Undergraduate Scholarships in Canada for International Students

Canada offers something very few countries can match at undergraduate level: a small number of genuinely full scholarships for international students at world-class public universities, sitting alongside a much larger system of automatic entrance awards that can cut the cost of a degree by a quarter or more. If you are finishing secondary school in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Nigeria, Indonesia or any other country and planning to start a bachelor’s degree in Canada in 2026 or 2027, this guide explains the real landscape — the Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship at the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia’s International Scholars Program and International Major Entrance Scholarships, entrance awards at other major universities, and the honest arithmetic of what a Canadian undergraduate degree costs with and without funding.

Read the whole guide before you fall in love with any single award, because undergraduate funding in Canada follows rules that surprise many families. The biggest scholarship in the country cannot be applied for directly — your school must nominate you, one student per school per year. The second-biggest program requires you to prove significant financial need with documents, not just grades. And the most widely held awards require no scholarship application at all: they are awarded automatically when a university offers you admission, which means your admission application, your grades and your deadline discipline are your scholarship application. Students who understand these mechanics early can plan backwards from real deadlines. Students who discover them in January, after the nomination windows have closed, usually wait a full year — or pay full price.

Start your research with the profiles of the universities featured here, including the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia, browse the full university directory, and use our scholarships directory to compare this guide with funding routes in other countries.

Undergraduate Scholarships in Canada at a Glance

Notice the pattern in the last column. Apart from the two flagship programs — Pearson and UBC International Scholars — almost everything at undergraduate level in Canada is admission-driven. That is good news disguised as bureaucracy: it means a student with excellent final-year grades who applies early and completely is automatically in contention for money at most universities, without hunting down dozens of separate scholarship forms. It also means there is no rescue round in March for a weak or late admission application. Your grades, your school record and your timing are the scholarship strategy.

The Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship — University of Toronto

The Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship is the University of Toronto’s most prestigious award for international undergraduates, named for a former Canadian prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. It recognises students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and creativity, who are acknowledged as leaders within their school, and who show the potential to contribute positively to the global community. Approximately 37 students are named Pearson Scholars each year — a deliberately small cohort drawn from nominated students at schools all over the world.

The coverage is as complete as undergraduate funding gets in Canada: the scholarship covers tuition, books, incidental fees and full residence support for four years of study at the University of Toronto, across its three campuses, subject to the scholar maintaining the required standing. For a family comparing international offers, residence support matters enormously — Toronto housing is one of the largest costs of a Canadian degree, and having it inside the award transforms the economics.

The application model is the part applicants most often get wrong, so read it twice. You cannot apply for the Pearson Scholarship directly, and no agent can apply for you. Your secondary school must nominate you, each school may nominate only one student per year, and your school must itself be participating (schools that have not previously taken part may need to complete a participation step by the nomination deadline). For the September 2027 intake, the published deadlines are: school nomination by October 9, 2026; University of Toronto admission application (through OUAC) by October 16, 2026; and the Pearson Scholarship application and documents by November 6, 2026. If those dates have passed when you read this, the same rhythm applies to the following cycle — nominations close in early autumn of the year before entry — and your first task is to speak to your school counsellor or principal at the start of your final school year, not the end of it. Eligibility, in the program’s terms, is for international students in their final year of secondary school (or who graduated within the program’s permitted window) who will begin their studies at Toronto in the entry year, and who are not already studying at post-secondary level. Always verify the current cycle’s exact eligibility wording and dates on the official University of Toronto Pearson page linked in the Sources below — the university, not any blog, is the authority, and the university also warns students to beware of fraudulent offers and agencies claiming to sell access to this scholarship. No one can sell you a nomination.

Selection looks beyond raw marks. Pearson Scholars are chosen for academic achievement, creativity, leadership and school and community impact. In practical terms, the strongest files typically combine top-of-school academic performance with a visible, sustained contribution — leading a club or team, founding an initiative, competing, creating, volunteering with real responsibility — described specifically and evidenced well. If your school nominates a single student, the internal conversation with your counsellor matters: make it easy for them by preparing a one-page summary of your achievements, your intended programs at Toronto, and your deadlines, well before October.

UBC International Scholars Program and the Karen McKellin Award

The University of British Columbia runs the other great fully-funded-style route for international undergraduates: the International Scholars Program, a need-and-merit-based program for students entering UBC directly from secondary school who have achieved exceptionally, led in their schools and communities, and who could not attend UBC without significant financial support. Applicants are considered automatically for the awards they qualify for within the program, which are the Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow Award, the Donald A. Wehrung International Student Award (for outstanding students who have achieved under challenging circumstances such as impoverished or war-affected conditions), the International Impact Award (for students committed to social justice, climate action, equity, health and related global challenges) and the Vantage One Excellence Award (for academically outstanding students entering through UBC Vantage College because they do not yet meet the English Language Admission Standard for direct entry). You do not choose which of these awards to chase; UBC matches you.

The defining feature of this program is documented financial need. Families must complete financial information honestly and provide supporting evidence, and awards are sized against assessed need — the program’s own materials describe support that can extend up to the full cost of the academic program and living expenses in the Vantage One case, with awards generally renewable for up to three additional years or to degree completion (whichever comes first) provided the scholar maintains satisfactory academic standing, continues to demonstrate financial need and keeps a valid Canadian study permit. For the September 2027 intake, the published rhythm is an application opening in early October 2026, a scholarship application deadline of November 15, 2026, and supporting admission documents due by January 31, 2027 — confirm each date on UBC’s official International Scholars page, because the program adjusts its calendar by cycle. You will also need a nominator from your school and a teacher referee, so, exactly as with Pearson, the conversation at your school must start early.

UBC is in Vancouver and Kelowna (Okanagan campus), and both cities — especially Vancouver — sit at the expensive end of Canadian student living. That is precisely why a need-based award at UBC can be worth more in real terms than a larger-sounding merit award at a university in a cheaper city with higher tuition. Compare net cost, not headline value, and use our cost and budget tools to model four full years, including residence, food, transit, the university health plan and flights home.

UBC’s Automatic Awards: IMES and the Outstanding International Student Award

If your family’s finances do not place you in the International Scholars need category, UBC still puts real money on the table automatically. The International Major Entrance Scholarship (IMES) is awarded to exceptional international students entering undergraduate programs at UBC directly from secondary school, and UBC publishes its value for the 2026/2027 academic year at CAD 10,000–25,000 per year, renewable for up to three additional years of study — meaning a top award held for a full degree is worth CAD 40,000–100,000 in total. Consideration is automatic once you have applied to UBC by the admissions deadline and received an offer; there is no separate IMES form. Eligibility requires that you are new to UBC, entering directly from secondary school, studying on a Canadian study permit, able to demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and intellectual promise alongside impressive extracurricular and community involvement — and that you are not nominated for a need-and-merit International Scholars award, since the two routes are alternatives. The number and level of IMES awards vary each year with available funding, so the range is a planning guide, not an entitlement.

Alongside IMES, the Outstanding International Student (OIS) Award is a one-time merit-based entrance scholarship given to qualified international students when they are offered admission, recognising strong academics and involvement beyond the classroom. UBC’s Okanagan campus adds its own entrance awards for international students. The practical takeaway is that at UBC, one early, complete, excellent admission application enters you into several funding competitions at once. The students who lose this money are rarely the weakest applicants — they are the ones who applied at the deadline with predicted grades nobody verified, or who missed the January admission deadline entirely while polishing a scholarship essay for a program that never required one.

Entrance Scholarships at Other Canadian Universities

Toronto and UBC dominate the headlines, but some of the best net-value undergraduate offers in Canada come from universities whose tuition starts lower and whose entrance awards are generous relative to cost. The University of Calgary publishes international entrance scholarships for first-year students, renewable in later years when students maintain the required GPA over a full course load — published guides describe total values reaching CAD 20,000 across the degree — alongside president’s admission awards for students entering with very high averages. The University of Alberta runs a broad entrance system in which international applicants are considered for admission-based awards, including awards specifically created for international students, with values that vary by faculty and achievement. The University of Waterloo awards entrance scholarships by faculty — some worth several thousand dollars in first year, with larger faculty-level and president’s scholarships for the highest admission averages — and Waterloo’s co-op system changes the whole calculation anyway, because paid work terms in years two to four can contribute tens of thousands of dollars toward a degree in a way no scholarship table captures. McGill University in Montreal offers one-year and renewable entrance scholarships assessed on academic achievement at admission, in a city whose living costs run noticeably below Toronto and Vancouver.

Three rules govern this whole tier. First, values, renewal GPAs and eligibility change every cycle — a figure quoted on any website (including this one) is a lead for your research, and the university’s own awards page for your entry year is the contract. Second, renewal conditions are real: an award that requires a competitive GPA each year is worth less in expectation than a slightly smaller guaranteed one, and losing a renewable award in second year is a common and painful budget shock. Third, smaller universities and universities outside the biggest cities routinely produce the lowest four-year net cost in Canada once their entrance awards are counted, while still delivering degrees that qualify graduates for post-graduation work permits. Prestige is one variable; it should never be the only one.

What an Undergraduate Degree in Canada Really Costs

International undergraduate tuition spans a wide range — broadly, from the mid-CAD 20,000s per year at some universities to CAD 50,000–65,000 or more per year for high-demand programs such as engineering, business and computer science at the most famous institutions. Add residence and food (commonly CAD 12,000–18,000 per year if you live in university housing in a large city, less in smaller cities or shared off-campus housing after first year), books, transit, the mandatory health plan and personal expenses. Then remember the immigration floor: for study permit applications on or after September 1, 2025, a single applicant outside Quebec must show at least CAD 22,895 for a year of living expenses in addition to first-year tuition and travel, with Quebec applying separate rules. A scholarship letter counts as evidence inside that financial picture, and an automatic entrance award of CAD 15,000 a year genuinely transforms it — but no undergraduate award except the Pearson-style full package removes the need for a credible family funding plan, and IRCC officers assess the whole file, including where the money came from and whether it will still exist in year three.

Eligibility: Who Can Actually Compete?

Across the awards in this guide, the recurring conditions are these. You must be an international student who will study in Canada on a study permit (not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident). For the flagship awards, you must be entering university directly from secondary school — Pearson targets final-year secondary students, UBC’s International Scholars and IMES both require direct entry from secondary school, and UBC specifies graduation no earlier than the June of the year before entry for its scholars cycle. You must meet the university’s general and program-specific admission requirements and its English Language Admission Standard by the published document deadlines, whether through IELTS, TOEFL or another test the university accepts, or through an accepted pathway such as UBC Vantage College. For need-based awards, you must document financial need with official evidence. And for nominated awards, your school must nominate you — a step outside your direct control, which is why building a strong relationship with your school counsellor from the start of your final year is a funding strategy, not a courtesy.

How to Apply: Step by Step

Step 1 — In your second-to-last school year, build the record. Grades in your final two years, leadership roles, service and achievements are all created before the application season. There is no October miracle.

Step 2 — By September of your final year, choose your route. Decide whether you are a Pearson candidate (ask your school about nomination immediately), a UBC International Scholars candidate (prepare financial documents and nominator), an automatic-awards candidate (target early admission everywhere), or — most sensibly — all three in parallel at different universities.

Step 3 — Hit the scholarship deadlines, which precede admission deadlines. For September 2027 entry: Pearson nomination October 9, 2026, Toronto admission October 16, 2026, Pearson application November 6, 2026; UBC International Scholars application November 15, 2026. Verify each date officially, then work backwards and set your own internal deadlines two weeks earlier.

Step 4 — Submit complete, early admission applications. Apply through OUAC for Ontario universities and through each university’s own portal elsewhere. Upload transcripts, predicted or final grades and English results exactly as specified; incomplete files are not considered for automatic awards on equal terms.

Step 5 — Complete awards profiles where they exist. Some universities ask for a supplementary awards or activities profile. Write it with specific evidence — role, duration, numbers, outcomes — not adjectives.

Step 6 — Compare offers by four-year net cost. Build one table per offer: tuition by year, award value and renewal GPA, residence and living costs in that city, co-op or part-time earning potential. Choose with the table, not the headline.

Step 7 — Accept, then file the study permit early. Secure your letter of acceptance and provincial attestation letter (or CAQ for Quebec), assemble proof of funds showing tuition plus at least CAD 22,895 for living expenses (outside Quebec) and travel, and apply as soon as your documents are complete.

Deadlines and Timeline for September 2027 Entry

Selection Criteria and How to Strengthen Your File

Every major award in this guide weighs the same three things in different proportions: academic excellence, contribution beyond the classroom, and — for need-based programs — verified financial circumstances. Academic excellence is not a single exam result; committees read the pattern of your final years, the rigour of your subjects relative to what your school offers, and whether teachers describe you as genuinely intellectually engaged. Contribution is evidenced leadership and service with duration and outcomes. The most persuasive files are specific: not “member of debate club” but “captained a 12-member debate team to a national semi-final and coached 30 junior students weekly for two years”. Referees and nominators can only write that kind of detail if you give it to them — provide each referee with your CV, your draft achievements list and the award’s criteria, a month before the deadline. Finally, protect the basics ruthlessly: a missed document deadline disqualifies more strong students every year than weak essays do.

Common Mistakes

Waiting until results day to think about Pearson or UBC Scholars, when both require school action in October and November. Assuming an agent can secure a nomination or an award — the University of Toronto explicitly does not work with agents for the Pearson Scholarship and warns against fraud. Applying only to the two most famous universities and ignoring lower-tuition universities where your same grades buy larger automatic awards. Reading a scholarship’s maximum value as its typical value. Forgetting renewal GPAs when budgeting years two to four. Submitting predicted grades late, so automatic award consideration passes. And presenting financial need vaguely in a need-based competition that is decided on documents. Each mistake is common, understandable — and, with this timeline in hand, avoidable.

After Graduation, Briefly

Graduates of eligible bachelor’s programs at Designated Learning Institutions may qualify for a Post-Graduation Work Permit of up to three years if they meet IRCC’s conditions, including applying within 180 days of program completion and meeting the language requirement for degree graduates; bachelor’s degree graduates are exempt from the field-of-study requirement that applies to some non-degree programs. Rules evolve and no outcome is guaranteed, so check IRCC’s official PGWP pages when the time comes rather than relying on any summary — including this one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I apply directly for the Lester B. Pearson Scholarship?

No. Your secondary school must nominate you, and each school can nominate only one student per year. For September 2027 entry the published deadlines were school nomination by October 9, 2026, Toronto admission by October 16, 2026, and the scholarship application by November 6, 2026. Talk to your school counsellor at the very start of your final school year.

How many Pearson Scholarships are awarded each year?

Approximately 37 students are named Pearson Scholars annually. The scholarship covers tuition, books, incidental fees and full residence support for four years at the University of Toronto, subject to the program’s conditions.

What is the difference between UBC’s International Scholars Program and IMES?

The International Scholars Program (including the Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow Award) is need-and-merit based: it requires a separate application, a school nominator and documented financial need, and it supports students who could not attend UBC without significant help. IMES is a merit-based entrance scholarship of CAD 10,000–25,000 per year for 2026/2027, renewable for up to three additional years, with automatic consideration at admission — and you cannot be nominated for the International Scholars route and receive IMES consideration at the same time.

Do I need IELTS to win a Canadian undergraduate scholarship?

You need to meet the university’s English Language Admission Standard by its document deadline, which most students do with IELTS, TOEFL or another accepted test. Some pathways differ — UBC’s Vantage One route, with its own Excellence Award, exists for strong students who do not yet meet the direct-entry English standard. Check each university’s accepted tests and minimums, and book your test early enough for results to arrive before the deadline.

How much money must my family show for the study permit?

For applications on or after September 1, 2025, a single applicant outside Quebec must show at least CAD 22,895 for living expenses, plus first-year tuition and travel, with higher amounts if family members accompany you; Quebec sets its own requirements. Scholarship and award letters strengthen the file, but IRCC assesses your overall financial credibility. Confirm the current threshold on Canada.ca before applying.

Are entrance scholarships renewable?

Many are, with conditions. UBC’s IMES can renew for up to three additional years; Calgary’s international entrance scholarship renews when the student maintains the required GPA on a full course load; other awards are one-time, like UBC’s Outstanding International Student Award. Always read the renewal GPA and course-load conditions in your offer — losing a renewable award is a major budget event.

Can I combine a scholarship with co-op earnings or part-time work?

Generally yes. Scholarships reduce your costs; co-op work terms (a Waterloo speciality) and permitted part-time work during study add income. Neither replaces the proof of funds required for your study permit, and you must respect the work conditions attached to your permit at the time. Build your budget on the scholarship and family funding first, and treat earnings as a buffer.

Is a fully funded undergraduate degree in Canada realistic for me?

It is realistic to compete for one if you are at or near the top of your school, have a genuine leadership and service record, can document financial need where required, and start the nomination process at the beginning of your final year. It is not realistic as a sole plan. Apply in parallel for automatic-award universities where your grades convert into reliable money, and compare every offer by four-year net cost before deciding.

Sources & Verification

Prepared from official sources checked at the time of writing: University of Toronto — Lester B. Pearson International Scholarships (coverage, nomination model, approximately 37 scholars, 2027-cycle deadlines); University of British Columbia — scholarships and awards for international students (IMES value of CAD 10,000–25,000 per year for 2026/2027, renewal and eligibility; International Scholars Program awards including the Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow Award); Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — proof of financial support (CAD 22,895 living-expense threshold for applications on or after September 1, 2025, outside Quebec). University entrance award values at Calgary, Alberta, Waterloo and McGill vary by cycle and faculty and must be confirmed on each university’s official awards pages.

Disclaimer: Scholarship amounts, deadlines and eligibility rules change yearly, so always confirm every detail on the official scholarship or university website before applying. StudyGraduate is an information portal, not an agency or a representative of any university or government. We never promise or guarantee selection, admission, funding or visa approval, and no one can honestly make those promises to you.