The Sansom Ideas Foundation is a trust created by a generous endowment by the late T.R. (Bob) Sansom (1933-2013), a political theorist who taught at Western University from 1965 until his retirement in 1998. Bob was a passionate advocate of intellectual history as an educational medium, and in his memory the Foundation offers scholarships to graduate students working on topics in the history of ideas, at any Canadian university. The scholarships have a value of $10,000 per annum. Multiple scholarships may be awarded in any given year.
Normally, scholarships will be awarded on a one-year basis. In the case of students working towards a PhD, a scholarship may be renewed on application and for a maximum of four years. Applicants must be enrolled in or applying to a graduate program at a Canadian university. Sansom Scholarships will be awarded in addition to the normal funding provided by the student’s graduate program.
The Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2020-21 academic year. Applications are to be submitted electronically through the London Community Foundation at [https://www.lcf.on.ca/awards-scholarships] and include:
- a letter outlining the candidate’s research interests and proposed course of study (indicating the program and institution in which they wish to hold the award)
- relevant transcripts
- a CV
As well, all applicants must arrange for two academic reference letters to be sent directly by their referees to Board Trustees Dr. Mark G. Spencer (mspencer@brocku.ca) and Dr. Richard Vernon (ravernon@uwo.ca).
The deadline for applications to be complete is 1 March 2020.
Applications in any field of the history of ideas will be considered, but for 2020-21 the Trustees will particularly welcome applications in the history of ideas related to political thought, philosophy, and history and historiography.