Scholarship & Bursaries

Many students partially finance their education through the Canada Student Loan Plan administered by their home province. For details, contact your provincial student aid office. The address in Nova Scotia is:

Nova Scotia Department of Education
Student Assistance
PO Box 2290, Halifax Central
Halifax, Nova Scotia  B3J 3C8
Metro telephone number: 424-8420
Toll free: 1-800-565-8420
Website: studentloans.ednet.ns.ca

A Financial Aid Manager is available on campus to assist students with their loan applications and to provide information on other types of financial assistance. Employment opportunities are available at the University for students who wish to work part-time, such as library assistants, office help, receptionists and switchboard operators. Application forms for on-campus work are available from the personnel office.

Off-campus jobs available to students are listed on the Career Planning Services located on campus in Evaristus.

The Financial Aid Office maintains information files on scholarships and bursaries available from sources independent of Mount Saint Vincent University. Notices of such awards are regularly advertised in the University student newspaper, and on bulletin boards throughout the University.

Bursaries are need-based awards intended to assist students in financial difficulty with the costs of attending Mount Saint Vincent University. All bursaries awarded through Mount Saint Vincent University require a formal application which includes specific and detailed financial information. Applications are available from the Financial Aid Office, as well as, the Registrar’s Office, Students’ Union and online in October.
Application Deadline: November 5 by 4 p.m. at the Financial Aid Office.

Tuition-Driven Bursaries
Mount Saint Vincent Tuition‑driven Bursaries are available in January of each year (applications open for the months of October and November only). Any student registered in a Mount Saint Vincent University credential program and any special student admitted under the mature matriculation route is eligible. Awards ranging from $100 to $1500 are made according to established and documented financial need. Students are required to submit a detailed financial disclosure application and supporting documents. For further information, contact the Financial Aid Manager at 457-6351.

Named Bursaries
Mount Saint Vincent Endowed Bursaries are available in January of each year (applications open for the months of October and November only). The application for the endowed bursaries is the same as that for the need-based awards except where otherwise noted in the following entries.

Please note that the listing of bursaries is accurate, but that changes may occur.

Scholarships
Scholarships have been made possible through the generosity of benefactors who wish to assist Mount Saint Vincent University students. Unless otherwise noted in the individual award description, scholarships are awarded for one year at a time. All students become eligible for consideration (or to make application where required) annually, so that scholarship standing is always assessed on students’ most recent academic work.

Entrance and In-Course awards are awarded by the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Scholarships in accordance with established scholarship eligibility criteria. Students are advised to read each award description carefully. Some awards require a special application form or letter from the student and where this is the case, the award description specifies what is required. Often this means that students must supply additional personal information in order to demonstrate how they meet the specific requirements of the award. The majority of awards listed do not require any special application; students are automatically screened for eligibility and presented to the committee for consideration.

Scholarships administered by Mount Saint Vincent University are awarded on the basis of academic merit and for both entrance and in-course awards this means meeting a minimum eligibility criterion of having an overall 80 percent or better coursework average and/or and a minimum GPA of 3.5 if graded on an alphabetic scale. Additional factors taken into account are listed at the beginning of the Entrance and In-Course listings that follow.

Note: Meeting eligibility criteria does not automatically guarantee receipt of an award. Scholarship awards are tenable towards fees and tuition paid to Mount Saint Vincent University.

Entrance Scholarships
Entrance awards are made to students entering Mount Saint Vincent directly from high school, except where specifically noted otherwise.

Presidential Scholarships require an application. Application forms are available through the Admissions Office.

Students entering from high school do not require a separate scholarship application form, but may want to include a résumé of experience or letter of explanation to further indicate their suitability. Entrance awards are made for one year only and are not automatically renewable. Students are evaluated annually and scholarship decisions are made according to their most recent academic results. Students holding entrance awards and completing their first year of studies at Mount Saint Vincent University are assessed for further scholarship awards according to the in-course scholarship criteria. It is possible that awards may be awarded for the same value, increased, lowered, or discontinued. It is also possible for a student who did not have an entrance scholarship to earn one in subsequent years as an in-course student.

Eligibility Criteria for Entrance Awards
High school entrants with a minimum 80 percent average and high ranking within their class will be considered. The Committee on Admissions and Scholarships may request additional information from students or from school counsellors before making an award.

Only students applying for admission prior to March 15 will be considered for entrance awards which are offered in May. Enquiries concerning entrance awards should be directed to the Admissions Office.
Application Deadline: March 15

Please note that the listing of entrance scholarships is accurate, but that changes may occur.

In-course Scholarships
In-course awards are made to students on the basis of coursework completed at Mount Saint Vincent University. The overall eligibility criteria for in-course awards require a minimum GPA of 3.5 plus nomination by faculty. All faculty are encouraged to nominate their superior students for scholarship consideration when they submit final marks each session which are recorded for use by the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Scholarships. Some scholarships require a more specific kind of nomination as noted in the scholarship description, while others are awarded on the basis of departmental recommendations which is also noted in the scholarship description where this is the case. Students are advised to read each scholarship description carefully to determine whether they need to make a special application, submit specific letters of reference, or be nominated by departmental faculty.

When the Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Scholarships considers eligible students for scholarships, both overall GPA and faculty nominations are taken into account in an 80:20 ratio. Since the amount of scholarship money available in any one year is finite, scholarships are allocated according to each year’s cohort of eligible candidates. Thus from one year to another the academic average and faculty nominations of scholarship holders may vary and those who held scholarships previously may find their scholarships awarded at the same value, increased, decreased, or discontinued. It is possible for a student who did not have an entrance scholarship to earn one as an in-course student under either the full-time or part-time programs.
 

Please note that the listing of in-course scholarships is accurate, but that changes may occur.

Full-Time  Scholarships
Once enroled in Mount Saint Vincent University coursework, students are considered at the conclusion of the September to April academic year (or if a co-op student on work term, at the conclusion of the September to August year) on the basis of having achieved an overall minimum GPA of 3.5 or better in three units of coursework, and having received faculty scholarship nomination. Students are reminded that meeting the minimum eligibility criteria does not guarantee receipt of an award or renewal of a previous award.
 

Part-time students are eligible to apply for awards based on achievement in the most recent three units of work completed. They must also meet the minimum GPA of 3.5 in these three units and must receive faculty nomination. Due to the varying patterns of part-time study, part-time students must make application for consideration prior to May 15 in any given year. These scholarship awards are in the form of course tuition credit vouchers.

Download the Merit Scholarship Application Form for Part-Time Students.
Application Deadline: May 15

Note: Some endowed scholarships are tenable by either full-time or part-time students. These awards are made on the recommendation of the particular academic department. Recommended students must, however, have an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher in their most recent coursework, including coursework outside of the nominating department, in order for the departmental recommendation to be ratified by the Committee on Admissions and Scholarships.