Each academic year, The Jackman Humanities Institute (JHI) hosts an intergenerational community of fellows who pursue independent research while in residence at the JHI on the 10th floor of the Jackman Humanities Building. Fellows are linked by an annual theme and participate in shared activities, including weekly lunch seminars, workshops, and lectures.
We are seeking a small number of advanced undergraduates who propose to conduct research on a humanities topic related to our 2026-27 theme, Doubles, Doppelgangers. Applicants should be students who are likely to go on to graduate school in the humanities. The opportunity to converse with and be mentored by leading scholars, and to participate in interdisciplinary conversations in the humanities, should provide major impetus and inspiration for growth.
Eligibility
- Open to full-time University of Toronto undergraduate students in a humanities or social sciences discipline from divisions affiliated with the JHI: Faculty of Arts & Sciences, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Music, OISE, Faculty of Information, UTM, or UTSC
- Project topics must connect to the theme for 2026-27, Doubles, Doppelgangers
- Preference will be given to students who will be in the final year of their program during the fellowship year
Funding and Benefits
Each undergraduate fellow will:
- Be linked to one or more specific Faculty Research Fellows who will serve as supervisor(s) for the research project
- Complete a 300- or 400-level independent research course for 1.0 FCE (or a directed research project at an appropriate weight), the number consistent with the program requirements of the student’s department of concentration
- Be provided with carrel space for study at the JHI
- Receive a $1250 scholarship to assist with the cost of registration in the independent study course. The JHI also provides limited support for research-related travel upon request to the Director
- Receive one of the following named awards as part of the fellowship:
- Dr. Michael Lutsky Undergraduate Award in the Humanities
- James Fleck Undergraduate Award in the Humanities
- Zoltan Simo Undergraduate Award in the Humanities
- Dr. Jan Blumenstein Undergraduate Award in the Humanities
- Jukka-Pekka Saraste Undergraduate Award in the Humanities
- Milton Harris Undergraduate Award in the Humanities
Responsibilities and Expectations
Undergraduate fellows will:
- Be in residence at the JHI for the academic year (September to June)
- Participate regularly in JHI events, including weekly lunches, workshops and occasional public events
- Present a lecture at a fellows’ lunch seminar
- Participate in the life of the Institute
- Produce a brief report summarizing fellowship research by end of May 2027 for inclusion in JHI’s Annual Report
Application Components
All applicants must complete the online application and upload the following documents as a single PDF:
- A description of your proposed research project (maximum two pages or 500 words)
- A copy of your Transcripts or Complete Academic History from ACORN for all work at the University of Toronto
- One essay from a related course
- On the application form, you will also be asked to provide:
- The name of the Faculty Research Fellow you would like to work with (see list below)
- The name and email address of a University of Toronto instructor who will provide a reference
- Contact this instructor before you apply to confirm they are willing to be named
- Tell them what you are applying for and the deadline for their reference (April 28, 2026)
Name the file using this format: Last name, First name.
After you submit your application, an automated email will be sent immediately to the named instructor requesting a reference letter. Please ensure the name and email address are correct.
You will also be asked to provide a short bio and a short project summary (maximum 100 words each). If you are selected, these texts will be used for publicity purposes.
Selection Criteria
Applicants will be selected based on a record of academic excellence and the promise of future achievement. A minimum grade point average of 3.7 for current-year course work is required.
Applications are ranked by a selection committee that includes the JHI Director and a Vice-Dean Undergraduate from one of the U of T’s three campuses. Incoming Faculty Research Fellows then review the applications to confirm they can supervise the proposed projects.
Faculty Research Fellows for 2026-27 (Doubles, Doppelgangers):
- Kevin Coleman, Associate Professor, UTM Department of Historical Studies. Theopolitical Doppelgängers: Óscar Romero, Far-Right Christianity, and a Battle for the Soul of the Americas
- Kajri Jain, Professor, UTM Visual Studies. Doubles That Make Nature Otherwise: Nature in the Time of the Gods
- Larissa Lai, Professor and Richard Charles Lee Chair in Chinese Canadian Studies, Canadian Studies Program, University College and A&S Department of English. The False Creek Agent
- SA Smythe, Associate Professor, Faculty of Information. Black Trans Life and the Anarchival Ghost Print
Check out the announcement on our website for more information about the 2026-27 Faculty Research Fellows and their research interests.
Application Timeline
- Application Open: March 10, 2026
- Application Deadline: April 21, 2026, at 4:00pm EDT
- Reference Deadline: April 28, 2026
- Selection Notification: end of May, 2026
- Fellowship Period: July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027
Contact and Additional Resources
- Check out our extensive FAQs below
- Questions about this fellowship opportunity? Contact JHI Associate Director, Dr. Kimberley Yates
- Technical questions about the application form or process? Contact JHI Communications Officer Sonja Johnston
2026-27 Annual Theme: Doubles, Doppelgangers
Doubles, mirror images, and infinite recursive nesting of identical structures are omnipresent in nature and in culture. Our stories rely on concepts such as the play within a play, game within a game, dream within a dream, mise en abyme, self-representation, halls of mirrors, replicas/worlds in miniature, imposters, cycles, microhistories and metanarratives. Within our reflections on mind, thought, and metaphysics, we explore reality as (nested) simulation, infinite or eternal spaces or beings, cosmologies where each thing reflects/contains each other thing, hauntings/ghostly echoes/premonitions, and reflections into infinity. Our reflections of nature, whether human, biological, or computational, rely crucially on notions of recursion, recurrence, fractals, and the distortions that accrue across them (mutation, tradition, drift). In disciplines across the humanities, we observe the use of fractals, spirals, images contained in themselves, doubles, reflections (of reflections of reflections), and rhizomes. What might an exploration of doubles and recursion reveal about the ways that we reflect our realities?
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility
Full-time University of Toronto undergraduate students in a humanities or social sciences discipline from divisions affiliated with the JHI: Faculty of Arts & Sciences, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Music, OISE, Faculty of Information, UTM, or UTSC.
Yes—neither opportunity is exclusive of the other. The applicant pool, eligibility, and experience will be different in each program.
A minimum grade point average of 3.7 for your current-year course work is required.
Preference will be given to students who will be in the final year of their program during the fellowship year; it is possible to do this fellowship while you are in your third year, but it will be easier if you are in your final year.
Funding and Benefits
You will have access to the Institute 24/7, and you will hold a secured carrel. The JHI also provides printing and copying, Wi-Fi, and a catered lunch every Thursday during the Fall and Winter terms. You can book meeting spaces, and the JHI will arrange for you to have graduate-level borrowing privileges at the library. You will also receive a $1250 award, and a title. The JHI provides limited support for research-related travel upon request to the Director.
No—in this case, residential means you will work on site, but not live there.
The JHI does not award degrees, so you will negotiate with your home unit to be placed in its Independent Study course for credit. We’ll help you through this process. The mark in this course will be generated by your JHI faculty supervisor as a reflection of the work you do on your project.
Yes. It is a for-credit course that counts toward your graduation. The Undergraduate Fellowship comes with a cash award of $1250 that will help to offset this tuition fee. You will receive this award in September if you are selected.
Most (about 60%) JHI Undergraduate Fellows go into graduate study, usually in MA programs, and then into PhD programs. Many receive funding for their studies. About 20% go to law school and eventually enter legal practice. The rest pursue a wide range of careers when they graduate: as writers, poets, teachers, public policy makers, musicians—there is even one practicing MD.
Responsibilities and Expectations
The JHI Undergraduate Fellowship is an opportunity to pursue an Independent Study of your own choice while you study in an interdisciplinary research centre for a year.
This is your own project. Your supervisor will help to guide and evaluate your progress, but it is your work, not theirs. You should check out the research they do to help you to choose the person who will be the best match for your idea.
It’s up to each student and supervisor to work out the details, but in general, most fellowships result in a 30-minute presentation and an original paper of about 40 pages. Some projects may take other forms if it seems appropriate.
The heart of our work is interdisciplinary humanities research—you’ll have the opportunity to learn from scholars in a lot of different fields, and probably, to study with a supervisor who was trained in a different subject from your own. You’ll be a member of a Circle of Fellows who are doing research at faculty, postdoc, doctoral, and undergrad student levels, who come from all three campuses, multiple divisions, and who use different methods to do research. You’ll all be doing projects that are related to the Annual Theme, and you will learn from each other.
Application Components
The application form will ask you to provide a name and email for an instructor at the University of Toronto. You should contact this person to ask them if they are willing to be named. Tell them what you are applying for and the deadline for their reference. When you submit your application, the JHI will contact them to request your reference.
The purpose of the writing sample is to show how well you write. It doesn’t need to be on the annual theme or written for one of the incoming faculty research fellows, but it should be a humanities or social sciences essay that you are proud to have written. Choose what you consider your best work.
Space is limited. Focus on the idea you want to explore and name the books that are major influences. Explain what you want to do, how, and why it is important. Be sure to link your proposed project with the Annual Theme.
JHI’s Annual Theme
The Annual Theme is a set of ideas and questions that reaches across disciplines. It brings people together to talk, think, and share research from different perspectives. Everyone holding a JHI fellowship in your year will be doing research related to this theme.
- 2026-27 Doubles, Doppelgangers
- 2027-28 Mediation/Contestation
- 2028-29 Gift and Debt
Detailed descriptions of the Annual Themes are available.