International Supplementary Bursary

The International Supplementary Bursary program provides funding for international undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate a financial shortfall for the current school year's academic and basic living costs. To be eligible, you must be able to demonstrate financial need for the current academic year after exhausting all available funding resources while meeting the academic and enrolment requirements.

Funding for the Supplementary Bursary programs is provided by donors, the Students' Union Access Fund and the University of Alberta. Bursaries, unlike loans, do not have to be repaid.

If your program requires you to be enrolled in courses during the Spring and/or Summer Terms as part of its standard structure, and you would like these terms considered in your bursary assessment, you must submit a Request for Reassessment by April 30. If you are taking Spring and/or Summer courses by choice — for example, to get ahead, catch up on a failed course or meet prerequisites earlier than scheduled — these terms are not considered part of your program’s standard structure. In those cases, Spring/Summer enrolment will not be included in your bursary assessment, and reassessment requests will not be approved.

Any questions about the bursary or application can be sent to bursaries@ualberta.ca.

---

Applications and Timelines

Applications for the International Supplementary Bursary are available online in the Application for Financial Support portal. You can apply in either the Fall or Winter term as long as you show current registration in the same term.

When Applications Open

August 1

International students with an outstanding balance from the previous Fall/Winter terms.

• Students with outstanding balances from Spring/Summer or from their first year of studies are not eligible for early submission.
• Applications must be submitted by August 31 in order to guarantee an initial assessment by the Fall Term registration deadline. Any applications submitted after August 31 are not guaranteed to be reviewed before the registration deadline. 

October 1

All other eligible international students.

Application deadlines

December 15

Fall term enrolment only (no Winter enrolment).

April 15

Winter and/or Spring/Summer enrolment.

Supplementary Bursary funds will be applied to student accounts beginning in December. If you are facing a financial emergency before December, please explore our Emergency Loan application.

During high volume times, assessment of your bursary application can take up to 8-10 weeks from your application submission date. Notifications of the progress of your application will be sent to your University of Alberta email address and estimated processing times will be posted to the Application for Financial Support portal.

---

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for an international supplementary bursary, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• You must be an international undergraduate or graduate student in your second year or greater and currently attending classes at the University of Alberta at the time of your application.
  • Undergraduate students
    Students with either full-time or part-time enrolment in any term within the current academic year are eligible to apply. Only terms with registration will be considered for the bursary assessment.
  • Graduate students
    Students with full-time enrolment in either Fall or Winter term within the current academic year are eligible to apply. If you are registered part-time in both Fall and Winter terms, you are not eligible to apply.
    
    Note: If you are a part-time graduate student in all terms of study within an academic year, you can submit the Supplementary Bursary application, however, you will only be considered for the GSA Emergency Bursary portion of the application.
• You must be in satisfactory academic standing based on your most recent term grades.
• You must have had a change in your circumstances since receiving your study permit that was both unexpected and out of your control.
  • It is expected that all international students have sufficient funding support for the full duration of studies based on the Government of Canada Study Permit requirements. 
  • Required documentation will include:
    • The original financial plan for your entire study time period that was accepted as part of your study permit application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). 
    • Documentation that demonstrates the unexpected changes to your original financial plan and the complete exhaustion of those funds towards your educational expenses.
    • An updated financial plan to complete your study program. 
      • Please note that the updated funding plan you provide will need to be fully actioned before applying to this program in a future year. 
• You must provide documentation of all financial resources available to you. This includes (but is not limited to) bank statements for all accounts in your name, scholarships, department funding, investment accounts, family support and spousal income (if applicable).
• You must demonstrate a financial shortfall for academic and basic living costs for the current academic year as determined by the bursary common assessment.
• You must not have exceeded the program limits for the program(s) in which you have attended at the University of Alberta. Funding limits cannot be extended or appealed and eligibility for bursary funding does not confirm you will receive the program limit.
  • Program limits overall are as follows:
    • Non-Degree Program: $10,000
    • Undergraduate: $65,000
    • Masters: $10,000-$15,000 (the increased limit is for students who included dependents in their original study permit application)
    • Philosophical Doctorate: $30,000
  • Differential annual limits apply to all Supplementary Bursary funding.

Supplementary bursary funding is intended to assist in addressing a calculated financial shortfall based on academic costs and basic living expenses for the current academic year. Eligibility for bursary funding does not guarantee that you will receive the maximum yearly or program limits referenced above, or funding to cover all your eligible expenses.

Receiving Bursary Funding

If you receive a notification of bursary funding, you will need to accept the offer in the Financials panel of Bear Tracks. There will be a deadline to accept your bursary offer in the email notification, after which time it will be cancelled.

Bursary funding will first be applied to any outstanding tuition or fees you have on your account. Any remaining funds will be refunded to you by e-Transfer via PayMyTuition. For more information on the processing times for refunds, please visit the Refunds and Withdrawals webpage.

---

Requesting a Reassessment

If there has been an additional substantial change in your financial situation or registration since your bursary was assessed, you may request a reassessment to include this information. Failure to provide previously requested documentation in your original application is not grounds for a reassessment, and additional funding is not guaranteed.

To request a reassessment, email bursaries@ualberta.ca using the subject "Request for Bursary Reassessment." You must include a letter outlining the change in your circumstances and documentation that supports this change. 

Requests for reassessment will only be accepted between December 1 and April 30.

---

Bursaries 101

Are you an international student interested in bursaries? In this video, hear from one of our experts on what bursaries are, eligibility requirements, filling out the application, next steps after you apply and more!