The University of Northern British Columbia is committed to encouraging students from diverse backgrounds and experience to further their academic education through the establishment of scholarships, which promote academic excellence, and bursaries, which assist students in overcoming financial barriers to post-secondary education. All awards established at the University of Northern British Columbia are subject to acceptance by the University Senate. The on-line Scholarship, Bursary and Award Guide is a comprehensive listing of awards available to UNBC students.
Application Tips and Additional Supporting Document Info
Reference Letter Info - The Who/What/Where/When
Info for high school - grade 12 students (and for new undergraduates with less than 18 credit hours of course work)
Early Entrance Awards - Closed
- Recipients notified of award offers via their email on February 16th.
Apply for the Entrance Awards and General Awards
- Open until midnight on Apr 1st
- Supply appropriate supporting documents (see Tips & Additional Documents Info button)
Once you have applied and received an offer of admission to UNBC, you will be issued a user ID and PIN number. International students must pay their International Tuition Deposit prior to receiving access to the online awards application. You will then be able to complete the online award applications via your myUNBC Student Account.
Apply Online for UNBC Awards By: Having an admission offer will give you access to your myUNBC Student Account where the above UNBC online award applications are located. An email will be sent providing you with instructions on how to create your myUNBC account. Then login to your myUNBC Student Account, go to Student Applications, click on Awards & Financial Aid. Click on top menu item "Financial Aid" and complete the appropriate Web Applications.
Information for transfer and current undergraduate students
Login to your myUNBC Student Account, go to Student Applications, click on Awards & Financial Aid. Click on top menu item "Financial Aid" and complete the appropriate Web Applications.
- Undergraduate students admitted to UNBC for Jan 2024/May 2024 Semester Entry should apply for: Entrance Awards & General Awards - Open until midnight on Apr 1st
- Undergraduate students continuing in their programs should apply for: Undergraduate Awards (>17 Credits) & General Awards - Open until midnight on April 1st
Award Application Tips & Additional Supporting Documentation Info
Reference Letter Info -The Who/What/Where/When
Other funding ideas
Go to the Awards & Financial Home page and review the "Non-UNBC Awards" column where you will find external award search engines.
For information on Graduate Awards
Award Competitions
Unless otherwise stated, the deadline for applying for awards is April 1st each year. A smaller fall awards competition may be held each September if there are any awards that are newly established or still available.
Online applications are not carried over from one award period to the next. Applicants are required to complete a new online application for each award period. Additional supporting documents from the Annual UNBC Awards Competition are kept on file for one-year. New additional documents are required for each Annual UNBC Awards Competition.
NOTE: Undergraduate admission must be completed prior to applying for awards.
Definitions
Unless otherwise stated these definitions apply to the Criteria listed in the on-line Awards Guide.
Academic Excellence
Normally a minimum A- average, equivalent to or greater than a 3.67 GPA.
Academic Proficiency
Normally a minimum B- average, equivalent or greater than a 2.67 GPA.
Satisfactory Academic Standing
Normally a minimum C average, equivalent or greater than a 2.00 GPA.
Minimum Standing
For the purpose of awards eligibility, minimum standing ("passing grades") shall be considered equivalent to satisfactory academic standing.
Annual GPA
Calculated on the basis of grade point averages for credit hours completed during the awards year, May 1 - April 30.
Award Units
Calculated by multiplying the credit hours completed during the specified term by the grade points received for those hours.
Full-time Student
For the purpose of awards eligibility, an undergraduate student who registers in and attempts nine or more credit hours per semester in an undergraduate degree program will be considered a full-time UNBC student.
New Post-secondary Student
A student who has not previously attended a post-secondary institution such as a college or university.
Resident of Northern BC
A person who resides in a northern community located within the regions established under the College and Institute Act for the College of New Caledonia, Northern Lights College, and Coast Mountain College. For UNBC Award purposes the above encompasses north of 100 Mile House up to the Yukon border, east to the Alberta border, west to Haida Gwaii.
A resident of northern British Columbia is one whose principle residence for twelve consecutive months immediately prior to admission to UNBC is within the defined regions.
Health Sciences
For those awards where "health sciences" is stated in the criteria, students who are considering a career in health sciences related fields are encouraged to state their academic/career goals on the appropriate online awards application. Examples of eligible programs included but are not limited to:
- Biology
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Chemistry
- Health Sciences
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Social Work
General Award Types
Award
An award may be a fellowship, scholarship, bursary, prize or other monetary or non-monetary recognition assigned to a student.
Fellowship
Usually available only to graduate students, awarded on the basis of high academic achievement (academic excellence or academic proficiency) toward which secondary criteria may be applied.
Scholarship
Awarded on the basis of high academic achievement (academic excellence or academic proficiency) toward which secondary criteria may be applied.
Bursary
Awarded on the basis of demonstrable financial need, provided the student has met the requirement for satisfactory academic standing, toward which secondary criteria including academic achievement may be applied.
Prize
The award's value may be non-monetary, such as a book or other gift-in-kind, or if monetary, its value is normally less than $250.
Medal
The award is an academic medal, awarded on the basis of academic achievement, toward which secondary criteria may be applied.
Award Categories
Early Entrance
Available to students entering UNBC directly from high school who have applied for early admission to UNBC. Some Early Entrance Awards are also available to new transfer students.
Entrance
Available to students commencing an undergraduate course of studies at UNBC for the first time, or to new transfer students with less than 18 transfer credit hours.
In-course
Available to undergraduate students who have completed at least 18 credit hours (nine credit hours per semester) at UNBC during the awards year and are continuing a course of studies at UNBC, or to to new transfer students who have a minimum of 18 transfer credit hours.
Graduate
Available to students who are enrolled in a Master's or Doctoral program. A full-time graduate student is one who is enrolled in six credits or more per semester, or is enrolled in a thesis, project or comprehensive examination.
Transfer
Certain awards are available to those students who are entering UNBC after having commenced degree studies at other institutions. Eligibility for awards is based on the UNBC Admission Unit's calculated transferable hours and grade point average.
Part-time
Available to students who are registered in less than nine credit hours each semester.
General
These awards are available to all categories of students, including new post-secondary, transfer, in-course and graduate students. Some awards may also be available to Faculty.
Renewable
An award which was made upon the student's enrolment to UNBC and which has the possibility of being renewed annually subject to the renewal terms and conditions as defined in the award's criteria.
External
Awards which are administered outside of UNBC but for which UNBC students are eligible. Separate application forms may be required.
Administrative Procedures
Unless otherwise stated these policies apply to the criteria listed on subsequent pages.
Entrance Awards
Admission awards are open to students commencing an undergraduate degree program at the University of Northern British Columbia for the first time.
New students will be evaluated on their admission average as calculated by the UNBC Admission Unit. Students who have prior post-secondary experience will be evaluated on the grade point average of their transferable courses as calculated by the UNBC Admissions Unit.
A limited number of entrance awards are based solely on academic standing, and may be provisionally offered to new students at the time of admission to UNBC, based on self-reported grades and/or transfer GPA. Students who wish to be considered for these awards are strongly advised to apply for admission to UNBC as early as possible.
Other entrance awards require an online award application. To be considered for these awards, students are advised to submit an online awards application by the April 1st deadline.
In-Course Awards
Students continuing a course of studies at UNBC should apply for UNBC's scholarships and bursaries. Unless otherwise stated, in-course awards are available to undergraduate students who have completed a minimum of 18 credit hours (nine credit hours per semester) over the awards year (June 1 - May 31). Applicants are evaluated based on their annual GPA, their calculated grade point average for courses taken within the academic year. In case of a tie, preference will be given to students who have successfully completed a greater number of courses over the term under consideration. Credit hours will be multiplied by grade point averages to determine any student's awards units:
Example
Student A
Total credit hrs/3 sem: 27.0
Annual GPA: 4.00
Award units: 108.0
Student B
Total credit hrs/3 sem: 30.0
Annual GPA: 4.00
Award units: 120.0
Student B, with higher award units, will be given preference in award selection. The cumulative GPA shall be used to break ties between identical award units.
Co-op students: for the purposes of awards eligibility, students enrolled in a co-op term will be considered to have met the minimum full-time credit equivalency for that term. Co-op applicants will be evaluated based on their cumulative GPA.
Awards Ceiling
The University reserves the right to limit the amount of money awarded to any student and, if necessary, to reassign awards to other students by reversion. The Senate Committee on Scholarships and Bursaries will generally recommend that no individual student receive an award or combination of awards exceeding a determined value. Currently, the Undergraduate award ceiling is $10,000 per academic year (this does not include external awards).
UNBC Merit Awards and UNBC In-Course Scholarships are considered to be stand-alone awards, and will not normally be awarded to students who are in receipt of other academic awards of equal or greater value.
Disbursement
It is generally understood that students will be enrolling in both the September and the January Semesters. Funds will be deposited directly into the students' UNBC accounts in two equal disbursements just prior to start of classes in September Semester and January Semester.
The University reserves the right to apply awards proceeds against outstanding tuition/fees owing to the University. If the amount of the award or awards exceeds the unpaid tuition/fees for the semester, the student may apply for a refund of the excess balance once the Add/Drop Deadline is past.
Deferrals
Non-renewable awards may be deferred for a period of one semester only. Student who chose not to attend UNBC in the academic year the award is granted must re-apply for awards if they wish to enroll in a future academic year.
Renewable awards may be deferred for up to one academic year at the discretion of the Senate Committee on Scholarships and Bursaries (SCSB), provided that the recipient is not attending another post-secondary institution as a regular student during the duration of the deferral period. The SCSB will review such requests and either approve or deny the request based on the student's rationale for requesting the deferral. Decisions made by the SCSB are final and are not subject to further appeal.
Deferral requests: Students who wish to request a deferral of their award are advised to contact the Awards and Financial aid Unit within the Office of the Registrar (awards@unbc.ca).
All requests for deferrals must be received no later than the last day of the first month of the semester in which the award is tenable.
Revoking Awards and Appeals
Awards may be revoked when students do not meet the criteria for the award they have received; for example, when a student drops below the minimum course load requirement or fails to attain a minimum grade requirement as stated in the award criteria.
Students whose awards are revoked will be notified in writing by the Awards and Financial Aid unit.
Appeal of Eligibility Status for Renewable Awards
Students who hold renewable awards will be notified via email of their renewal status at the end of the January semester each year, when final grades have been submitted.
Occasionally, circumstances may arise that are beyond a student's control that affect his/her academic work. Students who believe their renewal status is in jeopardy due to such circumstances must contact the UNBC Awards and Financial Aid Unit before the start of the final examination period for the semester in which the difficulty occurs.
Students may be required to submit the following information in support of their appeal:
- A letter from the student outlining the extenuating circumstances affecting his/her eligibility; and
- Supporting documentation from a professional third party (e.g. physician, counsellor, clergyman or instructor) who was aware of the student's situation during the semester.
All requests for a change in scholarship terms and conditions will be forward to the Senate Committee on Scholarships and Bursaries for consideration on a case-by-case basis. UNBC Awards and Financial Aid will notify the student via email of the Committee's decision. All decisions made by the Committee are final and not subject to further appeal.
Appeal requests: Students who wish to appeal the revocation of an award are advised to contact the Awards and Financial Aid unit at awards@unbc.ca.
Taxation
The full amount of scholarships, fellowships, or bursaries that are received by students with respect to your enrolment in a program that entitles you to claim the education amount are not taxable and are no longer reported as income on your tax return. If you are not eligible for the education amount, report on your tax return only the amount that is more than $500
Liability
Any award may be withheld or cancelled for any of these reasons: lack of suitable candidates; failure to meet the terms and conditions of the award; withdrawal from the University or withdrawal of the award by the donor. Furthermore, the University assumes liability for the payment of scholarships, bursaries, prizes, and other awards only to the extent that expected gifts from donors or returns from particular investments of endowed funds are realized. The University also reserves the right to make whatever changes or corrections that are required, including cancellation of particular awards or changes to criteria or award values.
Requirements
Unless otherwise stated, all awards are conditional upon confirmation of full-time registration at the University of Northern British Columbia in the September and January Semesters immediately following the granting of the award.