UBC Killam Fellowship 2027: $40,000 Annual Doctoral Scholarship at the University of British Columbia

The UBC Killam Fellowship 2027, officially the Killam Doctoral Scholarship, offers approximately 25 top doctoral candidates an annual stipend of $40,000 for up to two years. International, Canadian and permanent resident students are eligible to be considered.

The UBC Killam Fellowship 2027 is one of the most prestigious doctoral funding opportunities available at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada. Officially known as the Killam Doctoral Scholarship, the award supports outstanding doctoral students undertaking full-time graduate study and research at UBC.

For the 2027 competition, the scholarship provides an annual stipend of $40,000 for up to two years, with approximately 25 awards offered each year. The competition is open to applicants across citizenship categories, including international students, Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

The important point for prospective applicants is that there is no separate Killam Doctoral Scholarship application. Students must apply through UBC’s Affiliated Fellowships–Doctoral competition, from which the strongest candidates are selected for Killam Scholarships.

Scholarship Detail	Information
University	University of British Columbia
Country	Canada
Official award name	Killam Doctoral Scholarship
Degree level	Doctoral
Annual stipend	$40,000
Duration	Up to 2 years
Approximate awards	25 per year
Eligible citizenship	Canadian, Permanent Resident, International
Application route	Affiliated Fellowships–Doctoral competition
2027 competition deadline	September 15, 2026 at 12:00 noon PT
Doctoral-study limit	No more than 24 months completed by September 1, 2027
Separate Killam application	No

What Is the UBC Killam Fellowship?

The award is funded through the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Fund for Advanced Studies. The Killam scholarship programme was established in memory of Izaak Walton Killam through the philanthropic work and wishes of his wife, Dorothy J. Killam.

UBC describes the Killam Doctoral Scholarship as its most prestigious award available to graduate students. The programme is intended to recognize doctoral candidates with outstanding academic potential and the capacity to contribute significantly to scholarship or their chosen profession.

Approximately 25 doctoral candidates are selected annually from the Affiliated Fellowships competition.

How Much Does the Scholarship Pay?

The current UBC award value is $40,000 per year for up to two years. This represents a potential direct stipend value of $80,000 across the two-year scholarship period, before considering other eligible funding arrangements.

There is also an important tuition-related feature for eligible UBC-Vancouver recipients.

Killam Doctoral Scholarship recipients at the UBC-Vancouver campus also become Four Year Fellowship (4YF) holders and can receive additional tuition funding through the 4YF programme where they meet the relevant eligibility requirements.

This means the overall financial support may extend beyond the headline Killam stipend, depending on the student’s circumstances and eligibility for the associated 4YF funding.

Who Is Eligible for the UBC Killam Scholarship 2027?

The 2027 Killam Doctoral Scholarship competition is open to Canadian citizens, permanent residents and international students.

The principal Killam-specific eligibility requirement is related to the amount of doctoral study already completed.

To be eligible for the 2027–2028 competition, applicants must have completed no more than 24 months of doctoral study as of September 1, 2027.

Applicants therefore need to consider their doctoral start date carefully rather than simply looking at whether they are currently enrolled in a PhD.

The Scholarship Is Awarded Through a Larger Competition

One of the most important aspects of the UBC Killam application process is that the scholarship is not applied for separately.

The Killam Doctoral Scholarship forms part of UBC’s Affiliated Fellowships–Doctoral award competition. Candidates apply to the Affiliated Fellowships competition, and the top doctoral candidates who meet the Killam’s additional eligibility requirements are selected for Killam Scholarships.

UBC’s Affiliated Fellowships competition offers approximately 50 fellowships each year to meritorious students for full-time study and/or research leading to a graduate degree. Applicants from all citizenship categories can participate.

The Affiliated Fellowships competition evaluates doctoral applicants on the basis of academic excellence, using the doctoral selection criteria associated with the Canada Graduate Research Scholarships competition.

What Does This Mean for International Students?

International applicants are explicitly included among the eligible citizenship categories for the Killam Doctoral Scholarship.

This makes the award particularly significant for high-achieving international students looking for doctoral funding in Canada. However, being an international applicant does not create a separate application stream. International candidates follow the same Affiliated Fellowships–Doctoral route and compete for the available awards.

Applicants should therefore concentrate on building a strong doctoral fellowship application rather than searching for a separate international Killam application form.

What Fields of Study Are Eligible?

The supplied UBC Killam page identifies the award as a doctoral scholarship and states that candidates are selected through the university-wide Affiliated Fellowships competition.

The Affiliated Fellowships competition covers all disciplines, with evaluation based on the applicable doctoral research scholarship criteria.

This means the competition is not presented by UBC as being restricted to one specific academic field.

UBC Killam Fellowship 2027 Application Process

Applicants should begin with the Affiliated Fellowships–Doctoral competition.

The official process is:

Apply for the Affiliated Fellowships–Doctoral competition → Complete the required doctoral funding application → Be assessed by the relevant UBC graduate programme → Compete for Affiliated Fellowships → Top eligible candidates are considered for Killam Doctoral Scholarships.

UBC states that Affiliated Fellowships applicants do not need to submit a separate application for the affiliated awards. However, students seeking consideration for criteria-based affiliated awards must identify the relevant award numbers and submit the required checklist through their graduate programme by the deadline.

The deadline for the 2027 competition is September 15, 2026 at 12:00 noon Pacific Time.

UBC Killam Scholarship Deadline 2027

The application deadline is:

September 15, 2026 at 12:00 noon PT

This is an important date because the Killam award is administered through the Affiliated Fellowships–Doctoral competition, which carries the same competition deadline.

Applicants should not wait until the final hours to submit because the application route may involve graduate programme requirements and supporting documentation.

What Makes the UBC Killam Scholarship Competitive?

The Killam Doctoral Scholarship is reserved for the top doctoral candidates emerging from the Affiliated Fellowships competition. UBC therefore positions the award at the highest end of its doctoral funding opportunities.

Applicants should expect competition to focus heavily on the academic quality of their doctoral profile, because Affiliated Fellowships doctoral applications are evaluated on academic excellence.

For this reason, applicants should pay close attention to the quality and coherence of their research application, academic record and supporting materials.

Is the UBC Killam Fellowship Fully Funded?

It is more accurate to describe the Killam Doctoral Scholarship as a high-value doctoral funding award rather than automatically calling every recipient’s entire PhD fully funded.

The current Killam award provides $40,000 per year for up to two years. UBC-Vancouver recipients may also receive additional tuition funding through the Four Year Fellowship programme where eligible.

The total funding package therefore depends on factors such as campus, eligibility for 4YF support and other funding arrangements.

Applicants should review the specific UBC funding conditions applicable to their programme before assuming that all doctoral costs will be covered.

Can Students With Other Funding Receive the Killam?

UBC notes that recipients who have other funding may receive the Killam as a top-up to their other funding in the Affiliated Fellowships competition.

The university’s Four Year Fellowship guidelines also describe how internal and external scholarship funding can interact with 4YF support, including situations where tuition funding is adjusted depending on the value of other external awards.

Applicants should therefore disclose and carefully review all other funding sources rather than assuming awards can simply be combined without adjustment.

Key Dates for Applicants

For students targeting the 2027–2028 Killam competition, the central deadline is:

September 15, 2026 — 12:00 noon PT

Applicants must also satisfy the doctoral-study requirement of having completed no more than 24 months of doctoral study by September 1, 2027.

These two dates should be checked before beginning the application so that applicants know they are eligible for the competition.

Why the UBC Killam Scholarship Is Worth Considering

For exceptional doctoral researchers, the UBC Killam Doctoral Scholarship offers a combination of prestige, substantial annual financial support and access to UBC’s wider graduate funding ecosystem.

The award provides $40,000 annually, approximately 25 scholarships are offered each year, and eligible UBC-Vancouver recipients may also gain access to additional Four Year Fellowship tuition support.

The scholarship also has broad citizenship eligibility, making it a particularly important opportunity for international doctoral applicants who can compete through the university’s Affiliated Fellowships process.

Final Thoughts

The UBC Killam Fellowship 2027, officially the Killam Doctoral Scholarship, is a highly competitive doctoral funding opportunity at the University of British Columbia.

The current award provides $40,000 per year for up to two years, with approximately 25 scholarships awarded annually. Canadian citizens, permanent residents and international students can be considered, provided they meet the relevant eligibility requirements.

The most important application detail is that candidates do not apply directly for the Killam scholarship. Instead, they must apply through UBC’s Affiliated Fellowships–Doctoral competition, where the strongest eligible doctoral applicants are selected for Killam awards.

For the 2027–2028 competition, the deadline is September 15, 2026 at 12:00 noon Pacific Time. Applicants must also have completed no more than 24 months of doctoral study by September 1, 2027.

Prospective applicants should therefore prepare their doctoral funding application carefully, verify their study timeline and follow the Affiliated Fellowships instructions rather than looking for a separate Killam application.

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