Undergraduate Awards and Scholarships
2024-25 SDS UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS
The application period is currently closed. Applications will open in February 2025.
Please apply using the webform at the bottom of this page. Please contact SDS at sexual.diversity@utoronto.ca with any questions about the awards or application.
Jump to: Award Descriptions | Application Form
Important Information for Applicants:
Scholarships and bursaries are awarded according to a variety of criteria, including but not limited to: academic achievement, community involvement, extracurricular activity, and financial need*.
*Financial need is established primarily through receipt of OSAP or another provincial student loan in the current academic year. Awards labelled OTSS or OSOTF are restricted to Ontario residents in financial need; typically an OSAP recipient. If you have not received provincial student loans, but are experiencing financial need, please provide additional information in your application form.
UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS
The Scott Mullin Bursary Fund in Sexual Diversity Studies
This award will be given annually to one or more students who have demonstrated activity, leadership or advocacy in LGBTQ human rights issues in Canada or abroad, with preference to Black or Indigenous students.
The Bonte Minnema Award Honoring Sexual Diversity Advocacy
The Bonte Minnema Award Honouring Sexual Diversity Advocacy was established in 2018 by Bonte Minnema.
These awards are open to all undergraduate students who are enrolled in a specialist, major or minor program in Sexual Diversity Studies and who can demonstrate financial need. Preference will be given to students who have demonstrated leadership in or commitment to LGBTQ advocacy. Additional preference for Black students and/or those doing work to reduce Anti-Black Racism.
The Paolo Cini and William Leffler Award
The Paolo Cini and William Leffler Award was established in 2016 by Paolo Cini and William Leffler.
This award provides funding for undergraduate students who identify as LGBTQ or are pursuing studies with a focus in sexual diversity at the University of Toronto. The Award is based on financial need and academic merit with a preference for a Canadian resident.
The Patricia and Douglas Dadson OSOTF II Scholarship
The Douglas and Patricia Dadson Scholarship fund was created in 2004 by Aleck Dadson (UC ‘76) in memory of his parents. Aleck currently lives and works in London, England and is the fourth generation of his family to graduate from University College. Patricia was a nurse and Douglas (UC ‘32) was the first Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Toronto.
To be considered for this award, students must be registered in an SDS undergraduate program and be a Canadian citizen residing in Ontario. Candidates must submit an application demonstrating financial need. The SDS Award Committee makes its selection from among applicants on the basis of academic merit and the promise of excellence in leadership in the LGBTQ community.
The Jack Hallam UC ’52 Undergraduate OTSS Scholarship
Though preference will be given to SDS students, awards may also be given to LGBTQ students in other programs at U of T. Financial need must be demonstrated and the award is limited to students who are currently receiving OSAP. The successful applicant will demonstrate outstanding voluntary contributions to creating change on campus or in the community through LGBTQ community service and/or activism. The committee also recognizes community service or activist engagement that addresses inequities along lines of gender, race, dis/ability, etc. in addition to sexual diversity. Selections will not be made primarily on the basis of academic excellence, but on an overall commitment to academic achievement, keeping in mind the time and energy entailed in creating change through community engagement or activism.
The Michael Prodanou OTSS Bursary in Sexual Diversity Studies
This needs-based undergraduate bursary was established at UC for the support of students enrolled in the Sexual Diversity Studies (SDS) program. Although the primary consideration for selection will be financial need, the Program Director and UC Registrar may also consider other factors such as a student’s commitment to academic achievement or outstanding volunteer contributions on or off campus aimed at increasing acceptance of LGBTQ people. This award is limited to students who are currently receiving OSAP.
The Sexual Diversity Studies OSOTF II Scholarship in University College
This award was created in 2003 by community supporters of the Sexual Diversity Studies Program.
To be considered for this award, a student must be registered in an SDS undergraduate program and be a Canadian citizen residing in Ontario. Candidates must submit an application demonstrating financial need. The SDS Awards Committee makes its selection from among applicants on the basis of academic merit and financial need, limited to students who are currently receiving OSAP.
Rainbow Triangle Alumni Association Award
The Rainbow Triangle Alumni Association (RTAA) was created in 1997 to bring together lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) alumni of the University of Toronto community, to develop the visibility of LGBTQ communities at the University of Toronto, and to raise the profile of the University of Toronto in LGBTQ communities outside the University.
In 1999 the RTAA and many community supporters established the RTAA award, to be given to a student in a Sexual Diversity Studies core course on the basis of academic merit and promise of excellence in leadership in the LQBTQ community. The SDS Awards Committee will consider all students in those courses; no application is necessary.
Emperor I Sergio Apolloni Scholarship
The Emperor I Sergio Apolloni Memorial Scholarship was launched in 2000 to honour the memory of a pioneer in Toronto’s chapter of the International Imperial Court System. The court system was first created in 1960s San Francisco, with gay activist Jose Sarria at its head, and since then its many chapters across North America have been committed to community development.
Sergio Apolloni was the chapter’s first elected Emperor, and this scholarship was established to honour his memory. The award is intended to express a commitment to informed higher education, to support students who have the potential to become a force for change, and to help create a socially inclusive environment.
The Emperor I Sergio Apolloni Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to a student in an SDS undergraduate program on the basis of academic achievement. The SDS Awards Committee will consider all students enrolled in its programs; no application is necessary.
Pride and Remembrance Association OTSS Scholarship
This scholarship was established at UC primarily for the support of students in the Sexual Diversity Studies (SDS) program. Though preference will be given to students registered in the SDS program, awards may also be given to other LGBTQ students at the University of Toronto. In accordance with the requirements of the Ontario Trust for Student Success (OTSS), the Ontario government’s matching gift program that matches the donation dollar for dollar, the primary criterion will be financial need. The Committee may also consider other factors such as a student’s commitment to academic achievement or outstanding volunteer contributions on or off campus aimed at increasing acceptance of LGBTQ people.
The Bonham Scholarship for the Study of Issues in Sexual Diversity
The LGBTOUT Student Award
Eligible applicants are invited to submit a completed application form, letter of reference and CV or one-page statement to the Director of the Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies. For the 2014-2015 year, several awards will be given out. Please note that only one award however is for students not on OSAP.
The LGBTQ Awards
Awarded to students who identify as LGBTQ or pursuing studies in Sexual Diversity. May be awarded for academic achievements, enhancing the student experience in Sexual Diversity Studies, and other reasons.
The David Rayside Scholarships in SDS
Two scholarships will be awarded annually on the basis of academic merit; the first, to a student with the most distinguished overall academic performance, who is completing their graduating year with a Specialist Program in SDS; the second, to an undergraduate completing either a Specialist or a Major in SDS combined with an academic interest in the study of politics (through a degree in a relevant program, such as POL, Peace & Conflict, Intl Relations, or Equity Studies), or a demonstrated commitment to social justice.
Book Prizes
The SDS program also awards three book prizes each year, for the top students in SDS255 (fall term) and SDS256 (second term), and SDS377. One honours Paul Perron (Principal of University College during the formative years of SDS growth) and his wife Jacqui. The second acknowledges the contributions of Susan Addario, former U of T Director of Student Affairs, to the promotion of equity university-wide and the support of SDS particularly. The third honours the work and contributions of Sexual Diversity Study’s own Maureen FitzGerald. No applications are required.
The Susan Addario Book Prize, for SDS256H
The Paul and Jacqui Perron Book Prize, for SDS255H
The Maureen FitzGerald Book Prize, for SDS377H