Queen’s Law graduate programs: research excellence with impact

Graduate students and their work are a crucial part of the Faculty of Law's vibrant research community. Attracting dedicated, collaborative and motivated students from across Canada and around the world, our graduate students work closely with world-leading legal scholars, and advance critical research in different areas of legal knowledge.

Graduates of our LLM and PhD programs have made their mark in legal scholarship, professional practice, and public service. They go on to work in law faculties around the world, in legal and advisory service firms, serve as counsel to international organizations and NGOs, as policy advisors to governments, and as mediators, arbitrators, judges, and much more. Students learn and work in an intimate and collegial research environment that celebrates diversity of thought, lived experience, and academic discovery. 

We support our students through to the completion of their degrees and beyond, to put them on a path to future success. Queen’s Law offers guaranteed funding packages to all accepted students, and many of our domestic scholars are successful in applying for SSHRC and other national awards. We also assist our international students with applications for Ontario Graduate Scholarships and other awards.

Additional Funding Opportunities for LLM and PhD Applicants (2026–27)

Queen’s Faculty of Law – Graduate Studies

Prospective graduate students at Queen’s Law have access to a wide range of competitive internal awards, research assistantships, and teaching opportunities. In addition to our standard funding packages, applicants for the 2026–27 academic year may also be considered for the following faculty-linked funding opportunities, available to students whose research aligns with specific professors and their supported projects.

These awards may be held in combination with standard graduate funding, subject to program rules.
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Faculty-Supervised Funding Opportunities (2026–27)

Grégoire Webber
Area: Legal Philosophy & Public Law
Available Funding: $10,000
Source: SSHRC Insight Grant
Students working in legal philosophy, constitutional and public law theory, or normative political theory may be considered for this award.
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Nicholas Bala
Area: Family Law (Project-Specific)
Available Funding: $5,000–$10,000
Source: SSHRC
Ideal for students interested in family law, youth justice, and child protection, particularly those whose thesis aligns closely with the funded project.
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Robert Yalden
Area: Corporate & Securities Law
Available Funding: $5,000-$10,000
Source: Sigurdson Research Fund
Supports research in business law, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and securities regulation.
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Nicolas Lamp
Area: International Trade Law & the Crisis of Globalization
Available Funding: $25,000
Source: SSHRC Insight Grant
Designed for students examining international economic law, global governance, trade policy, or the socio-political effects of globalization.
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Jacob Weinrib
Area: Constitutional Law & Legal Theory
Available Funding: $5,000
Source: SSHRC Insight Grant
Suitable for students pursuing normative constitutional theory, human rights theory, or jurisprudence.
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Cherie Metcalf
Area: Private Rights of Action in Canada
Available Funding: Up to $10,000
Source: SSHRC Insight Development Grant (IDG)
Open to students interested in tort law, access to justice, litigation theory, and private enforcement of public norms.
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Ashwini Vasanthakumar
Area: Transitional Justice, Structural Oppression, Migration & Incarceration
Available Funding: $20,000
Source: Insight Grant
A strong fit for students exploring political and legal responses to conflict, displacement, oppression, responsibility, or punishment.
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How to Be Considered for These Opportunities

Applicants interested in any of the above awards should:
1.    Identify the supervising professor in their application and clearly indicate the alignment between their proposed research and the relevant funded project.
2.    Discuss their fit in the Statement of Research Interest or Proposal.
3.    When contacted during the admissions process, be prepared to provide additional detail on how their research will contribute to the professor’s grant-supported work.

Awards are competitive, subject to supervisor availability, and contingent on admission to the LLM or PhD program. If you have already submitted your application, please send an additional one-page addendum to the Gradate Program Coordinator at lawgrad@queensu.ca. In the subject line, please include the name of the faculty member and area of interest.
 

Why Queen’s Law graduate studies?

  • Gain a world-class, cross-disciplinary legal education tailored to your academic and professional goals.
  • Learn from leading legal scholars, including endowed professorship holders in business law, a Canada Research Chair in Public Law and Philosophy of Law, and more.
  • Participate in our pivotal research centres, groups, and programs, including Conflict Analytics Lab, Centre for Law in the Contemporary Workplace, Feminist Legal Studies, Legal and Political Philosophy, and Surveillance Studies Centre.
  • Through our local and global reach, connect with diverse communities to engage in collaborative knowledge creation and real world scholarship.

The Faculty of Law’s Graduate Program Coordinator, lawgrad@queensu.ca, provides full-time support to our graduate students. Beyond the Law Faculty, the Queen’s School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, the Society of Graduate and Professional Students, the Centre for Teaching and Learning, the International Centre, and the Writing Centre all help to provide graduate students with the academic, financial, emotional, and social support they need to succeed.

Let’s get started!

Joshua Karton BA (Yale) JD (Columbia) PhD (Cambridge) 
Associate Dean (Graduate Studies and Program Development), Associate Professor

Kate Black 
Graduate Program Coordinator