In this article, we’ve revealed several full tuition scholarships for international students in Canada for Undergraduate, Master, and Ph.D. programs respectively. Most of the scholarships listed here are also available to receive applications from domestic Canadian students while some of them are strictly for either of the parties.
Canada is fast becoming the No.1 study abroad hub among international students, and some of the reasons why international students prefer to study in Canada are for its scholarship opportunities, quality academics, and employment opportunities that could make them become permanent residents and live a life better than where they are coming from.
However, studying in Canada is generally expensive for international students but fortunately, you can cut down a lot of the expenses involved if you can land a fully-funded scholarship for your study. Here are some available full-tuition scholarships for international students in Canada that you can apply for.
To be honest, there are just about a handful of full-tuition scholarships in Canada for international students, and due to this they are highly competitive because of the number of people applying for them. Most full-tuition scholarships in Canada are reserved for Canadian citizens and permanent residents. However, there are a host of partially funded or one-time scholarships in Canada for international students mostly offered by universities in Canada.
Studying on scholarships, especially fully funded scholarships is a very big relief to every student, not just international students alone, but even domestic students. This is why students are all over the place searching for available scholarship opportunities endlessly.
With scholarships, students who wish to study abroad in Canada will face little to no financial burden especially when it comes to their education. In fact, there are some fully-funded scholarships in Canada for international students that will pay for your accommodation and living expenses after covering your school fees throughout your stay in Canada but these scholarships are mostly offered at the doctorate level.
In this article, we have curated available full tuition scholarships for international students in Canada but do you know how to go about applying for them and the documents you need to provide to apply for them? Relax, I’ve got you covered! Here is a guide on how to get scholarships in Canada whether you are a domestic or international student, the guide will walk you through the scholarship application process in Canada, you’re welcome.
Now, let’s dive into the main topic…
Full Tuition Scholarships for International Students in Canada
Before we begin, I’d like to point you to other helpful resources that will bring you closer to your dream all in one place. As a prospective international student with a dream of studying in Canada, you should know how to obtain a Canadian student visa including the rules, requirements, and process it takes to acquire one. It would also be beneficial for you to know how to apply to Canadian universities even before applying for scholarships.
Ta-da! you now nearly have all the resources you need to successfully kickstart your Canadian study abroad journey, and by the end of this article, you must surely have all you need.
The following are the full tuition scholarships for international students in Canada:
- President’s Scholars of Excellence Program (Undergraduate, UoT)
- Lester B. Pearson International Students Scholarships
- Ontario Graduate Scholarships (Master’s, PhD)
- Ontario Trillium Scholarship Program (Ph.D)
- Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS)
1. President’s Scholars of Excellence Program at the University of Toronto
About President’s Scholars of Excellence Program
President’s Scholars of Excellence Program is ONLY for undergraduate students, international and domestic alike. 90 students are accepted each year and the scholarship is worth $10,000 cash with other benefits.
As it stands, the President’s Scholars of Excellence Scholarship is one of the best full tuition scholarships for international students in Canada that is available annually and open to receive applications for free.
According to the University of Toronto, Approximately 90 of the most highly qualified secondary school students applying to first year of direct entry, undergraduate studies will be distinguished as President’s Scholars of Excellence.
This scholarship is awarded automatically to domestic and international secondary school students applying to an undergraduate degree program at the University of Toronto with an outstanding academic achievement from their former academic records. It is awarded automatically means that there is no separate application for the scholarship, rather, all applicants enrolling into the undergraduate degree program at U of T are automatically considered for the award based on their application.
Applicants who will not be eligible for this award are those who have attended a post-secondary institution before applying to U of T.
President’s Scholars of Excellence Program Benefits
- Cash worth of $10,000
- Assured access to on-campus job by the second year of study
- Guaranteed international study opportunity
- Full access to resources
- Other nonconcurrent benefits
President’s Scholars of Excellence Program Application Process
There is no special application for this program. Students are automatically considered for this scholarship during application review.
This is to say that all you need to apply for this scholarship is to apply to an undergraduate degree program at the University of Toronto.
2. Lester B. Pearson International Students Scholarships
About Lester B. Pearson International Student Scholarships
This is one of the most competitive full tuition scholarships for international students in Canada as it covers tuition, books, incidental fees, and a lot more. This scholarship exceeds full tuition, it is nearly fully-funded because it pays for more than the tuition fees of selected winners. Unlike the one above, this one is ONLY for international students.
The Lester B. Pearson International Students Scholarships is tenable ONLY at the University of Toronto, Canada and it is based on recommendation, evaluation, and consideration.
The secondary school you are coming from has to recommend you directly for this scholarship before you can complete the application form online after which the university will then evaluate your details to decide whether or not you will be considered for the scholarship.
Only 37 applicants are finally chosen as beneficiaries of this scholarship opportunity yearly.
Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship Program Benefits
- Covers Full Tuition
- Books
- Incidental fees
- Full residence support
- Student Support
Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship Application Process
As I said earlier, you need to be recommended by your school to be able to complete the application for this scholarship. Anyway, you can find the full details of the application here.
3. Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS)
About Ontario Graduate Scholarships
The Ontario Graduate Scholarships is open to receive applications from only Masters and PhD students in participating institutions in Ontario. The scholarship cannot be obtained in any Canadian university outside Ontario.
It is worth about $10,000 yearly which could be paid by half twice in a year.
The scholarship is available for all disciplines of study as long as the school is one of the participating schools.
Ontario Graduate Scholarship Benefits
OGS awards are based on the number of terms of your consecutive studies within an academic year:
- $10,000 for 2 consecutive study terms
- $15,000 for 3 consecutive study terms
Ontario Graduate Scholarship Application Process
To be considered for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, you must meet the following criteria:
- You’ll be in graduate studies at the master’s or doctoral level
- You’ll be enrolled in a full-time program for 2 or more terms (21 to 52 weeks in total) for the academic year you’re submitting your application.
- You’ll be attending one of the participating Ontario school
List of Canadian Schools Participating in the Ontario Graduate Scholarships
- Brock University
- Carleton University
- University of Guelph
- Lakehead University
- Laurentian University
- McMaster University
- Nipissing University
- OCAD University
- University of Ontario Institute of Technology
- University of Ottawa
- Queen’s University
- Ryerson University
- University of Toronto
- Trent University
- University of Waterloo
- Western University
- Wilfrid Laurier University
- University of Windsor
- York University
4. Ontario Trillium Full Tuition Scholarships for International Students in Canada
About the Ontario Trillium Scholarship Program
The Ontario Trillium Scholarships (OTS) program is an important initiative to attract top international students to Ontario for PhD studies.
This scholarship is exceptionally for only international students and cannot be applied to domestic Canadian students.
Students interested in the Ontario Trillium Scholarships are encouraged to express their interest in the competition to the graduate program chair when applying for admission into any of the participating Canadian schools.
You must be an international student with a valid Canadian student visa to be eligible to apply for this scholarship.
Ontario Trillium Scholarship Program Benefits
- The scholarship amount of $40,000 yearly
- Living Stipend
- Student support
Ontario Trillium Scholarship Program Application Process
Each Ontario Trillium Scholarship participating Canadian school usually has its own application process but first, you must declare interest in the scholarship during your application for admission into any of the schools and must be nominated for the scholarship by the Graduate Chair of the admitting program.
Some of the participating schools like the University of Toronto consider students for the scholarship automatically. Other participating schools are the University of Guelph and York University.
5. Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS)
About Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships is a full tuition scholarship for students in Canada only meant for PhD students. Application is open yearly and several scholarship slots are open.
This scholarship is also based on recommendation as you must be recommended by your university to be considered for this scholarship.
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships Benefits
- $50,000 full tuition scholarship paid per year
- Student Support
- Housing support
- Living Stipend
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships Application Process
You can find the full details and application process for the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship here.
6. Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program – University of British Columbia
Would you love to study at UBC? UBC is one of the best research universities in Canada, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world.
Achieve your dream of studying at UBC with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program which has been in existence since 2013 and has become one of the biggest scholarship programs in the world. Through this program, scholarships are offered to academically talented, yet economically marginalized young people from Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is for undergraduate and graduate students and covers the total cost of the education of selected scholars.
7. Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation Scholars Program
Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation Scholars Program is more than a scholarship. It is a program that offers students the opportunity to undertake a fully-sponsored 3-year leadership program at a partner university in Canada. The program is for doctoral candidates within and outside Canada but they will have to study in Canada.
The program will offer selected scholars $60,000 per year for 3 years to cover tuition, living expenses, travel, and accommodation. This is more than a full-tuition scholarship for international students, it is a fully-funded one plus you get extra benefits like meeting and connecting with other leaders of different organizations from all over the world.
More About Full-tuition Scholarships for International Students in Canada
If you are able to get a fully-funded scholarship in Canada that covers full tuition fees like any of those I have written above, then you will be sure you can complete your studies without stress.
I have written about several full and partial (with aid) tuition scholarships in Canada for both Ph.D., Master’s, and Undergraduate students. As it stands, those yet to enter the university can apply for undergraduate scholarships in Canada if they are lucky enough to be admitted by the school the same year.
I have decided to write on this topic to keep on the pledge that I made to help international students have access to every valid information they need to study abroad or to make their dreams to study abroad an achievable one.
If you are an international student and you would love not to miss any of our updates on newly released scholarships that you can apply for, you can subscribe to our free email alert service and you will get an email comprising the summary of the guides and scholarships we publish every day.
Back to our topic for the day. In universities like the University of Toronto in Canada, tuition fees alone are as high as up to $50,000 and if you want to add boarding to it too, it would be about $70,000. Astonishing.
Such an amount is worth millions in several currencies and as such is very very expensive for international students. Too expensive that even if you are given a 50% scholarship, you may not still be able to make up the remaining 50%. This is why full-tuition scholarships are just what you may need.
Though, aside from full-tuition scholarships, you can get a partial tuition scholarship with an assured job on campus that can help you earn some bucks to support yourself. How cool does that sound?
This was why I wrote a guide some time ago on How to study and work in Canada. I know international students always look for such opportunities.
For those who have or their parents have some money to take care of their studies in Canada, you may not want to queue in the long line applying for scholarships. You can decide to look up my guide on the 10 cheapest universities in Canada, you might find their fees affordable.
Or better still, I wrote another guide on Universities in Canada that does not charge any fee for admission application. You may also want to check these universities out. You know the exorbitant fees that some of these universities charge as application fees are just bad enough to turn some people off but that is by the way.
For the full tuition scholarships for international students in Canada on my list here, I have provided a more detailed explanation of how these scholarships work, how you can apply for them, what they are worth and the benefits they accord, how many students they accept each year and also provided an application link for interested readers to apply.
Anyway, you should also be aware that there are online programs in Canada that you can participate in for free from any part of the world. These programs are standard and are all designed for specific purposes.
Participating in online programs is good too. It enhances your CV, adds to your knowledge, and also improves your chances of winning a scholarship or even landing a high-paying job.
Conclusion
The Vanier scholarship is the last on my list of Canadian scholarships that cover full tuition fees. As you will agree, not all the scholarships here actually provide financial resources able to cover full school fees but then, but almost all of them provide benefits that cover at least full tuition fees and provide support and student job opportunities that could help you raise more money to cover more expenses that may arise.
There are several study abroad scholarships released on a daily basis on our platform so I will advise you to bookmark the page on your browser so you can visit it every morning to check out newly released scholarship opportunities and apply for the ones you are eligible.
There is a lot of competition in the scholarship space and you need to do something extra to stay ahead of others. Do not relax after applying for just one scholarship. Apply for every single scholarship that you are eligible for because the more scholarships you apply for, the higher your chances of winning.
Honestly, full-tuition scholarships in Canada are very competitive. Almost every international student that has their eyes on Canada jumps on all these scholarships and this makes the competition very high.
The acceptance rate of some of these scholarships is as low as 2% so there are very slim chances of being chosen.
My advice is that you don’t relent. Do not put your focus on only these big universities, some of them are so competitive that they would hardly accept you. We share guides from time to on how you can get both admission and scholarships in some smaller universities and be happy you did.