The Chief Justice Fraser Scholarship was established to honour Catherine Fraser, who retired as Alberta’s Chief Justice in 2022. The scholarship recognizes and rewards academic achievement of an outstanding student taking a law degree at the University of Alberta or the University of Calgary.

Value

Two scholarships of $12,500 each are available.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet all of the following eligibilty criteria:

  • Be a Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident of Canada or Protected Person under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, (Visa students are not eligible),

  • Be an Alberta resident, and to be considered an Alberta resident one of the following conditions must apply:
    • one parent, or legal guardian has maintained permanent residence in Canada for at least 12 consecutive months immediately prior to commencing post-secondary studies and be residing in Alberta, or
    • Alberta is the last place the student has lived for 12 consecutive months immediately prior to commencing post-secondary studies, or
    • the student’s spouse/partner has maintained permanent residence in Alberta for 12 consecutive months prior to the person attending post-secondary.

  • Be enrolled full-time in a law degree in the current academic year at the University of Alberta or the University of Calgary.
    • Full-time requires being enrolled in at least 60% of a full course load (40% of a full course load for students with a disability) in at least one term of study.

  • Submit a paper, essay, article, speech, Ted talk, or other advocacy activity related to a topic in any area of the rule of law: constitutionalism (including federalism and guaranteed rights); the delivery of fair and equal justice; or the protection of human rights. Each of these topics will be evaluated for originality, cognitive agency, and scholarly contribution, and written activities should be of publishable quality.

An individual may receive a lifetime maximum of one (1) award. You are not eligible to receive the award when you withdraw from studies or drop from full- to part-time studies before the award is paid.

How to Apply

Applicants must submit:

  • a completed and signed application form, and

  • a paper, essay, article, speech, Ted talk, or other advocacy activity related to a topic in any of the areas of the rule of law; constitutionalism (including federalism and guaranteed rights); the delivery of fair and equal justice; or the protection of human rights. Each will be evaluated for originality, cognitive agency, and scholarly contribution, and written activities should be of publishable quality.

  • Application - Chief Justice Fraser Scholarship

The deadline to apply for this scholarship is December 15.

Selection Process

Applicants will be evaluated based on their paper, essay, article, speech, Ted talk, or other advocacy activity. Alberta Justice will be looking for originality, cognitive agency, and scholarly contribution, and written activities should be of publishable quality.

Many other scholarships and awards are offered by other organizations – we encourage you to visit Alberta’s public university and college websites to research the scholarships that they offer.

For more information, see Alberta post-secondary institutions.