During African Heritage Month, King’s is pleased to promote scholarships specifically for African Canadians.
More information about each scholarship is detailed below. Note that the Prince Scholarship and the Dr. Carrie Best Scholarship require that students complete the application form for the award they are applying to, and submit an essay of no more than 500 words in response to the topic outlined on the undergraduate scholarships page. Students are invited to apply for more than one scholarship. The deadline for scholarship applications is March 1, 2021, unless otherwise specified. Questions may be emailed to awards@ukings.ca.
The Gordon Earle Scholarship
The Gordon Earle Scholarship is valued at $24,000 (a $6,000 award renewable for up to three years). The scholarship, formerly known as the Prince Scholarship, honours Gordon Sinclair Earle who was the inaugural recipient of the Prince Scholarship.
Dr. Earle was one of King’s first African Nova Scotian students. Later, as Nova Scotia’s chief human rights officer, Dr. Earle drafted Nova Scotia’s first Human Rights Act. When, in 1982 he was appointed ombudsman for Manitoba, he became Canada’s first African Canadian ombudsman.
Upon his return to Nova Scotia, Dr. Earle was appointed to the position of deputy minister of housing and consumer affairs, making him the first deputy minister of African descent in the history of Nova Scotia’s civil service. He subsequently became the first African Nova Scotian to sit in the House of Commons, elected as the Member of Parliament for Halifax West for the New Democratic Party.
Who can apply
African Nova Scotian students entering the Foundation Year Program at King’s are invited to apply for the Prince Scholarship. Students must be pursuing a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Journalism (Honours) or Bachelor of Music degree and meet the scholarship criteria.
How to apply
To apply, students must complete the Prince Scholarship Application form [PDF] on which they will be asked to detail their extracurricular activities related to high school, work, and/or community involvement. Students must also provide the name and contact information of two references: one work or volunteer reference; and one academic reference. In addition to their application form, students must submit an original essay in response to the topic outlined on the undergraduate scholarships page.
Updated September 2023
Dr. Carrie Best Scholarship
The Dr. Carrie Best Scholarship is valued at $20,000 (a $5,000 award renewable for up to three years). The scholarship honours Dr. Carrie Best (1903-2001) a Nova Scotian journalist, author and broadcaster. Born and raised in New Glasgow, Dr. Best was a tireless advocate for human rights in Nova Scotia and throughout Canada. In 1947 she founded The Clarion, the second Black newspaper in Nova Scotia, which she edited and distributed throughout the Maritimes. She wrote a weekly column for the Pictou Advocate and hosted her own radio program. Dr. Best challenged Nova Scotia’s official and unofficial segregation laws, helped to establish the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, among other organizations, and never failed to raise her voice when she saw injustice. She received many awards including the Order of Canada, and an honorary Doctor of Civil Law from the University of King’s College in 1992. In 2011 Canada Post honoured Dr. Best with a commemorative stamp.
Who can apply
African Canadian students and Indigenous students in Canada enrolling in a four-year Bachelor of Journalism (Honours), Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Music at King’s are invited to apply.
How to apply
To apply, students must complete the Dr. Carrie Best Scholarship Application form [PDF] on which they will be asked to detail their extracurricular activities related to high school, work, and/or community involvement. Students must also provide the name and contact information of two references: one work or volunteer reference; and one academic reference. In addition to their application form, students must submit an original essay in response to the topic outlined on the undergraduate scholarships page.
Sylvia D. Hamilton Awards
In 2020 King’s announced the establishment of the Sylvia D. Hamilton Awards. Named in honour of the recently retired King’s journalism professor, five Sylvia D. Hamilton Awards will be awarded annually. The awards are valued at $2,020 in honour of Hamilton’s retirement year, and each award is renewable over the usual length of the recipient’s degree.
Sylvia D. Hamilton is a noted writer, poet, filmmaker and visual artist, in addition to educator, who has devoted her career to the places, people and voices that make up the Nova Scotia Black experience, an experience Hamilton has traced back to her own ancestors coming to Nova Scotia in the years following the War of 1812.
A professor at King’s since 2004, Hamilton was involved with the King’s Board of Governors prior to her arrival as a professor, where, in the 1980s, she played a role in the creation of policy around racial equity. At the end of June 2020, Hamilton, whose courses in the Bachelor of Journalism program and the Bachelor of Journalism (Honours) program were among consistently popular offerings in the journalism program, formally retired from her position as the Rogers Chair of Communications within the School of Journalism.
Who can apply
African Canadian students, and African Nova Scotians in particular, are invited to apply for the Sylvia D. Hamilton Awards. The awards are open to all degree streams at King’s with a preference for students in journalism and the King’s/Dalhousie MFA in Creative Non-Fiction.
How to apply
To apply, students must submit a brief biographical statement about themselves to the Scholarship Committee, including their program of study and general interests and plans. This should be submitted to awards@ukings.ca by March 1.
The CTV News Atlantic Scholarship
The CTV News Atlantic Scholarship is a one-time award in the amount of $5,000.
Who Can Apply
Students in the Bachelor of Journalism (1-year) degree program are invited to apply for this award, with a preference for African Canadian and Indigenous students who demonstrate an interest in television journalism.
How to apply
Students must complete the Graduate and Advanced Journalism Scholarship Application Form [PDF] by February 15, 2021 and select the “CTV News Atlantic Scholarship” box. As part of the application form, applicants will be asked to provide information about their eligibility for the scholarship, and to describe why they are a deserving candidate.
Find a full list of scholarships available for undergraduate students here; and for graduate and advanced study on this page.
Have questions? Simply email awards@ukings.ca.
