Graduate Resources

Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL)

The central academic service unit that provides programming, resources, and support for graduate students’ and post-docs’ development as educators.

Queen's University Library

The Queen's University Library offers a number of resources for graduate students. The Helen Howard Graduate Students Reading Room on the third floor of Stauffer Library offers graduate students a quiet place for individual or group study. There are also two smaller rooms which are available to reserve in advance. Access is provided through the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs. 

Each academic department or research area at Queen’s is supported by a liaison librarian who can provide expert knowledge and guidance on the research literature in your area. Our librarians offer appointments for personalized in-depth consultations. History's liaison is Elizabeth Gibson.

The Library has also developed History Research Guide, a resource that includes information on how to find books, journal articles, and background information. If you work in the pre-modern period, you may also find the Classics Research Guide useful.

See Resources for Graduate Students in History for more information.

School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (SGSPA)

SGSPA is home to a wealth of academic resources for graduate students at Queen's University.

Notably, the SGSPA regularly organizes Writing Camps, including Dissertation Bootcamp, Dissertation on the Lake, and Lake Shift, and PA Day Writing Circles, to help graduate students make writing progress and provides opportunities to share your research through Grad Chat, a weekly radio show on CFRC 101.9 FM, the Three-Minute Thesis Competition (3MT), Indigenous Research Collaboration Day, the Research Showcase, and GRADflix.

The SGSPA has also compiled a list of research resources on such topics as research ethics, Indigenous research ethics, library resources, academic integrity, and intellectual property.

In 2023, SGSPA launched the Queen's Public Scholarship Program, a new initiative for graduate students interested in public scholarship and community engagement. Through a series of specially designed workshops and activities, students will develop and refine their skills as socially engaged, responsive scholars and community members. Students new to public scholarship or students whose research already reflects public scholarship are welcome to participate in the program.

There are two streams for engagement. Stream 1 is open to all graduate students. Programming will consist of a series of workshops and activities designed to support students whose research already qualifies as public scholarship as well as those students who are simply interested in learning to develop these skills. Students who complete a requisite number of workshops and activities will receive a Public Scholars Program Certificate of Completion. Stream 2 will identify 8 inaugural Public Scholarship Fellows through an application process, who will receive a $5,000 fellowship to engage in public scholarship activities through the year affiliated with their existing research. They will participate in monthly workshops and activities along with Stream 1 students, but also obtain additional training and receive 1:1 mentorship from a faculty member skilled in public scholarship. Each scholar will be expected to produce a brief final outcomes report (2 pages max) that describes their work over the course of the fellowship and reflects on their learning.

Student Academic Success Services (SASS)

SASS provides academic skills and writing support to Queen’s students at every level. Book an appointment with a SASS team member to work on your writing, academic skills, or academic English or attend a workshop or drop-in session.

Ban Righ Centre for Mature Women

The Ban Righ Centre assists women-identifying students of all ages, especially those who are returning to university after a time away to continue formal or informal education. The Centre is located on campus and is a hub of campus life for mature women students and mothers from diverse backgrounds, through which they can become part of a community of peers. 

Faith and Spiritual Life

Faith and Spiritual Life offers multi-faith, non-judgmental support for religious, spiritual, personal, and financial problems, concerns or crises. As part of Student Affairs, Faith and Spiritual Life strives to facilitate a welcoming, peaceful, and safe space. Chaplains can also provide support, ceremonial services, interfaith community development and spiritual support to students, faculty, and staff.

We are faith-positive, spirituality-positive, and queer-positive. We respect and advocate for both freedom of, and freedom from, religion. 

Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre

The Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre, or 4D as it is affectionately called, strives to be a home away from home, a hub of activity, and an essential resource for Queen's Indigenous students. 4D offers advising, cultural programming, cultural counselling and support.

Queen's Hillel

Queen’s Hillel is the centre for Jewish life on campus. We provide social, educational, and religious opportunities to ensure that there is a vibrant Jewish community at Queen’s University. Queen’s Hillel creates a pluralistic environment in which anyone in the Queen’s community, regardless of denomination or religious belief, can feel comfortable and included.

Scholars of Colour at Watson Hall

Scholars of Colour is a community of BIPOC graduate students in the departments of History, English Language & Literature, Philosophy, and Classics at John Watson Hall, Queen's University. 

Yellow House

Yellow House is a safe, comfortable and accountable space for queer, racialized, marginalized students to create community, to feel empowered, to empower others, to celebrate and to honour their histories. Yellow House seeks to engage students in initiatives that actively dismantle oppressive, racist and colonial ideologies and practices. 

Yellow House is home to the African Caribbean Student Association (ACSA), Levana Gender Advocacy Centre (LGAC), Queen's Black Academic Society (QBAS), and Queen's University Muslim Students' Association (QUMSA). 

Career Services

Career Services assists students from all disciplines with career advice and job skills development and offers a comprehensive range of accessible services to support and empower students in making informed decisions about their futures.

Individual Development Plan (IDP)

The Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a professional development program designed to provide direction, support, and tools to help you:

• Set flexible career goals that align with your values, skills, and interests, while being made aware of job-market options and realities
• Identify strengths and gaps in your skills, leverage resources, and make plans to build additional learning experiences into your graduate education to move you closer to your goals
• Complete your degree and successfully transition from your education program into the next stage of your career, ready to tell compelling stories about your graduate experience and the skills you have learned

Internships

Queen’s and its partners offer many opportunities for internships, practicum placements, clinical placements, and work experience. 

• Mitacs Accelerate is Canada’s premier research internship program for all disciplines. Interns broaden their impact by connecting with private-sector organizations and applying their skills to new challenges. Each four-month internship provides a $10,000 minimum intern stipend/salary and up to $5,000 for project expenses. Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are eligible to apply. Projects range in duration from four months to multi-year, multi-disciplinary collaborations.
• Queen's Doctoral Internship in University Administration (QDIUA) is a collaborative initiative between Queen's Career Services and the SGSPA that provides a unique opportunity for PhD candidates learn more about the university administrative environment through an internship with an administrative unit at Queen’s University. During the program, doctoral students will strengthen and expand their professional skills by working alongside experienced administrators outside of their academic programs. Through a combination of mentoring and participation in meaningful projects and tasks, interns will contribute to the day-to-day operations of the University while expanding their professional network and exploring careers in academic administration.

PhD-Community Initiative

The PhD-Community Initiative brings together PhD students from different programs of study into interdisciplinary teams of 3 to 5 members to assist community organizations in addressing a particular issue or challenge of importance to them. With the benefit of a fresh, interdisciplinary, analytical approach, the organization may receive the help needed to move forward in a positive way. Each team will be assigned a mentor who will provide guidance and advice about working as a team, managing a project, and working with partners.

The PhD-Community Initiative provides PhD students with an exceptional interdisciplinary, experiential learning opportunity that requires the application and translation of skills and knowledge gained in graduate training to address a problem outside of their area of research or scholarship.

Queen’s Public Scholarship Program (QPSP)

SGSPA has launched the Queen's Public Scholarship Program (QPSP), a new initiative in 2023-24 to support graduate students whose research is intended to directly impact local, national, and global communities. The QPSP will run from September 2023 to August 2024 and will include two streams for student participation. The first stream will consist of a series of workshops and activities designed to support students whose research already qualifies as public scholarship. Graduate students who are simply interested in public scholarship and/or want to develop new skills are also welcome to participate. Students who complete six workshops/activities will receive a Public Scholarship Program Certificate of Completion. The second stream will identify eight inaugural Queen’s Public Scholarship Fellows. These graduate students will receive a $5,000 fellowship to engage in public scholarship activities affiliated with their existing research over the 2023-24 academic year. Fellows will participate in monthly workshops, obtain additional training, and receive one-on-one mentorship. Applications to stream two will be accepted between June 12, 2023 and July 26, 2023.

Queen's Work Study Program

Based on financial need, Queen's Work Study program provides eligible students the opportunity to receive priority for certain part-time positions during a specified period of study. The Work Study entitlement value is not a monetary award, you will earn an hourly wage if you are hired for a Work Study employment position; an hourly wage is paid as employment income directly to you by your Work Study employer.

SGPS Job Board

The Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS) employs SGPS members in a variety of positions, including Student Advisors, Researchers, Commissioners/Liasions, and in Governance Positions. Opportunities are posted regularly on the SGPS Job Board. 

Accessibility Hub

Run by the Human Rights & Equity Office, the Accessibility Hub is a central resource that connects Queen’s community members to all of the accessibility initiatives and services on campus. This includes direct links to Queen's Student Accessibility Services (QSAS). 

Through the Accessibility Hub, students can access the Human Rights & Equity Office Training Catalogue. These courses provide educational training in the areas of human rights, equity, accessibility, and sexual violence prevention and response. Our educational programs build community awareness, increase knowledge and address systemic barriers to inclusion.

Human Rights Advisory Services: Human Rights Issues

Human Rights Advisory Services provides advice to Queen's community members concerning human rights issues arising at Queen's and advocates for human rights practices and policies that respond to the needs of Queen's equity-seeking communities. 

Queen's encourages anyone who has been personally affected by any form of human rights related discrimination or harassment to contact the Human Rights Advisory Services. 

Human Rights Advisory Services can advise on topics related to Accommodation, Age, Citizenship, Creed, Disability, Domestic Violence, Gender Identity, Immigrant Women, Indigenous identity, Marital and Family Status, Race and Racism, Sex, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Orientation.

Positive Space

The Positive Space program offers visibility and support to 2SLGBTQI+ communities. Positive Space stickers posted at the entrance to work, living, or study areas, and on personal belongings such as backpacks or laptops, encourage the Queen's community to celebrate the gender and sexual diversity that exists on campus and to work to overcome subtle and overt forms of discrimination and harassment.

To become a participant and post a sticker, you need to complete a self-paced course and attend an in-person or virtual session. 

Queen’s Equity Locator App

Apple Queen's Equity Locator App

Offers maps of Queen’s campus with crowd sourced equity related points of interest, including accessible entrances, gender-neutral washrooms, elevators, and more.

PSAC 901 Funding & Bursaries

PSAC offers a number of bursaries for PSAC members, including:

• Childcare Bursary
• Mental Health Bursary
• Gender Affirmation Bursary

PSAC 901 members can also apply to to the PSAC Emergency Hardship Fund. Contact staffpsac901@gmail.com for more information.

SGSPA Awards & Bursaries

SGSPA offers a variety of scholarships, fellowships, awards, and bursaries for domestic and international graduate students. Internal scholarships, fellowships, and awards do not require an application and many are part of the funding packages given to students when they receive an admissions offer. 

SGSPA also offers emergency and needs-based funding, such as the Queen's General Bursary, which are administered by the Student Awards Office. The Queen's General Bursary (QGB) (summer and fall/winter) is a non-repayable grant available to students in all years of study who have a demonstrated financial need.

The SGSPA also makes Maternity-Parental Leave Funding available to doctoral students. These funds provide support to a new parent taking a leave from full-time graduate studies to start or expand their family. The SGSPA provides $5,000 to funding-eligible PhD students who have been granted maternity or parental leave under the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulation.

The School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs Conference Travel Awards support students traveling to conferences to present their scholarship. Departments manage these applications and should be contacted directly for details on how to apply.

The Graduate Dean’s Travel Grant for Doctoral Field Research is a competitive award for doctoral students pursuing dissertation research at a considerable distance from Queen’s. The maximum value of the award is $3,000. Graduate programs and departments receive details and application materials approximately 8 weeks prior to the annual competition deadline.

SGPS Health and Dental Plan

The SGPS Health and Dental Plan is sponsored by the SGPS and administered by StudentCare.

To learn more about your benefits and how you can take advantage of them, please see the StudentCare website.

Sexual Health Resource Centre

The Sexual Health Resource Centre is a confidential, non-judgmental, sex positive, pro-choice, queer positive, non-heterosexist and feminist information and referral service for questions regarding sex, sexuality and sexual health. The centre is staffed by trained volunteers who are knowledgeable about the products we sell and respond to client inquiries made in person or by telephone.

Student Wellness Services

For students in need of wellness support, Student Wellness Services provides medical health, mental health, health promotion, and accessibility services to Queen’s students. SWS supports the personal, academic, and social health development of students at Queen's by providing a range of programs and services. They aim to offer a welcoming, confidential, and integrated services that is responsive to your health and wellness needs. Student Wellness Services is also home to Queen's Student Accessibility Services. 

Students can book an appointment with a physician, nurse, or counsellor. 

SGSPA has an embedded counsellor who provides individual counselling services to graduate students and offers group programs on mental health and wellbeing. Queen’s Student Wellness Services offers a number of specialized counsellors to support our students. Counsellors include registered psychotherapists, social workers, and psychologists who specialize in working with particular issues or student populations including Eating Disorders, Sexual Violence, Black-identified, LGBT2SQ+, Indigenous, and Cross-cultural/racialized students.

To book an appointment with Student Wellness Services (SWS) call 613-533-2506 and ask to set up an appointment with a counsellor. You can ask to speak with the graduate specific counsellor, one of the other specialized counsellors, or a general counsellor. All of these appointments are free.

You can also visit the book a mental health appointment page on the Student Wellness Services website.

Other Mental health resources include one-on-one appointments or self-directed mental health supports such as Empower Me, or you can email counselling.services@queensu.ca.

Queen’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Services

The Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Service is part of the Human Rights and Equity Office, an independent department on campus located in Mackintosh Corry Hall. SVPRS is the point on contact on campus for students impacted by sexual violence and for prevention initiatives.

Vesta is an online support hub which allows you to record your experience, access on-campus and off-campus support, anonymously submit, and report to the Kingston Police. 

Community Housing

Community Housing manages the student rental properties owned by Queen’s University. This includes two apartment complexes located at west campus – An Clachan and John Orr Tower – as well as a variety of apartments and houses in the University District. 

Life in Kingston

There are a variety of wonderful, student-friendly neighbourhoods near Queen's! Graduate students usually find rooms, apartments, or houses near Queen's through housing Facebook groups and websites. 

Queen's University Community Housing manages an Accommodations Listing Service where external landlords can post listings for student rental units. Please note that Queen's does not endorse or warrant the quality of the rental units provided through this listing service. It is a tool to help students in need of rental accommodation connect with landlords who have rental properties available.

Queen's University International Centre (QUIC)

QUIC offers international students advice, guidance, and information to assist with the transition to studying at Queen's and living in Kingston. QUIC offers a variety of academic-related programs, including Write  It and Speak Up workshops (in partnership with Student Academic Success Services) and the English Conversation Program. QUIC also leads workshops on careers and income taxes. 

International Student Advisors (ISAs) provide immigration and cultural advice, guidance, and information to assist in your transition to studying at Queen’s and living in Kingston. They specialize in supporting international students, new Canadians, permanent residents, and their families. We can assist with the following, and more: 

• Learning to navigate the local and academic cultures of Kingston and Queen’s
• Feelings of homesickness, loneliness, and isolation
• Understanding and accessing health services

ISAs are Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors (RISIA) that can provide you with information on immigration regulations as they relate to your studies in Canada, including: 

• Study permits 
• Eligibility to work on or off campus 
• Visitor visas
• Spousal work permits 
• Pathways to permanent residency