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Black and Indigenous Scholarship

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Through a commitment of funds from the Graduate Student Association (GSA), we are launching the “Graduate Award for Black and Indigenous Students” to increase accessibility to education for Black and Indigenous students who are currently underrepresented in graduate programs at the University of Waterloo. This year will be our 4th cycle this award, and we are excited to continue to support the graduate student population.

Award Value

3 awards each valued at $5,000 for PhD students  

6 awards each valued at $3,000 for Master’s students 

The awards will be paid in 1 instalment in the Fall term of the award year, provided they are registered full time. 

Eligibility & Selection Criteria

  • Black* or Indigenous+ students registered full time in any graduate program at the University of Waterloo. 

  • Applicants will be asked to identify as Black or Indigenous on the scholarship application form. 

  • Applicants must have achieved a minimum cumulative average of 75% or equivalent in their current or most recently completed program as demonstrated in their transcripts. 

  • Applicants must provide a written statement as part of their scholarship application, where they describe any academic or non-academic extracurricular, volunteer, leadership or entrepreneurial-related experiences they have been involved in within the last 3 years. 

  • Applicants must explain how these funds will help them achieve their educational goals. 

  • A committee, chaired by the GSA that includes diverse representation, will select recipients with payment normally administered in the fall term of the award year.  

  • This award will be in addition to any minimum funding the student is receiving. 

  • IMPORTANT: Students who received the award previously are not eligible to receive the award a second time for the same program; a doctoral student who received the award for their master’s program may reapply for consideration for their doctoral program 

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*For the purpose of this scholarship and confirmed through the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Anti-Racism (EDI-R) Black students may include those of African, Caribbean, Black Canadian, Afro-Latine, African American, or other African descent. 

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Recipients of 2025 GSA Black & Indigenous Awards 

PhD Awards 

  • Kwaku Twum - Environment Enterprise and Development 

  • Silver Nanema - Public Health Sciences 

  • Anne Marie Yeboah – Vision Science 

Masters’ Awards 

  • Adunni Oginni - Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering 

  • Adedotun Adeyemi - Public Health Sciences 

  • Ciandra Greene – Kinesiology 

  • Rachel Almaw – Kinesiology 

  • Kneisha Harder – Public Service 

  • Seun Adejumo – Public Health Sciences  

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Rachel Almaw 

Catch up with one of our past recipients!

What have you been up to this past year? How has this award impacted your academic experience? 

Since receiving this award, a lot has happened!  I successfully defended my thesis, earned my MSc, and moved to Australia to begin my PhD at Griffith University.  I'm deeply grateful for the support this award provided in allowing me to put my values into action while navigating the many demands of academic life.  In practice, this has meant collaborating with Rob Hicks, Dr. Erin Lee, and Dr. Monica Maly at the University of Waterloo to launch Build to Belong: a National Biomechanics Day Initiative for equity-deserving youth in Kitchener-Waterloo.  The ethos of the event is to inspire students from marginalized backgrounds to see themselves as future biomechanists and health scientists, by directly addressing systemic barriers that might otherwise limit their participation. This work has been made possible through the generous support of the Faculty of Health Dean's Advisory Committee on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism and the Biomechanics Initiative.

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