The Canada Millennium Scholarships
The Canadian Government has come to its senses and has realized
that in order to fuel Canada’s economy in the next century,
education of its citizens is going to have to be a prime concern.
It is with this in mind that the Canada Millennium Scholarships
have come into being. This federal project was initiated and
announced at the 1998 budget, to be implemented by the Canadian
Opportunities Strategy which will have as its goal the management
of a 2.5 billion dollar endowment fund which will grant scholarships
to students based on financial need and merit. This fund is
to help some 100 000 students annually in financing their
post secondary studies leading to undergraduate degrees, diplomas
or certificates beginning in the year 2000.
The Foundation overseeing the Millennium Scholarship is to
work in tandem with the various provincial financial assistance
programs so as to avoid duplication of funding.
The Millennium Scholarships are made up of two types of awards:
General Awards which are to be given out to students
based on financial need and who demonstrate merit and the Exceptional
Merit Award which will be handed out to those that have
excelled in their studies irrespective of their financial situation.
The allocation of the awards is as follows. 95% of the awards
will be handed out as General Awards while the remaining 5%
as Exceptional Merit Awards. In terms of figures this translates
to approximately $285 Million in General Awards and $15 million
in Exceptional merit awards being handed out on a yearly basis
for the next ten years. The General Awards are to be handed
out beginning in the 1999-2000 school year while the Exceptional
Awards are to be handed out starting the following academic
year, 2000-2001
Eligibility
General Awards
In order to be eligible for the Foundation's General Awards,
you must:
1) be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident within the meaning
of the Immigration Act;
2) be eligible for student financial assistance in your province
of residence;
- You are considered to be a resident of the province in which
you have most recently resided for a period of at least two
years without studying at the post-secondary level. If you
complete your high school in Alberta and immediately thereafter
enroll at a university in Nova Scotia, you are considered
to be a resident of Alberta. Similarly a student at a Nova
Scotia university who transfers to a university in Ontario
without first residing two years in Ontario without studying
at the post-secondary level is considered to be a resident
of Nova Scotia.
- You cannot be disqualified for a Millennium Scholarship
simply because you wish to study in a province other than
your province of residence. You must, however, qualify for
your award in your province of residence. After you have qualified,
you may use your scholarship in whatever province or territory
you wish.
3) be enrolled at an eligible institution as a full time student
as defined by the student financial assistance program of your
province of residence;
- An eligible institution is a public or private post-secondary
educational institution in Canada that grants degrees, certificates
or diplomas and that is eligible for Canada Student Loans
or the Programme de pr�ts et bourses du Qu�bec. Each student
should consult with one of those programs to confirm whether
his institution is eligible or not.
- Most provincial student financial assistance programs define
60 per cent of a full course load as full time study. There
are, however, exceptions and you should consult either the
financial aid office at your educational institution or your
provincial student aid office for details. Exceptions are
routinely made for certain classes of students such as handicapped
students.
4) be pursuing studies that lead to a diploma, certificate
or diploma from the institution in which you are enrolled, other
than a degree, certificate or diploma for a program of studies
beyond the undergraduate university level as defined by your
province of residence;
- Most provinces consider professional degrees such as law
or medicine to be undergraduate degrees. You should consult
the financial aid office at your educational institution or
your provincial student financial assistance office for details.
- The choice of degree, certificate or diploma is up to each
individual student.
5) demonstrate need as defined by the provincial student financial
assistance program of your province of residence;
6) have successfully completed 60 per cent of a full year of
post-secondary education within the last ten years at an eligible
Canadian post-secondary educational institution;
- This requirement does not need to be met in a single session.
If you have completed over the past ten years several courses
which, taken together, represent 60 per cent of a full year
of post-secondary education, you will be considered to have
met this requirement.
7) be in good standing in an approved course of study at the
time the award is paid;
8) not have received assistance from the Foundation for more
than $15000 or 32 months.
Exceptional Merit Awards
Am I eligible for Exceptional Merit
Awards?
In order to be eligible for an Exceptional Merit Award, you
must:
1) demonstrate exceptional merit as defined by the Foundation;
2) be entering post-secondary education for the first time.
Applying for a General Award
There is no special application for this award. It is incorporated
within your application to your Provincial financial assistance
program; you are thus considered automatically for the General
Awards. Your provincial assistance office will be able to assess
your level of need and at that point if they feel that you meet
their eligibility criteria they then forward your name and file
to the Millennium Foundation. The scholarships are to be handed
out to those that are most in need. Each province has been allocated
a certain number of awards based on its population size as a
percentage of the total Canadian population
Applying for an Exceptional Merit Scholarship
These applications are not in place as of yet and will be made
public in the summer of the year 2000. The first of these awards
is to be handed out for the 2000- 2001 Academic year.
For more information on the Canada Millennium Scholarships visit
the website www.millenniumscholarships.ca
. You can contact the Foundation at
Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation
1000 Sherbrooke St. West, Suite 800
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 3R2 1 (877) 786-3999 1 (514) 985-5987
millennium.foundation@bm-ms.org
