Scholarships & Financial Assistance


With education costs on the rise, enhancing student assistance is a top priority for Acadia. Each year, we award more than $4 million to students in the form of scholarships, scholar-bursaries, bursaries, awards, and prizes. By maintaining a strong scholarship and financial assistance program, we are able to attract, retain and support our students.

As a donor to scholarships and financial assistance, you can direct your gift toward: general award funds or awards for specific departments, faculties, research, or athletic teams; any existing named awards; or you can create a personal legacy by establishing a named award yourself. By supporting scholarships and financial assistance, you can help to ensure access to all of the rewards of an Acadia education.

If you would like to give generally to the Scholarships and Financial Aid, please click here.

Peter J. Austin-Smith Memorial Award

Award of up to $1,000 | Eligibility: Pure and Applied Science, Biology

Established in 2021 by the family and friends of Peter J. Austin-Smith Sr., this award is granted annually to a full-time biology student, either undergraduate or graduate, who focuses their studies on wildlife management or conservation, with a preference for work on raptors and shorebirds.

Peter J. Austin-Smith was born in Ontario and trained as a pilot in the RCAF before attending Cornell University. He loved all things that fly. Peter was one of the founders of the Acadia University Wildlife program and taught in the Biology Department in the early 1970s before becoming a wildlife biologist with the Nova Scotia government. He was proud of the work he did in the early 1980s to assist with the repopulation of bald eagles in New England, and on a project to settle peregrine falcons in the upper Bay of Fundy. He retired from the Department of Lands and Forests in 1991 but remained active in fieldwork, research, student supervision and writing, especially on eagles, osprey, shorebirds, and other non-game species. As President of the Blomidon Naturalist Society in 1990, Peter was a force behind the establishment of the Robie Tufts Nature Centre as a way to preserve a home in downtown Wolfville for chimney swifts. He chaired the Canadian Council ad hoc subcommittee on the care and use of wildlife and oversaw the development of its 2003 guidelines. He was committed throughout his life to the welfare of animals and the preservation of their habitat. This award honours his memory and supports students who share his love of wildlife and wild spaces. Value: $1,000 annually.

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Contact

Office of Advancement
Rm 225 University Hall
15 University Avenue
Wolfville, NS, B4P 2R6, Canada
General Inquiries: 902.585.1026
To make a donation: 902.585.1912
Toll Free in North America:
1.866.ACADIA (1.866.222.3428)
advancement@acadiau.ca

Charitable Registration #: 106681893 RR0001