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Student Financial Assistance (SFA) Emergency Bursary

The Student Financial Assistance (SFA) Emergency Bursary is for students going through an unforeseen financial crisis that directly impacts your academic progress or success in a material manner. It's a one-time bursary for eligible students. Applicants must sign an Award Agreement and adhere to the Proof of Spending Policy (outlined below).

Note: The SFA Emergency Bursary isn't meant to address funding shortfalls where government financial aid (OSAP, out-of-province funding, government social assistance, savings, or employment income) is insufficient to cover educational expenses.

Eligible Requests

To be eligible for the SFA Emergency Bursary, you must:

  • Be a domestic student (i.e. Canadian citizen, permanent resident or convention refugee)
  • Be officially registered in a program of study at TMU (undergraduate, certificate, medicine or law program)
  • Have a clear academic standing, with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 1.67 or higher

Don’t meet the eligibility requirements?

Please note: An application to the SFA Emergency Bursary doesn't guarantee that you will be a successful recipient.


Demonstrating Urgent Need

As part of the application, you must:

  • Provide appropriate documentation to support the emergency situation that has occurred. This can include, but isn't limited to, police reports, emails, banking documents, invoices/receipts, etc.
  • Demonstrate that you have depleted all other financial resources. This includes government student aid such as OSAP or out-of-province student aid, employment income (EI) or an equivalent government aid program, insurance benefits and personal financial resources

Students experiencing emergency situations related to housing insecurity or violence

Please apply for the following emergency bursaries instead:

 

Ineligible Requests

It's possible that you won't be considered for the SFA Emergency Bursary for the following reasons:

  • Received the SFA Emergency Bursary in the past
  • Haven't applied for government student aid. You are expected to utilize available aid
  • Declined to receive available loan funding via government student aid
  • Costs related to being a post-secondary student, including paying tuition or residence fees, commuting, etc.
  • Travel, field trips, hotels or conference fees
  • Apparel (clothing or accessories)
  • Clearing debts, including credit cards, bank loans, educational loans, mortgages
  • Gifts or loans
  • Anticipated future hardship. You must presently be in an emergency situation at the time of application
  • Funeral expenses
  • Requests to support family members, including parents/guardians or spouses 
  • Medical expenses and medication costs
  • Claims otherwise covered by insurance. This includes damages sustained to belongings, vehicles or merchandise
  • Gambling 
  • Alcohol, drugs or cannabis
  • Lawyer fees

Funding will only be granted for emergencies that have already occurred. We cannot approve requests based on possible or future financial need.

For more support, please refer to our Additional TMU Resources.

The SFA Emergency Bursary is only available in the fall and winter semesters. It isn't available in the spring or summer semester.

The SFA Emergency Bursary becomes available within a week of the TMU Study Week. Once available, it can be found on TMU's scholarship platform, AwardSpring (external link) .

Please apply with your AwardSpring profile during the specified time. Deadline dates vary by school year and semester. To confirm deadline dates, refer to your AwardSpring profile once the SFA Emergency Bursary becomes available.

Applications are assessed after the bursary is closed. Once reviewed, you'll receive an update emailed to your TMU email address.

An application to the SFA Emergency Bursary is a request, not a guarantee.

 

To successfully apply for the SFA Emergency Bursary, refer to the instructions below:

  1. If you haven't already done so, create a profile on AwardSpring (external link) . Be sure to select that you wish to be considered for awards, scholarships and bursaries that require a demonstration of financial need. An example of this is highlighted below:

    A screen in AwardSpring asking you to confirm if you would like to be considered for awards, scholarships and bursaries. The second question asks you to indicate if you are a current TMU student or an applicant.

  2. Follow the instructions on AwardSpring to apply for the SFA Emergency Bursary. Review the application deadline. Make sure that you apply fully and correctly within the deadline date. Late applications won't be considered.

    Example screen of what you will encounter when you are eligible to apply for the Emergency Bursary.

    The screenshot above is a sample image. Please note that your dashboard items may differ based on your items to complete.

If you are an eligible SFA Emergency Bursary recipient, you may receive your funds directly to your student account (MyServiceHub) or to an external electronic Interac e-Transfer payment tool (PayMyTuition), as decided by the bursary committee. The specific funding disbursement method will be outlined in the decision email sent to your TMU email. All applicants to the SFA Emergency Bursary will receive a decision email.

Funding timelines depend on the disbursement method:

  • To your student account (MyServiceHub): Funds are processed and posted to your account within 5 business days from the date of the email decision
  • To PayMyTuition: Funds are processed and received within 10-15 business days. For detailed PayMyTuition instructions (with screenshots), please refer to Domestic e-Transfer Refunds via PayMyTuition

When you apply to the SFA Emergency Bursary, you attest that you'll use the funds for their intended purpose, based on the reason you were awarded. Because of this, if you're a successful recipient, you're required to provide proof of spending.

You must provide proof of spending to SFA within 30 calendar days of the date you are awarded the bursary. Proof of spending must be completed on AwardSpring (external link) . The award date is the date you receive your congratulatory email to your TMU email address. Proof of funds can take the form of itemized receipts or invoices or both.

If you're unable to provide proof of spending within 30 calendar days, the bursary amount will be reversed and added to your MyServiceHub account. You'll then be responsible for reconciling the balance, subject to relevant late fees and account holds.

To successfully provide receipts, refer to the instructions below:

  1. After you're awarded, a follow-up item will appear on your AwardSpring dashboard, indicating that you have additional work to complete. Click the Complete button to provide the required receipts/invoices.

    Highlighting the Complete button on the Follow-up Student Financial Assistance Emergency Bursary panel.

    The screenshot above is a sample image. Please note that your dashboard items may differ based on your items to complete.

  2. You can upload up to 5 receipts or invoices as proof of spending. Include a description for each item uploaded. Once you're done, click the Submit Follow-Up button to submit.

    The AwardSpring dashboard displaying the upload panel to complete the bursary process.

    The screenshot above is a sample image. Please note that your dashboard items may differ based on your items to complete.

  • The SFA Emergency Bursary is exempt as study period income. Your OSAP won't be impacted if you're a successful bursary recipient.
  • If you're a successful recipient of the SFA Emergency Bursary, please do not report it on your OSAP application. Our SFA team reports all awards, scholarships, and bursaries from TMU onto your OSAP application.
  • Receiving the SFA Emergency Bursary will reduce your available funding from the Student Access Guarantee (SAG). The bursary committee reserves the right to decline a recipient if their SAG will be substantially and negatively impacted.

Accidentally reported your bursary on your OSAP application?

The SFA office can update that for you. Please follow the instructions for Scholarship, Award and/or Bursary Recipients.

Bursaries are considered part of your annual taxable income. For more information, visit TMU Tax Receipts.

We recognize that financial challenges sometimes come with other personal struggles. Below are a number of resources to support you and your wellbeing:

  • Career Boost: The institution’s award-winning student employment program, Career Boost, offers paid jobs to eligible students.
  • Financial Literacy: An online guide that provides a general overview of financial literacy, including reading materials, videos and personal finance workshops available at TMU.
  • The Good Food Centre (external link) : Located in the Student Campus Centre (SCC), this food bank offers hunger relief to help you through a difficult period.
  • Development and Counselling: Counsellors can meet with you one-on-one to discuss a wide variety of personal concerns or crisis situations.
  • Study Skills and Transition Support: Could your study skills use some work? Learn new strategies and tools including specialized support for writing, math and English.
  • Academic Accommodation Support: Accommodations are available for temporary or permanent disabilities including assistive technology, academic arrangements, financial assistance and more.
  • Student Wellbeing: If you’re looking for help making healthy lifestyle changes, check out the many programs, resources and services to help you thrive.
  • Subsidized Electricity: If you are from a low-income household, you may be eligible for additional financial assistance through one or more publicly-funded programs, such as the Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP), the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), and the Energy Affordability Program (EAP).
  • Social Assistance (external link) : Programs such as Ontario Works, the Ontario Disability Support Program, Caregiver Support, emergency assistance, and more can help provide you with financial assistance.
  • Canada Learning Bond: The Canada Learning Bond is money that the government adds to a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) for children from low-income families.

If you experience any issues with the AwardSpring platform, please contact the Student Awards and Scholarships Office by email at awards@torontomu.ca. To ensure your email is answered in a timely manner, please make your email subject line "SFA Emergency Bursary Application Issue."