Tuition-Free Fellowships: Call for Paper Proposals
Submission Deadline: March 31st, 2025
We are now accepting paper proposals for academic and policy research on cross-border management issues and challenges.
We welcome any proposal subject that is related to: cross-border management, border law, trade and customs borders, human mobility across borders, Indigenous internationalisms and border crossings, border security, ecological borders, border disputes, and artificial intelligence in border management.
Successful applicants will be receive a tuition-free fellowship for our Summer Institutes, where they will learn from leading academics and policy officials about contemporary borders and earn a certificate in the institute(s) of their choice.
Fellows will be supervised by professors/lecturers at the University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) and the papers produced may be published in our academic journal, BIG_Review.
Submission Guidelines
To respond to this Call for Paper Proposals, please submit your application at the button labelled “Complete Application Form” no later than Monday, March 31st at 11:45 PM (PST). Successful applicants will be notified by the end of April 2025.
Proposals should be a maximum of 500 words, including title and biography, and should discuss the motivation for, objective and possible outcomes of your research as well as explain the datasets and methodology to be used in your research. Proposals must be uploaded to the online application as a PDF document in accordance with the following requirements:
– File name: Last name, First name_2025 BIG Summer Inst Proposal
– Times New Roman 12 pt. font
– Double-spaced
– Written in English or French
For more information on the application and award process, see the “Detailed Call for Paper Proposals” and submission guidelines below.

BIG Fellowships
Mentorship and training are core parts of our research program. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral scholars are engaged in all aspects of our research activities and will be individually mentored by an academic partner within our network. BIG Fellows will participate monthly student seminars designed to foster team building and provide training in collaborative research. Additionally, Fellows will have access to an annual open-access introductory course that will develop a common theoretical and transdisciplinary methodological foundation on borders and border studies. Finally, Fellows will have the opportunity to engage in a number of knowledge mobilization activities ranging from traditional publications to podcast participation to writing blogs and using social media. Each Fellow will have their own project that fits within the overall BIG research agenda and will be required to submit a final report at the end of their fellowship.
Types of Fellowships
Undergraduate Fellows
Undergraduate students will work directly with their supervisors, as well as within the larger fellowship cohort. Typically, undergraduate fellows will be asked to work on data collection and data entry, assist with data analysis and literature reviews, participate in outreach activities, and collaborate on the preparation of publications.
Masters Fellows
Masters students will work directly with their supervisors, as well as within the larger fellowship cohort. They may be asked to work independently on data collection, data collection, data analysis, and literature reviews. In addition to what is asked of undergrad fellows, masters fellows may participate in presentations, networking activities, and partner collaborations.
Doctoral Fellows
Doctoral students will work directly with their supervisors and will take a mentorship role within the larger fellowship cohort. They will be asked to participate in all aspects of the research program and may be asked to lead a team of student researcher. In addition to their involvement in the knowledge mobilization aspects of the research agenda, doctoral fellows will also participate in aspects of project design and report writing/edited.
Post-Doc Fellows
Post-Doc Fellows will work directly with their supervisors and will take a mentorship role within the larger fellowship cohort. They will be asked to take ownership of a core project within the BIG network and/or be required to produce a major publication. All post-doc fellowships are specifically designed to the current needs of the project and our capacities to mentor. Please see the opportunities page for current postings.