International English Admission Scholarship 2026 at University of Ottawa
If you’ve already read about the University of Ottawa’s International English Academic Excellence Scholarship, you might assume this is the same programme with a different name — it isn’t. This is the more accessible of the university’s two flagship international awards, with a lower entry bar and a fundamentally different payout structure: rather than a one-time boost in your opening terms, this scholarship is built to follow you across your entire degree, provided you keep meeting its renewal conditions every year.
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At up to $60,000 over four years, it’s genuinely one of the more substantial standing scholarships available to international undergraduates in Canada, and like its counterpart, there’s no separate application to chase — just an admission file worth getting right.
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How This Scholarship Differs From the Excellence Award
The University of Ottawa runs these two international scholarships side by side, and the difference between them comes down to two things: the academic bar and the payout structure. The Academic Excellence Scholarship requires a 90 per cent admission average and pays out $10,000 total across your first two terms, then stops.
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This scholarship — the Admission Scholarship — requires a lower 80 per cent admission average, pays $7,500 per term, and is renewable for up to 12 installments, meaning it can follow you across the full length of a standard four-year degree if you keep meeting its conditions each year. If your admission average clears 90 per cent, you’re not forced to pick one over the other — both can be awarded to the same student simultaneously.
One detail worth understanding clearly, since it trips up a specific group of applicants: Canadian citizens who also hold citizenship in another country are not eligible for this scholarship, even if they’d otherwise qualify academically. This is because dual Canadian citizens already qualify for domestic Canadian tuition rates rather than the international rates this scholarship is designed to offset, so there’s no tuition gap for the award to reduce.
International English Admission Scholarship Summary
| Scholarship Name ⇒ | International English Admission |
| Host Country ⇒ | Canada |
| Study Level ⇒ | Undergraduate |
| Benefits ⇒ | $7,500 per term, up to $60,000 over a four-year degree, renewable annually |
| Funded by ⇒ | University of Ottawa |
| Eligible Countries ⇒ | All Countries |
| Application Deadline ⇒ | No separate scholarship deadline — award consideration is automatic at admission. What matters is your specific program’s admission deadline, which varies by faculty and entry term |
Eligibility Requirements
To be automatically considered for the International English Admission Scholarship, you’ll need to meet the following:
- You must be an international student holding a valid study permit
- You must be newly admitted for the Winter 2026 term or later
- You must be enrolled in an approved English-language undergraduate program, not a French-taught or French immersion stream
- Your program must fall within one of the eligible faculties: Arts, Engineering, Health Sciences, Science, Social Sciences, or the Telfer School of Management
- You must have a minimum admission average of 80 per cent — ten points lower than the threshold for the Academic Excellence Scholarship, making this the more attainable of the university’s two flagship international awards
- You must be enrolled as a full-time student
- Canadian citizens who also hold citizenship in another country are not eligible, since dual citizens already qualify for domestic tuition rates
Because this scholarship uses the same admission-average calculation as the Excellence award, just at a lower threshold, a strong but not exceptional academic record — one that might fall short of 90 per cent — can still open the door to substantial, multi-year tuition support here.
What Renewal Actually Requires
This is the detail that matters most for this specific scholarship, since its entire value depends on keeping it beyond your first year. To renew the award for each subsequent installment, up to a maximum of 12 across your degree, you need to:
- Maintain full-time enrollment in the undergraduate program you were originally admitted into — switching to part-time status, even temporarily, can jeopardize your renewal
- Achieve a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 5.0 or higher, evaluated at the end of each academic year, on the University of Ottawa’s 10-point grading scale
A CGPA of 5.0 on Ottawa’s 10-point scale sits well below top-tier academic performance, making this a genuinely achievable bar for most students admitted with an 80 per cent-plus average in the first place — but it’s not automatic, and a difficult year, a heavy course load, or a rough transition into Canadian academic life can put your renewal at risk if your grades slip below that line. Treat the 5.0 threshold as a floor to stay well clear of, not a target to graze each year.
What the Scholarship Provides
Across a full four-year undergraduate degree, this scholarship offers one of the more substantial standing tuition reductions available to international students at a major Canadian university:
- $7,500 per term, applied directly to reduce your tuition costs each term you remain eligible
- Up to $60,000 total across a standard four-year degree, assuming continuous renewal across all 12 installments
- Automatic award consideration at admission, with no separate scholarship application, essay, or interview required
- An unlimited number of awards, meaning the scholarship isn’t capped at a fixed number of recipients each year — every eligible applicant who meets the 80 percent threshold is considered, rather than competing against a limited pool
Because the scholarship applies directly against tuition rather than being paid out as a cash stipend, its practical effect is an immediate and substantial reduction in what you owe each term, rather than funds you manage yourself.
Required Documents
Since there’s no separate scholarship application, the documents that matter are the ones your undergraduate admission application already requires:
- Your completed University of Ottawa undergraduate admission application
- A valid study permit, confirming your status as an international student
- The academic records used to calculate your admission average, submitted as part of your admission file
As with the Excellence Scholarship, there’s no additional scholarship-specific paperwork — a complete, accurate admission application does double duty for both admission and scholarship consideration.
How to Apply
- Choose your intended undergraduate program, confirming it sits within Arts, Engineering, Health Sciences, Science, Social Sciences, or the Telfer School of Management, and that it’s delivered in English.
- Confirm your program’s specific admission deadline for your target intake term, since these vary by faculty and can fall anywhere from early spring to summer depending on Fall, Winter, or Spring-Summer entry.
- Apply through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) or the University of Ottawa’s international application portal.
- Submit complete, accurate academic records, since your admission average is calculated directly from them and determines your eligibility for both this scholarship and the Excellence award.
- Confirm your valid study permit status and your citizenship details clearly within your application, given the dual-citizenship exclusion specific to this scholarship.
- Wait for your admission decision — if you meet the 80 percent threshold and every other eligibility condition, your scholarship offer will be included automatically in your admission letter.
- Once enrolled, track your CGPA closely each academic year, since staying at or above 5.0 while maintaining full-time enrollment is what keeps the award renewing across your full degree.
Application Deadline
There is no dedicated deadline for the International English Admission Scholarship itself, since it isn’t a separate application — it’s determined automatically by your admission average when you’re admitted. What actually governs your timeline is your specific program’s admission application deadline, which the University of Ottawa sets by faculty and intake term, generally falling in the two-to-four-month range before your term begins. Since this scholarship applies to students admitted from Winter 2026 onward, anyone reading this now should be targeting either Winter 2027 or Fall 2027 entry, and should confirm their exact program deadline directly on the University of Ottawa’s official admissions page well ahead of applying, since competitive programs typically close earlier than general ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from the International English Academic Excellence Scholarship?
This scholarship requires a lower 80 per cent admission average (versus 90 percent for the Excellence award) and pays $7,500 per term, renewable for up to 12 installments across your full degree. The Excellence Scholarship pays a one-time $10,000 total across just your first two terms. Both can be awarded together if you qualify for each.
Do I need to reapply each year to keep this scholarship?
No separate reapplication is needed, but renewal isn’t automatic either — you need to maintain full-time enrollment and achieve a cumulative GPA of 5.0 or higher (on the University of Ottawa’s 10-point scale) by the end of each academic year to keep the award going into the next.
Can Canadian citizens apply for this scholarship?
Only if they hold citizenship in another country as well and pay international tuition — but dual citizens who also hold Canadian citizenship are specifically excluded, since they already qualify for domestic tuition rates rather than the international rates this scholarship offsets.
Is there a limit on how many students can receive this scholarship?
No. The number of awards is unlimited — every eligible applicant who meets the 80 per cent admission average threshold and other criteria is considered, rather than competing for a fixed number of spots.
What happens if my grades drop below the renewal threshold in one year?
If your CGPA falls below 5.0 at the end of an academic year, or you drop below full-time enrollment, you risk losing the scholarship for the following year. Confirm the university’s current policy on reinstatement directly, since specific provisions can vary.
Does this scholarship apply to co-op work terms?
No. The scholarship applies to academic terms within your approved undergraduate program and does not extend to co-op work terms.
Disclaimer: All programme details and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from official sources as of August 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm your specific programme’s exact admission deadline and current renewal policy directly on the University of Ottawa’s official admissions website before applying. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with the University of Ottawa.
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