Last modified 01/25/2024
Canadian support ,financial aid and scholarships for higher education in Canada:
Canadian higher education is considered one of the best all over around the world.
But in addition to a quality education, it provides a wide coverage and accessibility, not only to domestic students, but also to all the international ones.
It should be noted that Canada is a multicultural country and that it has great openness to the immigrant. This allows the immigrant not to be exposed to danger by xenophobic actions, as it might happen to him or her elsewhere.
Although, entering the Canadian university system is a great investment, the U.S. government and private academic organizations and other institutions offer scholarship programs that benefit students from various places of the world.
For its part, the Canadian government’s initiative to attract talented people to be located in the Canadian labor market, has developed policies to support students from all over the world who believe they can better develop professionally in Canada, than in their countries of origin.
Scholarships in higher education in Canada are designed to attract international students with excellent academic averages towards the Canadian territory, and that, in the future may reside permanently there.
Now, getting a scholarship in Canada is highly competitive worldwide. The eligibility requirements for an academic scholarship program to study at any Canadian institution are the following: starting the process a year before you are planning to move there, presenting diplomas and transcripts of recommendation letters, obtained during the student’s academic performance, having a record high skills and be located in a high academic rank, maintaining high grades during the studies on Canadian soil to maintain the scholarship, do not have the assistance of scholarships or educational loans from other institutions, and it will also be likely to be asked to submit information regarding your financial situation.
In Canada, a large number of universities that offer scholarships and grants (percent of scholarships or support with living expenses and transportation) are at different academic levels.
Undergraduate studies for these are the following institutions: Carleton University, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, HEC Montreal, McGill College, University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, University of Saskatchewan, University of Waterloo and University of Winnipeg. Within the list of postgraduate studies, you can find a great university among the following: Carleton University, HEC Montreal, McGill University, University of British Columbia, University of Saskatchewan, University of Waterloo, University of Winnipeg, University of Manitoba and Mount Saint Vincent University.
The scholarships are the way different students can avoid been charged with high fees due to the fact of been international students (price differential rates). There are several organizations that provide scholarship opportunities to different candidates in the world.
The main non-university institutions that provide academic scholarships are the following: Canadian International Development Agency Scholarships (offered scholarships at colleges in Canada), International Council for Canadian Studies (provides grants for internships and research at undergraduate and postgraduate level in Canada ), International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Funding (provides funds for research activities designed for developing countries and their citizens), International Scholarship Programs for Study in Canada (Canadian government subsidies to foreign students), Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS – provincial program of stimulation for excellence), Québec Merit Fellowships Program for Foreign Students (doctoral scholarships, postdoctoral fellowships and short – term fellowships in research), The Rotary Foundation’s Ambassadorial Scholarship (international organization that offers more than 1000 scholarships annually .)
But besides facilitating institutions of scholarship, there are government agencies engaged in the identification of talent among the various stakeholders to reside in Canada. These organizations also provide scholarships and they are: Research Council Natural Sciences and Engineering (www.nserc.ca), Medical Research Council of Canada (www.mrc.gc.ca), National Research Council Canada (www.nrc.ca), Quebec Ministry of Education (www.meq.gouv.qc.ca), Ministry of Higher Education and Science of Quebec (the financial aid offered by this program are to studies of longer duration, from 1 to 5 years), International Research Center for Development (provides scholarships for people from developing countries, Latin American candidates are more likely to be accepted.)
Well, it is also important to keep in mind that there are some expenses that the scholarship does not cover. However, to achieve full coverage, there are many options for financial aid, such as financial loans, campus jobs and been a teaching assistant, among others.
As we have seen through this article, the support provided by the Canadian government and society to foreign students with good academic performance is large. The requirements vary by institution and the degree of strictness. Not having the financial resources is no longer an excuse to give up the dream of studying in one of the best education systems in the whole world.