Research Opportunities

The Centre for Constitutional Studies is a dynamic research centre that promotes and advances understandings of the Constitution and constitutionalism. It engages Albertans as well as the broader Canadian public in continuing discussions and learnings about the importance of the Constitution in their everyday lives. The Centre is unique as a Western Canadian hub for cross-sector constitutional research and public education in Canada. It creates important connections between leading Canadian and international constitutional thinkers, makes key contributions to central debates about the Constitution, produces accessible and reliable educational resources, and hosts events that serve to inform the public about the foundational role of the Constitution to the democratic functioning of our country. Key to the Centre's success is the complementarity of its research and public education programs: research facilitated by the Centre supports the creation of neutral and reliable educational resources.

The Centre also publishes the Review of Constitutional Studies, a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal which examines constitutional law and theory.

The Health Law Institute is a research hub within the University of Alberta Faculty of Law dedicated to conducting cutting-edge health law and science policy work, disseminating scholarly outputs and policy research to a wide range of audiences, facilitating collaborative opportunities with national and internationally based researchers and organizations, and attracting top graduate students to the Faculty. The Institute receives support from a variety of provincial and federal funding agencies, currently including: Alberta Innovates: Health Solutions, the Allergy, Genes and Environment Network, Canadian Blood Services, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Genome Alberta, Genome Canada, the Kidney Foundation of Canada, and the Stem Cell Network.

The Institute is led by Professor Timothy Caulfield, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy.

The Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge is an initiative to support Indigenous law and governance through community-led collaborative research and engagement. The Lodge is inspired by the TRC Call to Action #50, which relates to the "establishment of Indigenous law institutes for the development, use and understanding of Indigenous laws and access to justice in accordance with the unique cultures of Aboriginal peoples in Canada." Under the direction of Professors Hadley Friedland (Faculty of Law) and Shalene Jobin (Faculty of Native Studies), the initiative will collaborate with Indigenous communities on research support for the recognition, revitalization and practice of Indigenous laws and governance principles.

Students admitted to the PhD program may be eligible to assist in faculty research projects funded by Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). These research projects concern topics related to the fields of constitutional law, legal history, international criminal law and international human rights law.

Professor Eric M. Adams leads the legal history research cluster 'Landscapes of Injustice,' a partnership of academic researchers, museum professionals, educators and community members who are investigating the history of Japanese Canadian dispossession during the 1940s. This project combines legal and social history, GIS mapping and critical geography, oral history and community records to examine the origins and legacy of one of the most significant moments of human rights abuse in Canadian history.

As a member of the 'Strengthening Justice for International Crimes' project, Professor Joanna Harrington is part of a team of legal academics and NGO lawyers examining different and complementary routes that victims of international crimes can take in Canada, other states and international institutions to seek criminal, civil, administrative or other remedies. She is particularly interested in the interaction between international criminal law and international human rights law, the role for co-operation between states and the role for international human rights institutions in contributing to the global effort to ensure accountability for those responsible for mass atrocity crimes.

Applicants with research interests or prior experience relevant to either of these projects should include this information in the cover letter accompanying their application.