Our goal
To fund Concordia’s first award for students in the Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality program.
Help us get one step closer to establishing this award and provide growth to this exceptional program.
Our project
In 2019, the Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia University launched a new Major in Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality.
With an incoming class of over 20 students, we’re raising money to provide them with a financial-aid–based award. Our first goal is to raise $3,000 to cover three years of awards, but our long-term goal is to raise enough funds to have an award endowed on an ongoing basis.
Why we need your help
LGBTQ+ youth have some of the highest rates of poverty, housing precarity, and income inequality in Canada, and students pursuing sexuality studies may experience stigma resulting in loss of family support.
Currently, there are no awards dedicated to students in the sexuality program, which places our students at a disadvantage, being unable to access awards-based resources for financial support.
Either an ongoing commitment to supporting our students or a one-time donation will help us reach our goal of providing an annual financial aid award to a student in the Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality program.
From $500 to $5, you can make a big difference for students who otherwise would not be able to access this special educational experience.
“Providing financial awards to students in the sexuality program is one of the best ways we can help our students feel supported in a world that continues to put LGBTQ+ people at risk.”
— Natalie Kouri-Towe, Program Director, Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality, Simone de Beauvoir Institute & Womens Studies
History of the program
In 1988, Concordia launched a Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality.
Over the last two decades, thousands of students have taken courses on sexuality, focusing on HIV/AIDS, queer culture and politics, Gay and Lesbian Studies, and Trans Studies.
Faculty and students at Concordia, and members of our wider community, have been working hard for over ten years to build the Major, and in the spring of 2018 approval from the provincial government was received.
Concordia’s Major in Interdisciplinary Studies in Sexuality is unique in Quebec and Canada. As one of only five schools in the whole country to offer an undergraduate major, and the first BA major in Quebec, our program is run across the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Faculty of Arts and Science.
Help us get one step closer to establishing this award and provide growth to this exceptional program.