- Sir Winston Spencer Churchill Memorial Fund Scholarships
The Churchill Society of British Columbia (the “Society”) administers an annual Essay Contest open to undergraduates at either of the University of British Columbia (‘UBC”) or Simon Fraser University (“SFU”).
There are three requirements for participation in this Essay Contest:
1. The essay’s author must have been an undergraduate student at UBC or SFU taking courses in History, Political Science or International Relations at some time during the current academic year. Any submission must identify the name or names of such courses and not exceed 32 pages in length, excluding appendices and bibliography.
2. Any essay submitted must be on (i) an important topic of contemporary political relevance OR (ii) related to Churchill’s life and times (1875 to 1965). For the purposes of this Essay Contest, contemporary shall mean from 1900 onwards. The Committee shall give preference to topics related to Churchill’s life and times and to issues with which he was or would likely be especially concerned.
3. Essays must be submitted by the university to the Society in electronic “WORD” format by July 1 of the current year (PDF format is not permitted). Students must submit their essays directly to their university’s contact person who may require an earlier submission date. The Society will only consider submissions that have not been submitted in a previous year.
The Society’s Scholarship Committee (the “Committee”), at its discretion, selects a First Prize winner and a Second Prize winner from the eligible papers submitted. The First Prize winner is awarded the Churchill Communication Challenge Trophy and a Scholarship in an amount to be determined by the Committee (most recently set at $2500). The Second Prize winner receives a Scholarship in an amount to be determined by the Committee (most recently set at $1500). The awards are made in November or December of each year at the Annual General Meeting of the Society.
Questions about and submissions to the Essay Contest should be made through the undergraduate’s university Churchill Essay Contest contact person.
In the case of the University of British Columbia, the Churchill Essay Contest contact is:
Mr. Adam Jelley, Program Manager, International Relations Program
University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus
Buchanan Bldg. C414, 1866 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1
E-mail: irmajor.program@ubc.ca
Telephone: 604-827-6640
For Simon Fraser University, the Churchill Essay Contest contact person is set out below:
John Craig
Professor, Early Modern English History, Department of History
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6
Telephone: 778-782-8927
E-mail: johnc@sfu.ca
Scholarship Winners
The First Prize winner for the 2021 Sir Winston Spencer Churchill Essay Contest and the recipient of the Churchill Communication Challenge Trophy was UBC student Mr. Julien B. Cardinal. Mr. Cardinal was awarded a $2,500 scholarship for his essay, Navigating Choppy Waters: The Disputed Legal Status of the Northwest Passage.
The Second Prize winner of the 2021 Sir Winston Spencer Churchill Essay Contest was UBC student Mr. Steven McLean. Mr. McLean was awarded a $1,500 scholarship for his paper, Bordering Northern Ireland: How the Northern Ireland Protocol Fails to Protect from Old Conflicts.
If you wish to read these papers, please click on their respective titles above. If you wish to receive a written copy of either of the prize winning papers, please contact the Society’s Administrator.
Sir Winston Spencer Churchill Memorial Fund Scholarships are funded by the Sir Winston Spencer Churchill Memorial Fund (the “Memorial Fund”) administered by the Vancouver Foundation. For details of the Memorial Fund and how to make donations to it, please click on the Memorial Fund Page.