Western University Scholarships for International Students 2026: Types, Eligibility & How to Apply

Western University in London, Ontario is one of Canada’s oldest and most research-intensive universities — a U15 member known for the Ivey Business School, the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and one of the strongest student experiences in the country. It is also a university where international students can win genuinely large entrance funding, provided they understand how Western’s two-track system works. On one track sit the automatic admission scholarships, which are awarded purely on your final admission average with no separate application. On the other track sits the National Scholarship Program, Western’s flagship competition, which includes the International President’s Entrance Scholarships — three awards of CAD 100,000 each reserved for exceptional international students.

This guide explains every major Western scholarship open to international students in 2026, who is actually eligible (including an honest explanation of which National Scholarships are restricted to Canadians), how much each award is worth as officially published, and the exact steps, documents and deadlines you need. For a full overview of the university itself — programs, fees and admission requirements — see our Western University profile, and browse the wider StudyGraduate scholarships directory to compare Western with funding at other universities.

Western University Scholarships at a Glance

All values above are in Canadian dollars and are taken from Western’s official Registrar and Western International pages, checked in October 2026. Note one important detail: Western’s Registrar — the office that administers the awards — currently publishes the International President’s Entrance Scholarships at $100,000 each, while an older Western International page still shows a previous $50,000 figure. This guide uses the Registrar’s current published values, and you should always confirm the figure for your entry year on the Registrar’s National Scholarship Program page before you apply.

Types of Western Scholarships for International Students

1. Automatic admission scholarships (no application required)

Western’s Admission Scholarship Program rewards incoming students directly from secondary school based on the final admission average calculated by Western’s Admissions office. These scholarships are explicitly available to both domestic and international students, and you are considered automatically when you are admitted to a main-campus undergraduate program and register in full-time first-year studies. There is no form to fill in and no deadline beyond the admission process itself.

The tiers are simple. The Western Scholarship of Excellence is the top automatic award: 250 scholarships of $8,000 each go to students with the highest high-school admission averages. Of that $8,000, $6,000 is paid in first year and a further $2,000 supports an optional study-abroad experience. Below it, the Western Scholarship of Distinction pays $3,500 ($2,500 in first year plus $1,000 for optional study abroad) to every student — an unlimited number — whose final admission average falls between 92.0% and 100%. The Western Admission Scholarship pays $2,500 ($1,500 plus $1,000 study-abroad) to students with a final admission average of 90.0% to 91.9%, again with no cap on numbers.

Two things matter here for international applicants. First, Western calculates your admission average itself, converting your curriculum — CBSE, ISC, HSC, IB, A-levels or another national system — using its own grading interpretation, so a “92%” from your board is not automatically a 92% in Western’s calculation. Second, because the Distinction and Admission tiers are unlimited, they are genuinely attainable: a strong, consistent final-year performance is rewarded automatically rather than through a competition. In addition, international students entering from a high school outside Canada may receive the Welcome to Canada Admission Scholarship, published at $10,000 for the first year, and the two Virginia Harris International Admission Scholarships of $5,500 go automatically to the international entrants with the highest admission averages who are not already receiving another admission scholarship. Smaller automatic awards also exist for specific groups — for example, the Dr. Amit Chakma International Scholarship (2 at $2,500, minimum 90% average) and faculty-level entrance awards such as those in Arts & Humanities and the School for Advanced Studies in Arts & Humanities ($500–$2,500 for averages of 90%+).

2. The National Scholarship Program (application + nomination required)

The National Scholarship Program is Western’s most prestigious entrance competition. National Scholarships recognise all-round excellence: outstanding academic performance, creative and innovative thought, exceptional achievement in extracurricular activities such as the arts and athletics, and — with special emphasis — a sustained commitment to community service. This is not a grades-only competition; the essay, the school nomination and the reference letter carry real weight, and shortlisted candidates are interviewed.

For international students, the awards that matter inside this program are the International President’s Entrance Scholarships: three awards of $100,000 each, and the Neen Hodgins President’s International Entrance Scholarship: one award of up to $100,000, payable at $25,000 per academic year over four years. Students who are interviewed for a National Scholarship but not offered one — and who accept an offer of admission to Western’s main campus — receive a one-year National Merit Award of $2,000 and keep their eligibility for an automatic Admission Scholarship of $2,500 to $8,000, so even an unsuccessful run at the top prize is not wasted effort.

3. An honest note: most National Scholarships are for Canadians

Many third-party websites list Western’s entire National Scholarship table — President’s Entrance Scholarships of up to $93,000, the Beryl Ivey Continuing Entrance Scholarship of $96,000, Faculty Entrance Scholarships of $30,000 — as if all of it were open to everyone. It is not. Western’s official eligibility rule states that, with the exception of the International President’s Entrance Scholarships and the President’s Entrance Scholarship for Black Students, National Scholarship applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. If you are an international student on a study permit, plan around the international awards named above and the automatic admission scholarships — not around the domestic President’s or Beryl Ivey awards. Building your budget on a scholarship you cannot legally receive is one of the most common and most damaging mistakes applicants make.

4. Graduate funding at Western

Graduate funding works differently: it is arranged through the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (SGPS) and your department rather than through entrance competitions. Western states that it provides funding support packages for eligible research-based master’s and PhD students to help offset the cost of full-time graduate enrolment; for professional graduate programs — including the Ivey MBA, MEng and education programs — financial assistance may be available but is program-specific. In practice, research students typically combine a departmental funding package with graduate teaching assistantships, and the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS) adds smaller supports such as travel subsidies and childcare subsidies. Ivey MBA candidates should check the Ivey Business School’s own awards and financing pages, because MBA funding is administered by the school rather than by SGPS. Because package values vary by department and year, Western does not publish one universal graduate figure — request the funding details in writing from your admitting department before you accept an offer.

5. In-course awards, bursaries and work study

Funding does not end at admission. Western International administers an International Student Emergency Bursary Program (bursaries of $300 to $2,000) for undergraduate international students whose finances are hit by an unforeseen emergency, and an International Student Work Study program that provides paid part-time on-campus employment to international undergraduates. Most in-course scholarships administered by Student Financial Services are automatically awarded based on course load and grades, and international students are eligible for many of them even though most bursary money is restricted to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. These smaller supports will not fund a degree on their own, but they matter in years two to four, after one-time entrance money has been spent.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility depends on which track you are targeting:

• Automatic admission scholarships: admission to a main-campus undergraduate program directly from secondary school; registration in full-time first-year studies; a final admission average in the relevant band (90.0%+ for any automatic tier, 92.0%+ for Distinction, top averages for the 250 Excellence awards). Open to international and domestic students alike.
• International President’s / Neen Hodgins International awards: international (visa) student status; a minimum overall academic average of 90% on all Grade 12 U/M courses or the international equivalent; an admission application to Western’s main campus; full-time registration; a school nomination (each school may nominate up to four students, plus one additional international/visa student); and a complete National Scholarship application including the essay. IB and CEGEP students are eligible for consideration.
• Graduate funding packages: admission to an eligible research-based master’s or PhD program and full-time registration; professional-program assistance is assessed by the individual program.
• Emergency bursary / work study: full-time undergraduate registration on main campus, a valid study permit, good academic standing, and — for the bursary — documented financial need caused by an unforeseen emergency.

One stacking rule to remember: students who receive a National Scholarship or a Schulich Leader Scholarship are not also eligible for the Western Scholarship of Excellence, Distinction, Admission, Welcome to Canada or Continue in Canada scholarships. The big award replaces the automatic tier rather than adding to it.

Benefits and What the Money Actually Covers

Western’s entrance scholarships are paid as credits against your student account — they reduce tuition and fees rather than arriving as a monthly living stipend. That makes them powerful but partial: even the $100,000 International President’s award is spread across a four-year degree, and international tuition at Western runs to tens of thousands of dollars per year depending on faculty, with Ivey and professional programs at the top of the range. Treat every figure in this guide as money off your bill, not as a fully funded package, and budget separately for residence, food, books, health coverage and travel. London, Ontario is one of Canada’s more affordable university cities, which is precisely why a Western award stretches further than the same dollars would in Toronto or Vancouver — but you will still need to show Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that you can finance your studies. For a study permit, Canada 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. Our complete guide to scholarships in Canada explains how to combine university awards with that proof-of-funds planning.

How to Apply, Step by Step

1. Apply for admission first. Submit your application to Western’s main campus through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC), choosing your program. Every scholarship route at Western starts with an admission application — there is no way to be considered without one.
2. For automatic scholarships, do nothing extra. Your final admission average is assessed automatically. Focus your energy on your final-year grades, because a single percentage point can move you from the $2,500 tier to the $3,500 tier, or into the top group competing for the 250 Excellence awards of $8,000.
3. For the National Scholarship Program, secure your school nomination early. Speak to your school counsellor in the autumn of your final year. Each school controls its own nomination process and can nominate a limited number of students, so do not wait until the application opens to raise the subject.
4. Complete the online National Scholarship application. The application becomes available in mid-November. You will need your OUAC reference number to access it. It includes a substantial essay on your achievements, creativity and community commitment.
5. Ensure your school submits the supporting documents — the nomination, your transcript and the school’s reference letter — before the deadline. Mailed documents must be received by Western by the deadline, not merely postmarked.
6. Accept your offer and register full time. National Scholarships are only tenable at Western’s main campus in the faculty for which they are awarded, and you must register as a full-time student to receive and keep them.
7. Graduate applicants: apply to your program through SGPS, and discuss the funding package, assistantships and external awards (such as the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral, which replaced the discontinued Vanier program at CAD 40,000 per year) with your department during the admission process.

Required Documents

• OUAC admission application and program choices for Western main campus
• Final secondary-school transcript (submitted through your school / OUAC channels)
• For National Scholarships: online National Scholarship application form
• School nomination (completed by your high school)
• National Scholarship essay
• Reference letter from your school
• Supplemental application — only if you also wish to be considered for the Beryl Ivey / Neen Hodgins National awards (note the citizenship rules above)
• Proof of English proficiency where required by your curriculum, and a valid passport for your study-permit application

Deadlines and Timeline

Selection Tips: How to Improve Your Chances

Protect your average. The automatic tiers and the 90% National Scholarship threshold both run off Western’s calculated admission average, so consistent performance across all your final-year subjects beats one spectacular subject surrounded by weak ones. Treat the essay as the differentiator. Every serious National Scholarship candidate has a 90%+ average; the winners are the ones whose essay shows genuine creative or innovative thought and a track record of community contribution that predates the application — committees can tell the difference between a project started for the application and two years of sustained service. brief your nominator. Give your school counsellor a one-page summary of your achievements, leadership and service in the autumn, so the nomination and reference letter are specific rather than generic. Apply even if you doubt you’ll win. The National Merit Award and retained admission-scholarship eligibility mean a strong-but-unsuccessful application still converts into money. Finally, keep your grades up after you arrive: continuing and in-course awards at Western are largely automatic and grade-based, so your first-year results quietly determine a second stream of funding.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Budgeting with domestic-only awards. The President’s Entrance, Beryl Ivey and Faculty Entrance Scholarships are restricted to Canadian citizens and permanent residents (with the narrow exceptions Western lists). Do not include them in an international student’s financial plan.
• Missing the nomination step. Without a school nomination you cannot be considered for a National Scholarship at all — and schools have their own internal deadlines weeks before Western’s.
• Assuming your home-country percentage equals Western’s average. Western recalculates averages by curriculum and grading scale; an 88% in one system may convert up or down.
• Treating the scholarship as full funding. Even $100,000 over four years does not cover all tuition plus living costs in premium programs. Keep a realistic gap budget.
• Letting documents arrive late. Mailed supporting documents must be received — not postmarked — by the deadline.
• Double-counting stacked awards. National Scholarship recipients cannot also claim the automatic admission tiers or the Welcome to Canada scholarship.

Ivey Business School and Professional-Program Funding

Because so many international applicants target Western for business, one clarification is worth making. Students enter Ivey’s Honours Business Administration (HBA) program in their third year, after two years in another Western faculty, and Ivey’s tuition is set separately from general undergraduate fees — it is among the highest undergraduate business tuitions in Canada. The entrance scholarships described in this guide are awarded on admission to Western, not on entry to Ivey, so an HBA-bound student competes for exactly the same automatic admission tiers and National Scholarships as everyone else; there is no separate Ivey entrance-scholarship competition for international undergraduates. At graduate level, the Ivey MBA is a professional program whose awards and financing are administered by the school itself, and candidates should request the current awards list directly from Ivey’s admissions office. The same pattern applies to other professional programs such as the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry: program-specific awards exist, but they are published by the faculty rather than in the central admission-scholarship tables, and values change frequently enough that this guide deliberately does not quote them. The practical takeaway is simple: maximise the central awards first — they are the largest verified pool open to international students — then ask your faculty about supplementary program awards once you hold an offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can international students apply for Western’s National Scholarship Program?

Yes, but only for specific awards. International (visa) students are eligible for the International President’s Entrance Scholarships (3 at $100,000) and the Neen Hodgins President’s International Entrance Scholarship (1 at up to $100,000). All other National Scholarship applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, per Western’s published eligibility rules.

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

No. The Scholarship of Excellence ($8,000), Scholarship of Distinction ($3,500) and Admission Scholarship ($2,500) are awarded automatically based on your final admission average, and they are open to international students. Only the National Scholarship Program requires an application, essay and school nomination.

What average do I need for a Western admission scholarship?

You need a final admission average of at least 90.0% as calculated by Western: 90.0–91.9% earns the $2,500 Admission Scholarship, 92.0–100% earns the $3,500 Scholarship of Distinction, and the top averages compete for the 250 Scholarships of Excellence worth $8,000. National Scholarships also require a minimum 90% overall average.

How much is the International President’s Entrance Scholarship worth?

Western’s Registrar currently publishes three International President’s Entrance Scholarships at $100,000 each. An older Western International page shows a previous value of $50,000, so confirm the value for your entry year on the Registrar’s National Scholarship Program page before relying on either figure.

Does Western offer scholarships for graduate and MBA students?

Graduate funding is arranged through the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and your department: Western provides funding support packages for eligible research-based master’s and PhD students, while professional programs such as the Ivey MBA administer their own awards and financing. Ask your admitting department for the package details in writing.

Can I combine a National Scholarship with an automatic admission scholarship?

No. Western states that National Scholarship (and Schulich Leader) recipients are not eligible for the Scholarship of Excellence, Distinction, Admission, Welcome to Canada or Continue in Canada scholarships. One exception in your favour: National Scholarship interviewees who do not win still receive a $2,000 National Merit Award and keep admission-scholarship eligibility.

When is the Western National Scholarship deadline?

In the most recent cycle the deadline was 14 February, with the application opening in mid-November. Applications for the 2027–28 academic year open by mid-November 2026 and are expected to follow the same February pattern — check the Registrar’s page for the confirmed date.

Are Western’s scholarships renewable?

The big National awards are structured across four years (for example, the Neen Hodgins international award pays $25,000 per year), while the headline automatic admission scholarships are primarily first-year awards with a study-abroad component. In-course and continuing awards in later years are mostly automatic and grade-based, so maintaining strong grades keeps further funding coming.

Sources & Verification

• Western University, Office of the Registrar — National Scholarship Program (award values, citizenship eligibility, 90% minimum, nomination rules, February deadline)
• Western University, Office of the Registrar — Automatic Admission Scholarships (Excellence / Distinction / Admission tiers and averages)
• Western International — Financial Assistance for international students (Virginia Harris, SASAH and Hong Kong awards; emergency bursary; work study; SGPS graduate funding). Note: this page still lists the International President’s award at its earlier $50,000 value; the Registrar’s page above is the administering office’s current listing.
• 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), via the StudyGraduate Canada guide linked above.

Disclaimer: Scholarship values, eligibility rules and deadlines change every year. Always confirm the amounts and dates for your entry year on Western 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.