Financial Assistance
International Student Support (ISS) realizes how important financial assistance is for any international student who may be faced with unexpected financial difficulty. Below is a list of the financial assistance and award opportunities available to international students.
The Student Awards and Scholarships office aims to help Toronto Metropolitan University students and staff with the Scholarship and Awards application process. Check out their website for scholarships and awards available to undergraduate students (external link) .
Through the Yeates School of Graduate Studies there are a number of scholarships and awards available to graduate students (external link) on a competitive basis.
Sources of Financial Support for International Students
New Emergency Bursary Update
The application process for the emergency bursary has been updated
Applications for the Emergency Bursary will be open from Thursday, January 16, 2025, to April 2, 2025. Please complete the Emergency Bursary application on AwardSpring (external link) . For additional information, please contact International Student Support by email at issask@torontomu.ca.
International students are required to provide proof of financial support in order to satisfy study permit requirements. Therefore international students are expected to have sufficient financial resources in place while attending TMU. The Emergency Bursary for International Students is intended to provide one-time only, non-repayable financial assistance for students facing unforeseen emergencies. It is intended to assist international students who encounter sudden financial challenges that jeopardize their ability to cover personal and educational expenses during their academic pursuits. Due to limited funds, we are unable to guarantee that all requests will be approved nor that the maximum requested amount will be approved.
Examples of Eligible Emergency Situations:
- Sudden natural disasters leading to significant financial strain
- Risk of insecure housing or food insecurity
- Fire, theft, or accident
- Other extreme circumstances not foreseen by the student such as sudden family breakdown because of mental, physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse
- Victim of a scam or phishing scheme
Examples of Situations Not Covered:
- Financial shortfalls due to poor budgeting
- Routine medical expenses not covered by insurance
- International student on domestic fees or open work permit
- Large outstanding tuition balances
- Require assistance with tuition or arrears from a prior academic session
- Recently enrolled new international students who are seeking general financial aid to support their studies.
- Have completed their degree requirements
- Repayment of personal loans
- Credit card repayment
- Financial support for family members such as medical bills for family members
- Financial support for pet care or medical bills
- Anticipated future hardship; international student must presently be in an emergency situation at the time of application
- Costs related to being a post-secondary student, including commuting
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible, students must:
- Provide appropriate documentation to substantiate the emergency situation that has occurred. (E.g. police reports, email communication, banking documents, etc.)
- Demonstrate that they have exhausted all other available financial resources, including alternative funding sources, savings, employment earnings, and personal finances
- Pursue all eligible internal and external funding opportunities prior to applying for the emergency bursary
- Have immediate and unexpected expenses leading to financial hardship, not in anticipation of experiencing financial hardships
- Have eliminated unnecessary expenses from spending plan.
- Be officially registered in a full-time program of study at Toronto Metropolitan University.
- Have clear academic standing with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 1.67 or higher on MyServiceHub.*
How to Apply
Students must apply for a Toronto Metropolitan University Bursary through AwardSpring (external link) .
Students must complete the following in order to apply for an Emergency Bursary:
- Complete the Emergency Bursary application on AwardSpring. Students will need to create an AwardSpring profile in order to complete the Emergency Bursary application, which includes:
- Filling out a detailed budget form
- Please describe in detail (maximum 500 words) the emergency financial situation that you are currently experiencing and your financial plan if emergency financial assistance cannot be approved
- Uploading all supporting documents (E.g. police reports, email communication, banking documents, etc.)
- Signing a declaration
Note: If an application is incomplete, the application will not be considered.
Application Decisions
All complete bursary applications will be assessed by the International Student Support team. Applicants will be informed of the decision regarding their emergency bursary application within 2-3 weeks. Further information that will support a student’s application should be submitted along with the application form.
Receiving the Bursary
- All bursary applications will be reviewed and receive a decision within 2-3 weeks of submission.
- It is important to note that funding will not be approved on a contingent basis (i.e. situations where financial need is dependent/resting on anticipated future emergencies and past emergencies), funding will ONLY be granted for a current emergency.
- Upon receiving approval, students will be issued a cheque or a deposit to their student account on MyServiceHub.
Use of Funds
When you apply to the ISS emergency bursary, you attest that you will use the funds for their intended purpose, based on the reason you were awarded. Because of this, if you are a successful recipient, you are required to provide proof of spending.
You must provide proof of spending to ISS within 30 calendar days of the date you are awarded the bursary. Proof of spending must be completed on AwardSpring.
The award date is the date you receive your congratulatory email to your institutional email address. Proof of funds can take the form of itemized receipts or invoices or both.
If funding is awarded for tuition purposes, proof of spending is not required since funds will be posted directly to your student account (MyServiceHub).
Students cannot spend the awarded funds on the following: Alcohol, drugs or cannabis products, apparel (i.e. clothing or accessories), pay-off loans (e.g. bank loans, educational loans, mortgages, credit card debt, etc.), immigration applications, as a gift and/or loan to others, hotels, conference fees or field trips, lawyer fees, gambling, and uninsured (non-emergency) medical expenses (due to student’s procedural error).
Tax Considerations
Bursaries are considered part of a student's annual taxable income. The University will issue a T4A slip to all bursary recipients to report on their Income Tax return.
Scotiabank Scholarship
This scholarship was established in 2001 with support from the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) to enhance and contribute to the cultural and ethnic diversity of Toronto Metropolitan University and the greater Toronto communities. Through the facilitation of the Scotiabank International Student Scholarship in International Student Support (ISS), Toronto Metropolitan University wants to demonstrate support for international students and encourage success in their academic life.
Eligibility
Based on the agreement with Scotiabank, this scholarship is awarded to upper-year full-time undergraduate international students with a strong academic achievement. Unfortunately, first-year international students are not considered eligible for this scholarship.
How it Works
- Students do not need to apply for this scholarship.
- Upper-year international students are automatically nominated at the beginning of the Winter semester based on their cumulative academic performance (CGPA) after the previous Fall exam results.
- International Student Support (ISS) will contact the winners to inform them of their success in winning the scholarship and proceed with issuing the funds to each student's account on MyServiceHub.
Description:
The Shukrana Foundation International Student Excellence Scholarship will support international women in STEM from South Asia who are excelling in their undergraduate STEM program and are experiencing financial need.
Eligibility Conditions:
To be eligible for this award, applicants must:
- Be an undergraduate student.
- Be an international student.
- Be enrolled in a full-time course load (80% or more of a full course load or at least 4 billing units). This includes students in an approved reduced course load, i.e.students registered with Academic Accommodation Support.
- Be enrolled in a STEM program.
- Be enrolled in their third year or fourth/final year of studies.
- Meet a minimum CGPA of 3.67.
- Demonstrate financial need as determined by the university.
- Self-identify as a woman, including cisgender or transgender.
- Self-identify as South Asian.
Additional Requirements:
Applicants must submit a written statement (500 words) detailing their academic and career goals and how the completion of their education aided by this scholarship will enable them to make a positive impact in the world.
Award value:
There are two annual awards of $5,000
Applications:
Applications available via AwardSpring (external link) . Please note that the information on this website is subject to change without notice. Always consult AwardSpring for the most up to date information about awards and scholarships.
Applications for the Dr. Ebrahim Award of Excellence is now open. Please complete the Dr. Ebrahim Award of Excellence on Awardspring. (external link)
For additional information, please contact International Student Support by email at issask@torontomu.ca.
Application Deadline: Dec 5, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.
Application: https://torontomu.awardspring.ca/AS/Admin/scholarships/details/18393 (external link)
Award Amount: $7,400
Award Descriptions
The Dr. Ebrahim Award of Excellence is intended to support an international student in their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th-year who demonstrates a high level of involvement in their community and academic excellence.
Eligibility
- Applicant must be registered as an Undergraduate student
- Applicant must be enrolled in Full-time studies
- Applicant must be in their second year, third year, or fourth/final year of studies
- Applicant must meet a minimum CGPA of 3.67
- Applicant must be an international student.
- Applicant must demonstrate Financial Need as determined by Toronto Metropolitan University
OR
- Applicant must have an approved accommodation for a reduced course load.
- Applicant must be registered with Academic Accommodation Support.
- Applicant must be registered as an Undergraduate student
- Applicant must be enrolled full-time in a reduced course load.
- Applicant must be in their second year, third year, or fourth/final year of studies
- Applicant must meet a minimum CGPA of 3.67
- Applicant must be an international student.
- Applicant must demonstrate Financial Need as determined by Toronto Metropolitan University
Additional Requirement
In a 500-word personal statement, explain how you have achieved to balance academic excellence and involvement in the wider Toronto Metropolitan or GTA community and how this relates to your academic, professional and/or personal goals.