Description: The Department of Health and Society is committed to making special efforts to support the academic excellence of Black students and challenge structural obstacles to their success. We are excited to launch a unique Essay Award opportunity and invite Black students enrolled in Health Studies within the Department of Health and Society to submit an academic writing piece (i.e., a short research paper, literary essay, commentary, or opinion piece) that is 500 words or less on topics provided below.
Topics: We invite students to submit on one of the following topics:
- Creative resistance to social injustice
- Climate justice and environmental racism
- Anti-Black racism in medicine and healthcare
- Black Leadership and Excellence in health and wellness
We are looking for compelling ideas articulated succinctly, clearly, and passionately.
Award: There will be prizes available for winning submissions each in the amounts of $200.00. Submissions will be posted on the Department of Health and Society’s website and winners will appear on our social media platforms.
Submission requirements:
- Please complete the accompanying application by including your full name, student number, program and Health Studies major area, UofT email address, and year of study, a brief biography about yourself (approximately 50-75 words), and your essay.
- Submissions must be 500 words or less, 12-point font size, 1-inch margins. Submissions exceeding 500-word count will be withdrawn from the competition.
- Submission can be sent to dhsawards@utsc.utoronto.ca by April 3rd, 2023. Submissions beyond the set deadline will not be accepted.
- Please include “Essay Award Competition_Last Name” in the subject line of your email.
- Only one submission is permitted per student for this competition.
Timeline:
- Submission deadline: Monday April 3rd, 2023
- Review process: April 2023
- Announcement of the winner: May 2023
Judging Criteria:
- Content: Strength of discussion points relevant to theme/topic, comprehensiveness, originality, insights
- Quality: Creativity, consistency in flow of ideas
- Clarity: clarity of thoughts & expression of ideas related to the theme/idea
- Organization: punctuation, grammar, spelling