Grants and Writing Resources for St. Francis Xavier University

A master's student in biology at StFX won a $3,500 Frances Elizabeth Hilder Scholarship in forest conservation from the Canadian Wildlife Federation in 2026, for research on the beech leaf-mining weevil, a pest of American beech in Nova Scotia, and on whether parasitoid wasps can hold its numbers down. Undergraduates won research money the same year. Four students in their second to fourth years held StFX Open Research Awards, with projects ranging from endometriosis to microbial life in the Bras d'Or Lakes, and seven more received the John B. Stewart and Lauder-Mulroney research awards.

Summer Research Funding

The Research office's undergraduate research awards were each worth $9,250 for summer 2026, paying a student to work on a project under a faculty supervisor. The Irving Oil Research Mentorship Award, funded through the McKenna Centre for Leadership, normally supports at least eight students in StFX bachelor's programs each year. Computer science students can apply for the Alley Heaps Internship Awards, and full-time BBA students for the Gerald Schwartz School of Business Research Internship Awards, which cover areas from accounting and finance to marketing and entrepreneurship. The same page covers the national NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR undergraduate research awards, and SSHRC and CIHR each provide one award for an outstanding Black Canadian student.

Some awards are tied to a field. The Lauder-Mulroney Research Award is open to students in any discipline working on public policy and governance, with $9,250 for 14 weeks of research. Biology and the life sciences gained the Z.A. Hall Student Research Awards in 2026, four endowed awards of $1,500 for undergraduate research.

Presenting Research

Each March, Student Research Night brings oral and poster presentations from upper-year courses, advanced major and honours projects, and graduate programs to Mulroney Hall, with posters in Scholar's Walk. Presenters stay for about two hours to answer questions from students, faculty, staff and visitors from the community.

Graduate Awards

According to the Guide to Graduate Studies, StFX Graduate Scholarships pay up to $8,000 a year, are normally awarded at entry, and renew while the student stays in good standing. Teaching assistantships are worth $3,000 per academic year. The university also gives up to two Outstanding Graduate Student Research Awards a year, one in Education and one in Arts and Science, each with a certificate, a letter from the President and a $500 prize, presented at spring convocation. The graduate research page lists Canada Graduate Research Scholarships for master's and doctoral students, along with Mitacs Accelerate awards.

Where Theses Are Published

Graduate theses go into StFX Scholar, the university's official repository, which also takes undergraduate theses. The library's thesis deposit guide explains the submission, including the licence form that lets a graduate student opt into the Theses Canada portal. StFX sets no single thesis format; each department or program has its own conventions, as the Research and Thesis page explains.

Help With Writing

Writing help at StFX runs through the Academic Success Centre in the Angus L. Macdonald Library. Its one-on-one appointments are free to any registered student and last up to 45 minutes, covering everything from brainstorming and outlines to integrating sources, citation styles and revision. The centre also gives English language help and connects students with subject tutors.

Our editors work with StFX writers at the final-draft stage, from seminar papers to dissertations. See our St. Francis Xavier University dissertation and thesis editing page, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• Treating the Personal Statement as a Scholarly Defense
• Writing the Abstract and Title: First Impressions Matter
• The Secret to Better Grades: Starting Your Writing Process Early