Acadia University - Scholarships & Financial Aid

Scholarships for Current Students

We will email all current students (Canadian and International) the application for awards, scholarships, and bursaries in the fall. There is one deadline for awards to be given out before December 31 and another deadline for awards to be given out by March 31. Please refer to the emails for more information.

A few awards require a separate application. We will email eligible students about these as they become available. You should check with your department/school to see whether a separate application is required for any departmental awards.

Most in-course scholarships are awarded annually, but a few are renewable for one or more years.

Receiving Funding

To be eligible for funding, you must register in a minimum of 24 credit-hours for the September to April academic year, and you must meet the academic criteria of your scholarship each year. Your Dean must grant special permission for a reduced course load of less than 24 credit-hours, provided you are still full-time.

Students registered with Accessible Learning Services may be eligible as full-time students taking a reduced course load. For more information on this and other accommodations, please contact Accessible Learning Services at accessible.learning@acadiau.ca.

Scholarship, Award, and Bursary funds will be credited to your university account in two instalments: September and January. You can request a cheque from the Office of Student Accounts if you have a credit on your account. This can be done through the Hub by choosing Student Account Refund under Student Account Services.

Maintaining a Renewable Scholarship

Renewable scholarships are available for up to four years or until you graduate with your first undergraduate degree, whichever comes first.

You must register as in a minimum of 24 credit-hours for the September to April academic year and meet the academic criteria of your scholarship each year. Your Dean must grant special permission for a reduced course load of less than 24 credit-hours, provided you are still full-time.

You must also follow the academic criteria below to have the scholarship/award renewed annually:

Scholarship/Award Name	Academic Criteria
Acadia Renewable Entrance Scholarship/Renewal Residence Scholarship and/or Renewable Scholar-Bursary	Maintain a minimum sessional GPA of 3.50 in year one and a minimum sessional GPA of 3.67 in year two and subsequent years.
Harrison McCain Scholar-Bursary	Maintain a minimum sessional GPA of 1.67 in year one, 2.50 in year two, and 3.00 in years three and four.
Roland and Leona Mullen Business Award	Register each year in the BBA or BA Economics program. Maintain a minimum sessional GPA of 2.00 in year one and a minimum sessional GPA of 2.50 in year two and subsequent years.
Interdisciplinary Technology Award	Register each year in BACS program. Maintain a minimum sessional GPA of 2.00 in year one and a minimum sessional GPA of 2.50 in year two and subsequent years.
The Rotary Club of Wolfville-Acadia University Award	Maintain a minimum GPA of 2.50 after year one, 2.75 after year two and 3.0 after year three.
The Tantramar Scholarship/AIL Acadia Scholarship	Maintain a minimum sessional GPA of 3.50 each year.
The MacNeill Scholar-Bursary	Maintain a minimum sessional GPA of 3.00 each year.

Deferrals, Co-op, Appeals, Withdrawal, and More

Appeal Process

If you fail to meet the above conditions for renewability, we will notify you in the early summer. You may appeal by making a request in writing to Financial Aid (financial.aid@acadiau.ca) to have your scholarship renewed. In considering your appeal, the Scholarships, Prizes, and Awards Committee will review your academic record and consider medical or other substantive reasons that you submit.

Deferral of Scholarship

You may choose to take a gap year to work, volunteer, or travel. The Scholarships, Prizes and Awards Committee of Senate allows you to defer your scholarship for up to one full academic year as long as you do not participate in any further post-secondary education. To defer a scholarship, send an email Scholarships and Financial Aid office at financial.aid@acadiau.ca with this request and the reason you are deferring. If you choose to defer, you must notify the Admissions Office once you decide to attend or return to full-time study.

Entering Certificate/Bachelor of Applied Science Program Students
If you have a renewable scholarship at Acadia, then Dalhousie University will guarantee the renewable portion of any further scholarships up to $5000 in your first year at Dal, provided:

You have a GPA of 3.85 or higher in your engineering program, and
You meet all the renewable scholarship requirements set by Acadia

The scholarship guarantee is filled by Dalhousie scholarships, and is not an additional award. Depending on academic performance, you may earn scholarships exceeding $5000.

Scholarship Students on Co-op

While you are on a fall and/or winter term Co-op work placement, you can hold your Acadia University awards. For renewable awards, the Scholarships & Financial Assistance Office will work with the Co-op Office to determine eligibility for renewal taking into consideration the grade for the Co-op work term. Renewable awards are only available for up to four years or until you graduate: whichever comes first, as per the University awards terms and conditions.

Scholarship Students on Study Abroad

If you are on direct exchange, with fees payable to Acadia, in course and renewable entrance scholarship funds are credited to your university student account at Acadia in the usual manner: half in September and half in January. When the transcript is received from the University abroad, it is assessed and determined if you have met the academic requirement to renew the scholarship.