Queen’s University Scholarships for International Students 2026

Queen’s University at Kingston, Ontario — founded in 1841, set among limestone buildings on the shore of Lake Ontario — runs one of Canada’s most structured undergraduate awards systems, and international students are genuinely part of it. If you are entering first year and paying international tuition, you are automatically considered for grade-based admission scholarships and for Queen’s dedicated International Admission Awards, worth up to CAD 25,000 per year for four years through the Dean’s International Award program. But Queen’s is also a university where honest guidance matters: its most famous awards — the Chancellor’s Scholarship and the other Major Admission Awards worth up to $120,000 — are restricted to Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons, and no international applicant should build a plan around them.

This guide separates what international students at Queen’s can actually win from what they cannot: the automatic admission scholarships, the faculty-level Dean’s International Awards, country-specific awards, graduate funding, eligibility and renewal rules, the December deadline that governs the major awards, and the mistakes applicants make every year. Begin with our Queen’s University profile for programs, fees and admissions, and compare funding across universities in the StudyGraduate scholarships directory.

Queen’s University Scholarships at a Glance

A note on sources: Queen’s publishes its award values in its Registrar & Financial Aid Services listings and updates them annually, reserving the right to revise or withdraw awards without notice. The Dean’s International Award range of $10,000–$25,000 is confirmed across Queen’s own faculty pages (including Queen’s Law, which cites international awards of $10,000–$25,000 including the Dean’s International Award), and the citizenship restriction on Major Admission Awards is stated explicitly on Queen’s Major Admission Awards page. Always re-check your offer-year values in SOLUS and on the Financial Aid and Awards website.

Automatic Admission Scholarships: How Queen’s Assesses You

Queen’s states plainly that domestic and international students (including US students) are considered for automatic grade-based admission scholarships. No application is required: when you receive your offer of admission, you are notified if you have been selected for an automatic admission award or scholarship, and Queen’s calculates an awards average from the grades available at that time. If your final grades improve your position, Queen’s reassesses — students who accept their offer have their final grades reviewed for scholarship consideration, with a further review after final grade reports arrive in July. Two structural rules shape everything:

• One merit award only. Students are not eligible for more than one merit-based award — Queen’s awards you the single best award you qualify for rather than stacking several.
• First-entry only. To be eligible for most admission awards you must be entering the first year of post-secondary education for the first time, in a full-time (minimum 60% course load) undergraduate degree on Queen’s campus or at Bader College. Students with prior post-secondary education are not eligible for Queen’s admission awards (graduates of a two-year CEGEP program entering first year remain eligible for grade-based scholarships).

The best-known automatic award is the Principal’s Scholarship, published at $7,000 for one year and awarded to students in approximately the top 3% of the competitive admission average for their program. Around it sit faculty automatic admission awards and regional/high-school awards, whose values Queen’s publishes faculty by faculty. The practical implication for an international applicant is encouraging: your grades alone, converted by Queen’s into its awards average, put you in contention for real money without essays, interviews or nomination hurdles.

The Dean’s International Award Program

The centrepiece for international undergraduates is the Dean’s International Award program: renewable awards for students paying international tuition in the faculties of Arts and Science, Engineering and Health Sciences, and — through the Commerce International Admission Award — the Smith School of Business. Published values run from $10,000 to $25,000 per year depending on faculty and academic achievement, renewable for up to four years, giving a maximum total value of $100,000 across a degree. Commerce awards are published in tiers of $15,000, $20,000 and $25,000 per year; Engineering awards span $10,000 to $25,000 per year. Consideration is automatic on your admission application — there is no separate scholarship form — but “automatic” does not mean “guaranteed”: the top values are competitive, awarded to the strongest international entrants in each faculty, and renewal depends on the conditions in your award terms, which for renewable academic awards at Queen’s generally mean remaining registered in an 80% course load (typically 24 units across fall/winter) and achieving a minimum GPA of 3.5.

Alongside the faculty awards sit smaller country-specific honours that are worth knowing about if you match them: the Principal’s International Scholarship – India pays $10,000 per year, renewable for one subsequent year (a $20,000 total), to five students who are citizens of India, with automatic consideration; the Mehran Bibi Sheikh Memorial Entrance Scholarship ($1,500, two awards) gives preference to citizens of Pakistan; and the Killam American Scholarship ($9,000) serves a US student. These are precisely the kind of low-competition-pool awards that applicants overlook — if your citizenship matches, make sure Queen’s has your correct citizenship and fee-status information on file so you are swept into consideration. Queen’s Law also notes that international JD students can receive awards in the same $10,000–$25,000 range, including the Dean’s International Award, applied to the first year of study with no application necessary.

The Major Admission Awards — and Why International Students Cannot Apply

Search for “Queen’s scholarships” and you will quickly meet the Chancellor’s Scholarship: 50 awards of $48,000 ($12,000 per year, renewable with a GPA of 3.5 in a full course load), allocated by nomination from high-school principals to students with 90%+ averages who show superior academic ability, creative and original thinking and proven leadership. The wider Major Admission Awards family is larger still — the Bank of Montreal Award at $40,000–$72,000, the Chernoff Family Awards at $48,000–$72,000 (with preference for students from rural and remote Canada), the D.R. Sobey Award at $80,000–$120,000 for students from Atlantic Canada, and the Gregory Family award in Smith Engineering at $48,000 for a Chancellor’s nominee. These are among the richest undergraduate awards in Canada.

They are also, on Queen’s own published eligibility page, available only to a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a Protected Person. You may attend high school in Canada or internationally, and gap-year students may apply — but an international student studying on a study permit is not eligible, full stop. We spell this out because many third-party scholarship sites present the Chancellor’s Scholarship as an international opportunity, and students waste months preparing for a competition they cannot enter. If you hold Canadian citizenship or permanent residence while living abroad, the route is real: apply for admission via OUAC by 20 November so your SOLUS access arrives in time, and submit the Major Admission Award application in SOLUS by 8 December (the current published deadline is 8 December 2026), with your school’s nomination confirmed for the Chancellor’s. Results are viewable in SOLUS in late February. For everyone else, the Dean’s International Awards and automatic scholarships in the sections above are the Queen’s funding story.

Graduate Funding at Queen’s

Graduate funding at Queen’s is assembled at the program level: research master’s and doctoral students typically receive funding packages combining Queen’s Graduate Awards, departmental fellowships, and paid teaching and research assistantships, with the guaranteed minimum and duration set by each program — ask for the package in writing before you accept. Two external competitions matter for international graduate students in Ontario. The Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS), worth $15,000 for one year of master’s or doctoral study, is open to students studying in Ontario on a study permit as well as to Canadians, and is administered through the university on academic merit. Federally, the discontinued Vanier program has been replaced by the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS-D) at CAD 40,000 per year for 36 months, which is open to international doctoral students enrolled at eligible Canadian institutions (up to 15% of awards nationally). Professional programs — the Smith MBA, the JD and the MEng among them — run their own admission awards, so check your program’s funding page rather than assuming the undergraduate rules carry over. Our guide to scholarships in Canada explains how these provincial and federal schemes fit together nationally.

Eligibility Criteria

• Automatic admission scholarships: first-time entry to first year of a full-time undergraduate degree at Queen’s (minimum 60% course load) with no prior post-secondary education; open to domestic and international students; assessed on Queen’s calculated awards average.
• Dean’s International Awards: international-fee-paying status; admission to Arts and Science, Engineering, Health Sciences or Commerce (Smith); academic achievement; automatic consideration.
• Renewal of renewable awards: continued full-time registration in an 80% course load (typically 24 units in fall/winter) and the GPA stated in your award terms — 3.5 is the standard for Queen’s renewable academic awards.
• Major Admission Awards: Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person; typically a 90%+ cumulative high-school average to be competitive; Chancellor’s additionally requires nomination by your high school.
• Graduate awards: admission to a Queen’s graduate program; OGS and CGRS-D carry their own merit and enrolment conditions.

Benefits and Budgeting Reality

Queen’s awards are fee credits against your student account, not living stipends. The Dean’s International Award at its maximum — $25,000 per year for four years — is one of the most substantial international undergraduate awards in Canada, but Queen’s international tuition (highest in Commerce and Engineering) plus Kingston living costs will still exceed it, and most recipients receive less than the maximum. Kingston helps you on the other side of the ledger: it is a compact, walkable student city with living costs below Toronto’s, and the student bus pass is included in fees. For your study permit, IRCC requires proof of living funds of CAD 22,895 for applications from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026 and CAD 23,448 from 1 September 2026, in addition to first-year tuition and travel — scholarship or not, that threshold must be evidenced. Budget on the assumption of the mid-range award, not the headline maximum.

How to Apply, Step by Step

1. Apply for admission through OUAC to your chosen Queen’s program. Every award route — automatic, international or major — starts here.
2. For automatic and Dean’s International Awards, do nothing further. You are considered on your admission file; Queen’s notifies you with your offer if you are selected, and reassesses on final grades if you accept.
3. Keep your final grades high. Award offers can improve after final grade reports are reviewed in July — a strong final term can still move you into a higher award.
4. Only if you are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person: apply via OUAC by 20 November, access SOLUS, prepare your Major Admission Award application using the practice application Queen’s publishes each October, confirm your school’s Chancellor’s nomination, and submit by 8 December.
5. Accept your offer and register full time (at least an 80% course load if your award is renewable) to activate and keep your funding.
6. Graduate applicants: apply to your program, confirm the funding package in your offer, and enter OGS and CGRS-D competitions through Queen’s on their published calendars.

Required Documents

• OUAC admission application and program choices
• Secondary-school transcripts (interim and final grades flow through OUAC / your school)
• English proficiency evidence where your curriculum requires it
• Correct citizenship and fee-status documentation (this determines which award pools you enter)
• Major Admission Awards only (eligible citizenship): MAA application in SOLUS, Financial Aid and Awards Profile where the award requires it, school nomination confirmation, and grade documents as specified for Ontario and non-Ontario students
• Graduate applicants: transcripts, references, statement of interest and program-specific materials

Deadlines and Timeline

Selection Tips: How to Improve Your Chances

Your awards average is the whole game for automatic money. Queen’s calculates it from your top courses under its own rules, so breadth of excellence beats a single perfect subject. Finish strong: because Queen’s reassesses awards on final grades for students who accept their offers, your last term of school can still upgrade your funding — do not coast after receiving an offer. Target the right faculty pool. Dean’s International Award values differ by faculty, and Commerce and Engineering carry the highest published tiers; if you are genuinely torn between two programs, the funding difference is a legitimate tiebreaker. Claim your citizenship-specific awards. Indian, Pakistani and US citizens should verify their status data in SOLUS so the India, Sheikh and Killam awards sweep them in automatically. Protect renewals from day one: register in a full 80% load and treat the 3.5 GPA line as a floor to stay well above — a four-year $25,000-per-year award is worth $100,000, and losing it in year two is the most expensive academic mistake available at Queen’s. Finally, do not waste application season on the Major Admission Awards if your status makes you ineligible — redirect that energy into your grades and, if relevant, graduate-funding preparation.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Applying for the Chancellor’s Scholarship as a study-permit holder. Major Admission Awards are restricted to Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons, despite what third-party sites claim.
• Expecting awards to stack. Queen’s students are not eligible for more than one merit-based award — you receive the single best one.
• Assuming prior post-secondary study keeps you eligible. Admission awards are for first-time, first-year entrants; transfer students with post-secondary credit are excluded from most of them.
• Dropping courses and losing renewal. Falling below an 80% course load or the required GPA ends renewable awards even if your grades in remaining courses are strong.
• Budgeting on the $100,000 maximum. Most Dean’s International Awards are below the top tier; plan on a mid-range outcome.
• Missing the November/December major-award dates (for eligible students) — SOLUS access takes 4–6 business days after you apply, so a late-November admission application can lock you out of the 8 December deadline.

Living in Kingston as an International Student

Funding decisions land differently depending on the city around the university, and Kingston works in your favour. It is a mid-sized, historic city where the campus sits minutes from downtown and the Lake Ontario waterfront, so most students walk or use the included bus pass rather than paying for commuting; rental supply is dominated by shared student houses in the neighbourhoods ringing the campus, which keeps shared-room costs below those in Toronto or Vancouver; and the concentration of students — Queen’s is the city’s defining institution — means part-time jobs, services and community life are oriented toward student budgets. Queen’s University International Centre (QUIC) provides orientation, immigration advising and settlement programming for newcomers, which has a real financial dimension: students who get early, accurate advice on work authorisation, tax filing and banking avoid the expensive mistakes — missed refund claims, unauthorised work, lapsed status — that quietly cost international students money every year. None of this replaces scholarship funding, but it lowers the living-cost side of the equation that your award, your family contribution and your part-time earnings must jointly cover, and it is a legitimate part of why a mid-sized award at Queen’s can stretch further than a nominally larger award in a more expensive city.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Queen’s University give scholarships to international students?

Yes. International students are considered for automatic grade-based admission scholarships on the same basis as domestic students, and Queen’s runs dedicated International Admission Awards — the Dean’s International Award program — worth $10,000 to $25,000 per year depending on faculty, renewable for up to four years. What international students cannot access is the Major Admission Awards family, including the Chancellor’s Scholarship.

How much is the Dean’s International Award at Queen’s?

Published values range from $10,000 to $25,000 per year according to faculty and academic achievement — Commerce awards are published at $15,000, $20,000 or $25,000 per year — and the awards are renewable for up to four years, for a maximum total of $100,000. Consideration is automatic when you apply for admission; the highest values are competitive and not guaranteed.

Can international students apply for the Queen’s Chancellor’s Scholarship?

No. Queen’s states that its Major Admission Awards, including the Chancellor’s Scholarship ($48,000 over four years), are available only to Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada and protected persons. School nomination is also required. Scholarship websites that list the Chancellor’s as an international award are incorrect.

Do I need a separate application for Queen’s admission scholarships?

Not for automatic or international admission awards — you are considered from your admission application and notified with your offer, with a reassessment on final grades if you accept. A separate application in SOLUS by 8 December is required only for the Major Admission Awards, which are citizenship-restricted.

What grades do I need for a Queen’s scholarship?

Queen’s calculates its own awards average from your grades. The Principal’s Scholarship goes to roughly the top 3% of the admission pool for each program, and competitive Major Admission Award applicants are expected to hold a cumulative average of 90% or higher. For the Dean’s International Awards there is no single published cutoff — awards track the strength of each faculty’s international entry pool, so the strongest averages win the top tiers.

Are Queen’s international awards renewable?

The Dean’s International Awards are renewable for up to four years subject to the conditions in your award terms. Queen’s general rule for renewable academic awards is continued registration in an 80% course load (typically 24 units across fall and winter) and a minimum GPA of 3.5. One-year awards such as the Principal’s Scholarship do not renew.

Does Queen’s fund graduate students from abroad?

Yes. Research graduate students receive program funding packages that can combine Queen’s Graduate Awards with teaching and research assistantships. International students in Ontario can also compete for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship ($15,000 for one year) and, at doctoral level, the federal CGRS-D (CAD 40,000 per year for 36 months), which replaced the discontinued Vanier program and is open to international doctoral students.

Can I hold two Queen’s scholarships at once?

Generally no for merit awards: Queen’s states that students are not eligible for more than one merit-based award, so you receive the most valuable award you qualify for. Need-based bursaries and some program-specific supports are assessed separately through the Financial Aid and Awards office.

Sources & Verification

• Queen’s University, Registrar & Financial Aid Services — Major Admission Awards (citizenship restriction; Chancellor’s $48,000 and 50 awards; 8 December deadline; OUAC by 20 November)
• Queen’s University, Registrar & Financial Aid Services — Automatic financial aid for future students (international students considered for grade-based admission scholarships; one merit award rule; renewal at 80% load and GPA 3.5)
• Queen’s University — International and U.S. Students financial aid page, and Queen’s Law’s international students page (international awards of $10,000–$25,000 including the Dean’s International Award, no application necessary)
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — study-permit proof-of-funds table (CAD 22,895 to 31 Aug 2026; CAD 23,448 from 1 Sep 2026)

Disclaimer: Scholarship values, eligibility rules and deadlines change every year, and Queen’s reserves the right to revise or withdraw awards without notice. Always confirm the amounts and dates for your entry year on Queen’s University’s official website before applying. StudyGraduate is an independent information portal, not an agency or a university representative — we cannot promise admission, scholarship selection or visa approval to any applicant.