University of Ottawa Scholarships for International Students 2026/27

The University of Ottawa — uOttawa — is the world’s largest bilingual (English-French) university, located in downtown Ottawa within walking distance of Parliament Hill. For international students it offers one of the most generous and, unusually, one of the most automatic funding systems in Canada. If you are admitted to an eligible English-taught undergraduate program, a scholarship worth CAD 7,500 per term — CAD 60,000 over a four-year degree — is applied to your fees without a separate application. If you can study in French, a second mechanism, the Differential Tuition Fee Exemption Scholarship, can cut your tuition by even more. And at the top of the range sit the competitive President’s and Chancellor’s Scholarships for international students.

This guide explains how uOttawa’s funding actually works in 2026/27: the automatic English-stream awards, the French-stream exemption with its current published per-term values, faculty awards, graduate funding, eligibility rules, deadlines and the mistakes that cost students money. Start with our University of Ottawa profile for programs, fees and admissions, and browse the StudyGraduate scholarships directory to compare uOttawa with other Canadian universities.

University of Ottawa Scholarships at a Glance

A currency note on the President’s and Chancellor’s Scholarships: these two awards — $30,000 and $26,000 — were uOttawa’s flagship competitive awards for international undergraduates in recent cycles, and many scholarship websites still list them as current. In uOttawa’s current scholarships overview (updated September 2026), the headline international undergraduate offers are the automatic English Admission and Academic Excellence scholarships described below; the President’s and Chancellor’s awards appear in the university’s prior-cycle listings. Treat their values as last published, and confirm on the official overview page whether a competitive round is running for your intake before planning around them.

The Automatic English-Stream Awards

International English Admission Scholarship — $60,000

This is the workhorse of uOttawa funding. The scholarship pays $7,500 per term, reducing tuition by $15,000 per year and $60,000 across a four-year degree, and it is renewable each term for a maximum of 12 instalments. It is for international students who pay international tuition fees and who are newly admitted in the winter 2026 term or thereafter to an eligible undergraduate program offered in English. Published eligibility centres on an admission average of at least 80%, and eligible programs sit in the faculties of Arts, Engineering, Health Sciences, Science and Social Sciences and the Telfer School of Management. There is no application: the scholarship is awarded automatically to eligible candidates upon full-time enrolment, and tuition fees are immediately reduced by the scholarship amount. The number of awards is unlimited — this is an entitlement for students who meet the conditions, not a competition.

International English Academic Excellence Scholarship — $10,000

Students at the top of the entry pool receive a second, stackable award. The Academic Excellence Scholarship is worth $10,000 ($5,000 per term) for international students with an admission average of 90% or above, newly admitted in the winter 2026 term or thereafter to an eligible English-taught undergraduate program. Only 100 awards are available, so unlike the Admission Scholarship it is competitive in practice. It is not renewable beyond the first year, but uOttawa confirms it can be combined with the International English Admission Scholarship — meaning a top entrant can reduce first-year tuition by $25,000 ($15,000 admission + $10,000 excellence) and by up to $70,000 across the degree. As with the Admission Scholarship, no separate application is required; successful candidates are identified at admission and the reduction is applied on full-time enrolment.

The French Route: Differential Tuition Fee Exemption Scholarship

uOttawa’s most distinctive funding mechanism rewards students who study in French. The Differential Tuition Fee Exemption Scholarship is offered to international Francophone and Francophile students enrolled in a bachelor’s or master’s program given in French, or in the French Immersion Stream of an English program. Instead of a fixed grant, the university exempts a large per-term amount from your international tuition — in effect refunding most of the “differential” between international and domestic fees. uOttawa’s own example makes the scale concrete: for a Faculty of Arts student whose international tuition was $21,667.54 for the fall term, the scholarship paid $12,500, leaving $9,167.54 to pay.

Current published undergraduate values vary by faculty and by your admission year — your amount is locked in at the value in your offer of admission. Recent published tables show per-term exemptions of $13,500 for Arts, Education and Social Sciences, $17,000 for Telfer School of Management programs, $19,000 for Engineering, and $13,500–$19,000 in Science depending on program, with Law programs ranging higher still. Because the exemption repeats every term — up to 12 per-term payments across an undergraduate degree — its total value can exceed the English-stream admission scholarship for students in high-fee faculties. At master’s level the exemption is typically $5,500 per term (with some programs at $7,000, and Engineering calculated per unit), for a maximum of two years or six payments.

The conditions are real and ongoing. To receive and keep the exemption you must:

• Accept an offer to a program offered in French, or to an English program with a French Immersion Stream option and meet that stream’s admission requirements;
• Be enrolled full time and take at least three courses taught in French per term (9 units);
• Remain in an approved French or French Immersion program every term (CO-OP work terms are not eligible terms);
• Hold international-fee status — students paying domestic fees are not eligible.

All eligible students receive the scholarship automatically when they enrol. For master’s students, eligibility additionally requires a program offered only in French, or a diploma evidencing at least two years of study in French where compulsory courses run in both languages. One combination rule matters: the master’s-level exemption cannot be combined with the Education Bursary for International Master’s Students. If your French is strong — for example, you completed secondary school in French or hold a DELF B2+ profile — run the numbers on both streams before you choose; the French route is frequently worth tens of thousands of dollars more over a degree.

Faculty Awards and Smaller Scholarships

Beyond the two big automatic mechanisms, faculties run their own awards, several of which explicitly include international students. The Faculty of Arts Dean’s Merit Scholarship pays $4,000 ($1,000 per year) to ten first-time Arts undergraduates with a 90%+ admission average, renewable with a CGPA of 9.00 or higher — and uOttawa states that all eligible students, including international students, are automatically considered. The Faculty of Social Sciences Dean’s Excellence Award for International Students pays $1,500 to first-time international undergraduates with a 92%+ average. In Engineering, the Memorial Scholarship ($2,000) is open to female applicants — including international students — with an 80%+ average, by application with a letter and resumé by 31 March, and the faculty’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Admission Scholarship ($5,000, 35 awards) is also open to international students. The general automatic University of Ottawa Admission Scholarship ($1,000–$3,000 for averages of 85–100%) and the French Studies Bursary ($4,000 over four years for students taking courses in French) sit in the wider catalogue, though the general admission-scholarship terms restrict most such awards to Canadian citizens and permanent residents unless an award states otherwise — another reason the international-specific awards above are the ones to plan around. After admission, the Online Scholarships and Bursaries tool in uoZone lists hundreds of donor awards and bursaries you can apply for term by term.

Graduate Funding at uOttawa

Graduate funding combines university awards, provincial competitions and paid assistantships. Published uOttawa listings include International Admission Scholarships at master’s level, Excellence Scholarships of up to $10,000 per year, and doctoral support that has included an International Doctoral Scholarship for PhD students; exact values are set per program and cycle, so confirm them in your offer letter. The Differential Tuition Fee Exemption described above also applies at master’s level for students in French-language study, and it cannot be combined with the Education Bursary for International Master’s Students. Externally, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) — $15,000 for one year of master’s or doctoral study in Ontario — is open to students studying in Ontario on a study permit as well as to Canadians, and is administered through the university. Doctoral applicants should also note the federal change: the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships have been discontinued, 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. In practice, most funded graduate students at uOttawa assemble a package from an admission or excellence scholarship plus teaching-assistant and research-assistant income — ask your program for the guaranteed components in writing. Our guide to scholarships in Canada maps these national schemes alongside provincial ones.

Eligibility Criteria

• International English Admission Scholarship: international-fee status; new admission in winter 2026 or later to an eligible English-taught undergraduate program (Arts, Engineering, Health Sciences, Science, Social Sciences, Telfer); admission average at the published threshold (80%); full-time enrolment.
• International English Academic Excellence Scholarship: as above, with an admission average of 90% or above; 100 awards.
• Differential Tuition Fee Exemption: international-fee status; full-time enrolment in a French program or French Immersion Stream; at least 3 courses (9 units) taught in French per term; master’s students must meet the French-program/diploma conditions.
• President’s / Chancellor’s (last published cycle): international entrants with admission averages around 92%+ and demonstrated leadership and extracurricular achievement, by competitive application.
• General admission scholarships and bursaries: full-time, first-time undergraduate enrolment; most require Canadian citizenship, permanent residence or protected status unless the award states otherwise — always read the individual award terms.

Benefits and Budgeting

uOttawa’s awards work as immediate tuition reductions rather than cash stipends — the Admission Scholarship’s $7,500 per term comes straight off your fees, which is administratively clean and ideal for proof-of-funds planning. Even so, no uOttawa undergraduate award covers the full cost of an international degree: after the $15,000-per-year reduction, a tuition balance remains, and Ottawa living costs, books, insurance and travel are yours. For your study permit, IRCC requires proof of living funds of CAD 22,895 for applications from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026, rising to CAD 23,448 from 1 September 2026, on top of first-year tuition and travel. The strategic summary: English-stream students with an 80%+ average start with a guaranteed $60,000 reduction; students who can study in French should price the exemption carefully, because in high-fee faculties it is often the single largest saving available at any Canadian university.

How to Apply, Step by Step

1. Choose your language stream deliberately. Decide between an English-taught program (automatic admission/excellence scholarships) and a French or French Immersion program (differential exemption) before you apply — the funding follows the stream.
2. Apply for admission to uOttawa for the fall (September) intake — the widest program choice — or the winter (January) intake where programs allow. Automatic awards are assessed from this application; there is no separate scholarship form for the two English awards or the exemption.
3. Maximise your admission average. Your average is the entire competition for the automatic money: 80% unlocks the $60,000 Admission Scholarship and 90% makes you eligible for the additional $10,000 Excellence award.
4. Accept your offer and enrol full time. Both English awards and the exemption activate on full-time enrolment; the tuition reduction appears directly on your fees.
5. If a President’s/Chancellor’s round is running for your intake, submit the competitive application through the Online Scholarships and Bursaries tool in uoZone by the published deadline (historically 31 March), with evidence of leadership and extracurricular achievement. Check the current status on uOttawa’s scholarships and awards overview before investing time in the application.
6. Apply for in-course awards each year via uoZone’s Online Scholarships and Bursaries, and graduate applicants should pursue program funding, OGS and CGRS-D competitions on their own calendars.

Required Documents

• uOttawa admission application with transcripts and credential documents for your curriculum
• English (or French, for French-stream programs) proficiency evidence where required
• For French Immersion: evidence you meet the stream’s admission requirements
• For competitive awards: online scholarship application, leadership/extracurricular evidence, and any award-specific letters (e.g. Engineering Memorial Scholarship letter and resumé)
• Passport and study-permit documents; graduate applicants add references, CV and statement of purpose as their program requires

Deadlines and Timeline

Selection Tips: How to Improve Your Chances

Your grades are the application. Because the two largest English-stream awards are automatic, nothing you write matters as much as the admission average uOttawa calculates — a final push from 88% to 91% is worth $10,000 in Excellence money on top of the $60,000 base. Seriously evaluate the French route. If you have genuine French ability, the exemption can out-value every English award, and French Immersion lets you keep an English degree while taking at least three courses per term in French — a bilingual credential that is also highly employable in Ottawa’s federal labour market. Apply for the small awards too. Faculty awards like the Arts Dean’s Merit ($4,000) and the Social Sciences international award ($1,500) are automatic or lightly competed; they stack with the big mechanisms where terms allow. Use uoZone every term. In-course and donor awards open throughout the year, and students who check the Online Scholarships and Bursaries tool regularly collect money that less attentive students leave behind. Graduate applicants: contact prospective supervisors and the program’s graduate office early — funding packages are assembled at admission, and OGS/CGRS-D competitions reward applicants whose files were prepared months ahead.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Planning around President’s/Chancellor’s values without checking the current cycle. These are last-published figures; the current headline offers are the automatic awards.
• Assuming the general admission scholarships include you. Most uOttawa admission scholarships are restricted to Canadian citizens/permanent residents unless the award explicitly says international students are eligible.
• Dropping below 9 units in French in any term while on the differential exemption — the exemption stops, and CO-OP work terms are not covered.
• Trying to combine the master’s exemption with the Education Bursary for International Master’s Students — uOttawa prohibits this combination.
• Forgetting the awards are tuition reductions, not stipends. You still need a full living-cost budget and IRCC proof of funds.
• Missing the 31 March competitive-award window because you waited to receive your uoAccess ID — apply for admission early enough to access uoZone in time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the biggest scholarship at the University of Ottawa for international students?

By headline value, the International English Admission Scholarship pays $7,500 per term — $60,000 over four years — automatically to eligible international students in English-taught programs, and it can be combined with the $10,000 Academic Excellence Scholarship. For students who study in French, the Differential Tuition Fee Exemption can be worth even more in high-fee faculties, because it repeats every term for up to 12 payments.

Do I need to apply separately for uOttawa’s international admission scholarships?

No. The International English Admission Scholarship, the International English Academic Excellence Scholarship and the Differential Tuition Fee Exemption are all awarded automatically when eligible students enrol full time. Competitive awards — faculty scholarships and any President’s/Chancellor’s round — do require an application through the Online Scholarships and Bursaries tool in uoZone.

How does the Differential Tuition Fee Exemption work?

If you are an international student enrolled full time in a program given in French, or in the French Immersion Stream, and you take at least three courses (9 units) taught in French per term, uOttawa exempts a per-term amount from your tuition — recently published undergraduate values run from about $13,500 per term in Arts, Education and Social Sciences to $19,000 per term in Engineering. Your value is fixed in your offer of admission and can continue for up to 12 payments.

Are the President’s and Chancellor’s Scholarships still available to international students?

They were uOttawa’s flagship competitive international awards in recent cycles — President’s at $30,000 ($7,500/year) and Chancellor’s at $26,000 ($6,500/year), for entrants with averages around 92%+ and strong leadership records. They do not appear among the headline offers in uOttawa’s current (September 2026) scholarships overview, which leads with the automatic English awards, so confirm on the official overview page whether a round is open for your intake.

Can I combine the English Admission Scholarship with the French exemption?

No — they belong to different language streams. You choose an English-taught program (admission/excellence scholarships) or a French/French Immersion route (exemption). The Academic Excellence Scholarship, by contrast, is explicitly combinable with the English Admission Scholarship.

What average do I need for uOttawa’s automatic international scholarships?

The International English Admission Scholarship is published for eligible students with an admission average of at least 80%; the additional International English Academic Excellence Scholarship requires 90% or above and is limited to 100 awards. Faculty awards set their own bars — 90% for the Arts Dean’s Merit Scholarship and 92% for the Social Sciences international award.

Does uOttawa fund master’s and PhD students?

Yes. Graduate funding includes program admission and excellence scholarships (published at up to $10,000 per year), the master’s-level differential exemption for French-language study, teaching and research assistantships, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship ($15,000, open to study-permit holders in Ontario), and — for doctoral students — the federal CGRS-D at CAD 40,000 per year, which replaced the discontinued Vanier program and is open to international students.

Are uOttawa scholarships renewable?

The English Admission Scholarship renews each term up to 12 instalments while you remain eligible and enrolled full time; the $10,000 Excellence Scholarship is a first-year award only. The differential exemption continues for up to 12 undergraduate payments (6 at master’s level) provided you stay full time and keep taking at least 9 units in French per term.

Sources & Verification

• University of Ottawa — Scholarships and awards overview (International English Admission Scholarship $7,500/term and unlimited; Academic Excellence $10,000 and 100 awards; faculty awards; updated 24 September 2026)
• University of Ottawa — Differential Tuition Fee Exemption Scholarship (per-term values by faculty, 9-units-in-French condition, 12-payment maximum, master’s conditions)
• University of Ottawa — prior-cycle undergraduate scholarship listings (President’s Scholarship for International Students $30,000; Chancellor’s Scholarship for International Students $26,000 — labelled last-published in this guide)
• 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. Always confirm the amounts and dates for your entry year on the University of Ottawa’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.