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.

Tara Lynne Touesnard Memorial Bursary in Music

Bursary | Eligibility: Professional Studies, Music, Current 1st year, Current 2nd year, Current 3rd year, Current 4th year, Entering first year

The Tara Lynne Touesnard Memorial Bursary in Music is awarded annually on recommendation of the Director of the School of Music to an entering or returning student in the Bachelor of Music degree program who shows promise in strings. The bursary is awarded on the basis of financial need and academic achievement. The bursary was established by the family and friends of Tara Lynne Touesnard, a third year Bachelor of Music Education student who died in an automobile accident in 1994. Tara Lynne was a composer and recording artist who held a number of awards and academic scholarships from Acadia. She was a four-time Maritime Old Time Fiddling Champion, a recipient of the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award, a Phi Delta Kappa Education Scholarship and the 1991 Cultural Life Award for Nova Scotia and had toured with the Cape Breton Summertime Revue.

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TD Bursaries

Bursary | Eligibility: Arts, Professional Studies, Pure and Applied Science

Originally established in 2002 and 2008 as the TD Bank Financial Group Bursary and the TD Bank Financial Group Student Bursaries, the TD Bursaries are granted annually to Canadian students who demonstrate financial need. Approximately one-third of the bursaries are designated for entering students who have satisfactory academic standing.

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The Nova Scotia Teachers Union Bursaries in Education

Bursary | Eligibility: Professional Studies, Education

The Nova Scotia Teachers Union Bursaries in Education are awarded annually, one to a student of Indigenous descent and one to a student of African descent who are currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Education program and who have financial need. The award is on recommendation of the School of Education.

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Thomas Gordon MacLeod Memorial Bursary

Bursary | Eligibility: Arts, Professional Studies, Pure and Applied Science, Business Administration

The Thomas Gordon MacLeod Memorial Bursary is the interest on an endowment of $10,000 donated from the Estate of the late T. Gordon MacLeod by Mrs. Elizabeth MacLeod and family members. It is annually awarded to a needy student registered in the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science or the School of Business Administration. Preference is given to a Pictou County, Nova Scotia, resident.

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Tory – Bagnall and MacDonald Bursary: ‘work is love made visible’

Bursary | Eligibility: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island

Established through a generous gift by Cairine and Bernie MacDonald, the educational fund honours Tory and Bagnall family members who settled in the Maritimes in 1784. The bursary acknowledges the extreme difficulties faced by United Empire Loyalists following the American Revolution and the unique challenges for those of African heritage.

Tory and Bagnall families attended Acadia, with a Doctor of Civil Laws conferred on Lucy Bagnall during the centennial in 1938. This bursary celebrates the very important work done by her daughter Marj Tory (Bagnall) in Alberta with high school students requiring financial assistance – ‘work is love made visible.’ Cairine (Tory) and Bernie MacDonald met at Acadia.

This bursary is available for a full-time student demonstrating financial need. With a preference for students from Guysborough County, it can be awarded more broadly to Canadian citizens from the Maritime provinces. Over the long term, it is intended that at least 50% of the bursaries granted to female students and at least 50% to Black students. The goal of the bursary is to cover the cost of tuition or residence for a student who intends to prepare for the workforce immediately following their Bachelor degree.

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Town of Wolfville Bursary

Bursary | Eligibility: Entering first year, Nova Scotia

The Town of Wolfville Bursary is awarded annually to a student who is now and has been a resident of the Town of Wolfville for at least three years and who is entering the first year of a four-year degree program at Acadia University. The eligible student shows evidence of community service during high school years and/or extracurricular initiatives that have positively affected the quality of life of others. The student must also demonstrate financial need. The bursary may be renewed for up to four years.

The bursary is provided by the Town of Wolfville to address the wishes of its citizens to encourage excellent local students to “stay at home” and attend university.

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Town of Wolfville EDI Bursary

Bursary | Eligibility: Entering first year, Nova Scotia

The Town of Wolfville EDI Bursary is awarded annually to a student who is from Nova Scotia, preferably Wolfville, and who is entering the first year of a four-year degree program at Acadia University. The eligible student self-identifies as someone who has barriers, and represents the mandate of equity, diversity and inclusion. The student must also possess a demonstrated need for financial assistance. The bursary may be renewed for up to four years.

The bursary is provided by the Town of Wolfville to celebrate diversity and encourage Nova Scotia students of all backgrounds to “stay at home” and attend university.

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Trask Family Bursary

Bursary | Eligibility: Current 1st year, Current 2nd year, Current 3rd year, Current 4th year, Entering first year

The Trask Family Bursary is awarded on a renewable basis to an entering or returning student who is a resident of Nova Scotia and has demonstrated financial need, good work ethics and has participated in extra-curricular or community activities. Preference will be given to a student from Yarmouth, Digby or Shelburne Counties. This award is made possible through the generosity of Michael L. Trask (BCO, Acadia, 1966) and his family from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

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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