliation and the length of fellowship requested with the reason for that choice. SFU prefers a single PDF and asks applicants to include their name in the filename.
Before drafting, download the current 2027–2028 form and the applicant tips document from the SFU page. Older copies may have different dates, prompts or contact instructions. Keep the final application package consistent with the live form even if a previous fellow’s application is available elsewhere.
The practical sequence is straightforward:
- Read the program overview and application instructions together.
- Choose a primary FASS unit and, if useful, a secondary SFU affiliation.
- Contact the unit with a concise description of the proposed work and ask whether the fit is reasonable.
- Complete the application form and prepare a current CV focused on relevant work.
- Write the cover letter around project, affiliation and duration rather than repeating the CV.
- Combine the materials into one clearly named PDF and email it to [email protected] before the deadline.
The page says shortlisted candidates will be notified in late November and that reference letters for shortlisted candidates are due December 7. Because references are requested after shortlisting, the initial package does not need to contain letters unless the current form specifically asks for them. It is still sensible to identify potential referees early and confirm that they can respond quickly if you are shortlisted.
Timeline and selection stages
The 2027–2028 application window is open now and closes on October 23, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. The SFU page lists an online Q&A session on September 21 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Use that session, if possible, to clarify questions about the form, affiliations or the residency structure.
The published next step is shortlist notification in late November. Shortlisted applicants then have until December 7 to provide reference letters. The public page does not publish a final decision date or a detailed scoring rubric. It does say that appointments are guided by equity, inclusion and diversity, coverage across humanities and arts areas, and the inclusion of Indigenous, emerging and established scholars and practitioners. Treat those as program-level selection considerations, not as a promise that any one identity or discipline guarantees an award.
Successful fellows will agree a residency period and activities with SFU. The normal academic-year option runs from September through August, while shorter appointments can cover one or two of SFU’s four-month terms. During the appointment, fellows are expected to complete at least one public outreach activity and remain available for occasional informal consultations with students and faculty.
How to make the application stronger
The most useful evidence is evidence that connects the applicant, the project and the host. A CV can show relevant work, but the cover letter should make the committee’s job easier by interpreting that record. Explain what you have already done, what is still unresolved and why a Shadbolt residency is the right setting for the next stage.
Make the scope visible. A project described as “exploring many questions about migration and belonging” is difficult to assess. A project that names the material, community, archive, artistic form or research problem and identifies a realistic output is easier to trust. The committee does not need a finished book or artwork, but it does need to see a coherent plan.
Show reciprocity with the university and public. Identify the conversations you want to join at SFU and the contribution you can make to students, faculty or community audiences. If the project involves Indigenous knowledge or community histories, avoid treating the host community as a source of material only. Describe relationships, permissions, responsibilities and the form of benefit or return that is appropriate.
Use the requested term length as a planning test. Divide the project into phases and name what can be completed in the first four months. If you request eight or twelve months, explain what the additional time enables. A longer award request without a longer work plan can make the budget appear to be driving the proposal.
Common mistakes to avoid
One common mistake is naming an SFU department without contacting it. The university explicitly encourages applicants to reach out before submission. A short conversation can prevent a mismatch and may reveal a more suitable unit or secondary affiliation.
Another is treating the fellowship as unrestricted personal funding. The stipend supports a resident appointment with public and university-facing expectations. Explain how you will participate in that setting and do not promise activities that require a separate budget unless you have a realistic plan.
Applicants also sometimes overstate rules that the current page does not contain. There is no published citizenship restriction, degree threshold or age limit on the current application instructions. Keep the application factual and ask SFU about unusual status questions instead of excluding yourself or claiming eligibility based on an invented rule.
Do not wait until the morning of October 23 to send the PDF. The deadline is listed as 9:00 a.m., not the end of the day. Confirm the time zone, open the final file on another device, check that the form is complete, and email it early enough to resolve a bounced message or attachment problem.
Frequently asked questions
Can a current SFU student apply?
No. The current application page says current SFU students are ineligible. People with a continuing appointment at SFU are also ineligible.
Does the applicant need to be an academic researcher?
No. SFU explicitly includes artists, knowledge keepers, practitioners and writers, as well as academic scholars. The work still needs to fit the humanities and arts purpose of the program.
How much is the stipend?
The published stipend is CAD $25,000 per four-month term. One term is CAD $25,000, two terms are CAD $50,000 and three terms are CAD $75,000. The overview says the stipend has no benefits and is paid in two-week instalments.
Is a full year required?
No. Applicants may request one, two or three terms. Explain why the chosen duration is appropriate for the project.
Are reference letters required with the first submission?
The current timeline says shortlisted candidates’ reference letters are due December 7. Follow the live form if it asks for anything additional, but the application page lists the initial package as the completed form, current CV and cover letter.
Where can applicants ask questions?
Email [email protected]. The official page also lists a September 21 online Q&A session for the 2027–2028 round.
Official links and next steps
Start with SFU’s official Shadbolt Fellowship application page. Download the current application form and tips document from that page, review the fellowship overview, and use SFU’s departments and programs list to identify a plausible host unit.
If the project fits, the next practical actions are to contact the prospective unit, outline a specific project and public contribution, choose one, two or three terms, and prepare the single PDF well before October 23 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Keep a copy of the submitted email and attachment, and monitor your inbox in late November in case SFU requests references. The fellowship rewards a clear relationship between the work you want to do, the people and unit you hope to work with, and the public value of completing it at SFU.