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GKS Scholarships

The GKS awards a number of awards annually, aimed mainly at promoting emerging scholars and early career researchers. Applications should be directed to the president and sent to the GKS office by November 1 of each year. Extended until Dec. 1, 2022! The board or a committee appointed by the board decides on awarding the prizes. Applicants will be notified by February 1 of the following year. The winners will be officially awarded their awards at the annual conference of the GKS.

GKS prizes

Each year two GKS-Prizes (EUR 1,200 each) are awarded to students of all disciplines whose diploma, state examination, or master’s thesis deal with a Canada-specific topic and therefore require a research trip to Canada. The funding facilitates work in Canada, such as field studies, library work, interviews, etc. for the preparation or completion of the respective project.

The application form is available for download as a docx file here.

Prix d’Excellence du Gouvernement du Québec as part of university studies in German-speaking countries

In cooperation with the Association internationale des études québécoises (AIÉQ), the Association for Canadian Studies in German-speaking Countries (GKS) annually awards the Prix d’Excellence du Gouvernement du Québec. The goverment of Québec endows the prize and presents it to the recipient at the GKS annual conference in Grainau each year through a representative of the delegation in Munich. The prize carries an award of 3,000 $ Cdn. Parallel applications for other GKS awards and prizes are not permissible.

The prize is awarded to early career researchers (students, doctoral students) who have submitted an excellent thesis (Master, Diplom, Staatsexamen or Ph.D.) at a German, Austrian, or Swiss university or who have published a scholarly work in the field of Québec studies. The prize is addressed at early career researchers in the humanities and social sciences, e.g. cultural studies, literature, linguistics, political or social sciences, history, economics, etc. It aims at enhancing the visibility of scholarly works by early career researchers, so all kinds of academic work (articles, monographs, collections or similar) are admissible.

By handing in their application, candidates commit themselves to writing a summary in German and in French of max. 300 words each.

Furthermore, the following criteria for admissibility apply:

  • Works must have been written or published in either German or French.
  • Works must deal with topics specific to Québec or Québec Studies. Works dealing with Canada (all other provinces or concerning the federal level) are not admissible.
  • Only those thesis or works are admissible which have been handed in or published within the last two years prior to the prize being bestowed.

The application form is available for download as a docx file here.

Jürgen and Freia Saße Award

The Jürgen and Freia Saße Award is given annually to a student working on a diploma-, state examination-, master’s or doctoral thesis dealing with Aboriginal People in Canada. The prize of EUR 1,200 is a financial grant for project-related academic studies in Canada. Application is open to students from all disciplines (e.g. Art, Linguistics, Geology, Geography, Anthropology) whose theses require a research stay in Canada. The board or an appointed committee decides on awarding the prize. The family of Jürgen and Freia Saße expresses the wish to meet the winner in person and to see the completed work.

The application form is available for download as a docx file here.

Gabriele Helms Prize for Canadian Fiction and Cultural Narratology

In memory of German Canadian literary scholar Gabriele Helms, the GKS annually awards the Gabriele Helms Prize for Canadian Fiction and Cultural Narratology. After finishing her studies in Cologne and completing her PhD in Canada (UBC), Helms taught first at Simon Fraser University and later at the University of British Colmbia. At the age of 38, Gabriele Helms passed away from cancer only a couple of days after giving birth to her daughter. The prize commemorates Gabriele Helms as a person (as an inspiring teacher in the areas of Life Writing and Canadian Studies) and especially her contribution to narratology, among others, her study Challenging Canada: Dialogism and Narrative Technique in Canadian Novels (Montréal 2003).

The Gabriele Helms Prize for Canadian Fiction and Cultural Narratology is awarded for an outstanding dissertation on anglophone Canadian fiction and/or cultural narratology. It is worth EUR 1,000. The board or an appointed committee decides on awarding the prize. To be eligible, candidates must have completed their PhD no more than three years prior to their application.

The application form is available for download as a docx file here.