Acadia recognizes and rewards achievement and potential, and we make it easy to apply! When you apply to an Acadia undergraduate program as a Canadian or International student, you will automatically be considered for an entrance scholarship.
Initial entrance scholarship offers can range from $4,500 to $10,000 over 4 years. Acadia also has other scholarships and scholar-bursaries that range in value up to $60,000 over 4 years. To be considered, complete and submit the scholarship forms in your portal by March 1.
How to Apply:
- Apply for admission and provide all the required admission documentation.
- If you're accepted to Acadia, we'll send you an offer letter. If you are eligible for scholarships, your initial scholarship offer will be included in the letter.
- Complete the scholarship application by March 1st.
- We'll use your application to determine which scholarships you can receive.
- Please note that Local and Specialized Scholarships require separate application forms.
Entrance Scholar-Bursaries
Acadia offers a number scholar-bursaries, which are based on academic standing and demonstrated unmet financial need. Some of our scholar-bursaries, such as the Spicer-Hennessey Scholar-Bursary (valued at more than $40,000) are renewable for up to four years.
How to apply
Complete the application form in the Status Portal. The application deadline is March 1st.
Requirements
- You have an average of at least 80% in the courses required for admission. (We calculate your scholarship average by combining the results of your grade 11 and mid-year grade 12 courses that are required for admission.)
- You are a transfer student with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 or 80% average.
- You can demonstrate financial need. Applying for a student loan is the easiest way to show need.
Entrance Scholar-Bursaries requiring a separate application
The Harrison McCain Scholar-Bursaries are available annually to students from a high school in Canada who are entering university. Each award has a program value of $16,000 payable over a four-year course of study in the amount of $4,000 per year.
Criteria for the awards include a minimum 80% average in senior year of high school, financial need (must qualify for student loan), leadership qualities, and a recognized initiative in funding your own education. The number of scholar-bursaries may vary from year to year. To have the scholarship renewed, students must meet the criteria listed here in "Maintaining a Renewable Scholarship".
Value: $4,000/year
Deadline: March 1
Established in 2010 by Fred G. Spicer (BSC 1973, MSC 1975) and Bertha L. Spicer (Hennessey) (BSH 1973) in tribute to Fred D. Spicer (BSC 1936) and Helen E. Spicer, Basil R. and Flora Hennessey, and Anne Baggs (Spicer) (BSH 1968). To be awarded to full-time students in the Manning School of Business and/or specified disciplines within the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science (Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Geology, Mathematics and Statistics, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Physics) on the basis of academic achievement at the high school level and demonstrated financial need.
The Spicer-Hennessey endowment supports multiple awards each year. The Scholar-Bursary is valued at the full cost of tuition. In addition, the University will provide a complimentary residence room to the recipient(s) for each year they are in receipt of the Spicer-Hennessey Scholar-Bursary.*
Eligibility
- Recipients must be born in Nova Scotia.
- Demonstrated financial need will be an important consideration for selection, with the University’s means test being used to make this determination.
- Recipients must be graduates of a Nova Scotia High School with honours, with an entering average of 85% or higher.
- Preference will be given to graduates of South Colchester Academy in Brookfield or Hants North Rural High School in Kennetcook. If (a) recipient(s) cannot be identified in either of these schools, the University will look to other Nova Scotia high schools for students meeting the Scholar-Bursary criteria.
- Spicer-Hennessey Scholar-Bursaries can be awarded to full-time students entering their first year of full-time study in an undergraduate program in either the Manning School of Business or in the following disciplines within the Faculty of Pure and Applied Science: Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Geology, Mathematics and Statistics, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Physics.
- Awards are made for a single year to entering students. However, any recipient who continues to demonstrate financial need, carries a full course load, and achieves a first-year GPA of 3.50 (i.e., 80%) or more will be deemed to have automatically applied for a second and/or subsequent one-year award from the Spicer-Hennessey Scholar-Bursary. Recipients are eligible to receive funding for a maximum of four years.
* Room is in the base residence category, and recipients have the option to upgrade at their own expense. There is no corresponding compensation should students elect to live off-campus.
Deadline: March 1
Log in through the Status Portal to complete the scholar bursary form
Local & Specialized Scholarships
The The Arthur L. Irving Family Foundation Scholarships at Acadia are among the most prestigious of university scholarships. The scholarships provide some of the best students at Acadia University with the financial assistance and research support they need in order to excel in their studies. Furthermore, recipients are part of a mentorship program and are provided with invaluable opportunities in research at the renowned K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre and Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens. The financial assistance component of the scholarship is renewable and is valued at $15,000 per academic year. Applicants need a minimum 90 per cent average to be considered.
Value: $15,000 per year over 4 years
Deadline: March 31
Application Form
THE EDWIN BORDEN AWARDS are awarded to (an) entering Black Nova Scotian student(s) in recognition of an exceptional engagement within the community, excellent leadership among Black Nova Scotian students. Awards will be made based on applications to be reviewed by committee.
Named in honour of Edwin Borden, an Acadia alumnus who was one of the first Black individuals in Canada to be granted a Bachelor’s degree (1892) and a Master’s degree (1896), these awards will recognize community engagement and leadership among Black Acadia students. Borden was from Truro NS, and went on to earn a Ph.D. and to a distinguished career as a church leader and college president in the United States.
Two awards are available in the 2024-25 academic year and renewable for a total of four years.
Value: $3,500 annually
Deadline: March 1
Application Form
Established in 2017 by alumni and friends in grateful recognition of Raymond E. Ivany’s extraordinary contribution to Acadia as President and Vice-Chancellor 2009-2017, on the occasion of his retirement. The Raymond E. Ivany Merit Award is to be awarded to an entering first-year domestic or international student in any full-time program on the basis of their future potential to exemplify the Acadia spirit, their financial need, and their academic and other achievements.
Ray Ivany, President Emeritus of Acadia University and named to the Order of Canada in 2020, was considered an exceptional and humble leader who loved Acadia and believed passionately in its rigorous and personalized educational model and in its unique environment which, as he said, touches both the head and the heart in equal measure.
The successful applicant will be hard-working, focused, socially engaged, committed to excellence, determined to gain every possible benefit from an Acadia education and to use that education to make a difference in the world. Selection will be made by a special panel based on an essay, which, at the panel’s discretion, may be followed by an interview.
To apply, please include:
1) A written essay (maximum 500 words) that incorporates your thoughts and responses to the following questions. Please do not copy directly from or use the Acadia viewbook as your only source of information.
- What do you think Ray Ivany meant when he said Acadia will touch your head and your heart in equal measure? Why does that appeal to you?
- How does Acadia embody a rigorous and personalized educational model? What is it about you that is drawn to such a model?
- How would you describe your life (not just your career) goals? How do you think Acadia can help you realize them?
2) On the top of the page, clearly type your name, your email address, the name of your high school, and indicate whether you intend to apply for a government student loan for the upcoming school year.
Value: $5,000
Deadline: March 1st, 2025
Please email applications to financial.aid@acadiau.ca
The Rotary Club of Wolfville-Acadia University Award will be awarded annually on a renewable basis to a student who is a graduate from the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board, and who is entering the first year of a degree or certificate program at Acadia University. The applicant must possess an outstanding high school academic record and demonstrate a “Rotary Spirit” through evidence of community service and/or leadership initiatives that have positively affected the quality of life of others. Preference will be given to students who exhibit financial need. The Rotary Club of Wolfville provides the award in partnership with Acadia University to ensure that outstanding local candidates have an opportunity to attend university.
Value: $2,000
Deadline: March 1st
Application Form (PDF)
The Port Williams Jam Scholastic Award is available annually to a Canadian citizen who is entering their first year at Acadia has been a resident in the Village of Port Williams for at least five years. The recipient will have exhibited scholastic merit (a minimum academic performance of 75 per cent in Grades 11 and 12), can demonstrate financial need, and will have made a positive contribution to community life and church affairs.
Value: $1,500
Deadline: May 31st
Application Form
The Innovasea Scholarships in Business are awarded annually to two students entering the Bachelor of Business Administration degree program and who have participated in extra-curricular activity. At least one recipient will be a Nova Scotia resident. The awards are made on recommendation of the Director of the Fred C. Manning School of Business.
The scholarships were established in 2010 through the generosity of Innovasea Marine Systems (formerly VEMCO/AMIRIX Systems Inc) in their support of post-secondary education.
In your own words, please tell us about your extra-curricular activity and what influence this has had on your choice to study Business Administration at Acadia University. Send this document (Word, PDF, Google Docs) to financial.aid@acadiau.ca
Approximate value: $2,500
Deadline: March 1st
Children and grandchildren of Acadia alumni are eligible for this one-time award to be applied against their first-year tuition.
Value: $500
Deadline: mid-August
Apply: Alumni Relations Tuition Discount
Renewable High-Value Scholarships
Scholarship eligible students with a minimum scholarship average of at least 95% are considered for Acadia’s top scholarships:
($10,000/year)
($8,000/year)
($7,000/year)
($6,000/year)
For the terms of our renewable scholarships, please see Maintaining a Renewable Scholarship.