15 Scholarships in Canada for Indian Students: 2027 Amounts and Deadlines

  • Last Updated on: October 12, 2026 by
  • Mavya Kunapareddy
Scholarships in Canada for Indian Students
Scholarships in Canada for Indian Students

The biggest scholarships in Canada for Indian students starting in September 2027 are the University of Toronto’s (U of T) Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship and York University’s President’s International Scholarship of Excellence (PISE). PISE pays CAD 180,000 over four years. The Pearson pays tuition, books, fees and full residence for four years, but only 37 students win it each year. Alberta’s President’s International Distinction pays up to CAD 120,000, and the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) International Major Entrance Scholarship pays CAD 10,000-25,000 a year. Below are 15 awards that say what they pay for 2027 entry, each with its total value, how you get it and its deadline. One of them, Ontario’s master’s award, is open to you only once you hold a study permit.

Written by
Mavya Kunapareddy
Country Head-Canada
Canada head with 6 years of experience and guided over 600 students
89% Visa Success Rate
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • 15 awards say what they pay: 13 bachelor’s, 2 master’s (one usually open only from year 2).
  • York’s PISE is the biggest fixed-sum bachelor’s award: CAD 180,000 (≈ ₹1.22 crore) over four years.
  • Pearson nominations close 9 Oct 2026 (documents by 6 Nov); UBC International Scholars, 15 Nov 2026.
  • Canada’s federal master’s award (CAD 27,000, ≈ ₹18.24 lakh) is closed to Indians; Vanier and Trillium take no new students.
  • Canada’s federal PhD scholarship and Trudeau open only after you enrol in a Canadian PhD.
  • A tuition-only award doesn’t reduce the living funds your study permit (student visa) needs.
  • If you win a CAD 10,000 (≈ ₹6.75 lakh) award, Year 1 at average tuition needs about CAD 55,510 (≈ ₹37.5 lakh).
Table of Contents
Undergraduate scholarships in Canada for Indian students, September 2027 entry Scroll here ↓ Master’s and PhD scholarships open to Indian international students Scroll here ↓ What a Canada scholarship does not cover: the funding gap and the proof of funds for your study permit Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓
Class 12, Sept 2027 bachelor's
Apply early, in date order
 
Pearson: school nomination by 9 Oct 2026, scholarship application and documents by 6 Nov 2026. Then UBC International Scholars by 15 Nov 2026, Alberta President’s by 10 Jan 2027, UBC general by 15 Jan 2027, York PISE by 27 Jan 2027 and Dalhousie by 15 Feb 2027. Our guide to study in Canada after 12th covers the admission steps.
Master's by coursework
Skip the federal award, ask the department
 
Canada’s federal master’s award is only for citizens and permanent residents, so skip it. Applying to Manitoba? Ask your department to put you forward for its Graduate Fellowship. Ontario’s Graduate Scholarship needs a study permit first, so it’s usually a second-year award.
Research master's or PhD (with a supervisor)
Get a funded offer first
 
First find a professor to supervise you and get an admission offer that comes with funding. Canada’s federal PhD scholarship and the Trudeau scholarship open only once you’re enrolled in a Canadian PhD.
For parents: what Year 1 costs
Plan for about CAD 55,510
 
If you win a CAD 10,000 (≈ ₹6.75 lakh) award, average tuition plus the living funds Canada’s immigration department asks you to show still leaves about CAD 55,510 (≈ ₹37.5 lakh) to pay.

Undergraduate scholarships in Canada for Indian students, September 2027 entry

Thirteen bachelor’s scholarships in Canada say what they pay and are open to Indian students starting in September 2027. Seven need no separate form: you’re considered when you apply. Waterloo’s International Student Entrance Scholarship gives CAD 10,000 (≈ ₹6.75 lakh) to most full-time international students it admits to first year.

ScholarshipValue (CAD, ≈ INR)Total value (CAD, ≈ INR)How you get itSept 2027 deadline or status
U of T Lester B. PearsonTuition, books, fees and residence for 4 years4 years of those costsSchool nominationNomination by 9 Oct 2026; apply by 16 Oct 2026; scholarship application and documents by 6 Nov 2026
UBC International Major Entrance (IMES)10,000-25,000 a year for up to 4 years (≈ ₹6.75-16.89 lakh a year)40,000-100,000 (≈ ₹27.02-67.54 lakh)AutomaticApply to UBC by 15 Jan 2027
Waterloo International Student Entrance10,000 for year 1 (≈ ₹6.75 lakh)10,000 (≈ ₹6.75 lakh)Automatic, most programmesWith your admission application
Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics International Awards: India20,000-40,000 (≈ ₹13.51-27.02 lakh)20,000-40,000 (≈ ₹13.51-27.02 lakh)AutomaticWith your admission application
Calgary International Entrance20,000, renewable for years 2-4 (≈ ₹13.51 lakh a year)Up to 80,000 if renewed each year (≈ ₹54.03 lakh)Separate applicationDeadline not published
York automatic entrance5,000-15,000 in year 1 (≈ ₹3.38-10.13 lakh)5,000-37,500 (≈ ₹3.38-25.33 lakh)AutomaticWith your admission application
York President’s International Scholarship of Excellence (PISE)45,000 a year for 4 years (≈ ₹30.39 lakh a year)180,000 (≈ ₹1.22 crore)Separate application27 Jan 2027
Alberta International AdmissionUp to 10,000 (≈ ₹6.75 lakh)Up to 10,000 (≈ ₹6.75 lakh)AutomaticWith your admission application
Alberta President’s International DistinctionUp to 120,000 paid over 4 years (≈ ₹81.05 lakh); 25 awards a yearUp to 120,000 (≈ ₹81.05 lakh)Separate application10 Jan 2027
McGill Major Entrance3,000-10,000 a year for up to 4 years (≈ ₹2.03-6.75 lakh a year)12,000-40,000 (≈ ₹8.10-27.02 lakh)Separate applicationApplication opens 1 Oct
Carleton renewable entrance (2027-28)1,000-3,000 a year for 4 years (≈ ₹0.68-2.03 lakh a year)4,000-12,000 (≈ ₹2.70-8.10 lakh)AutomaticWith your admission application
Carleton President’s Welcome Award2,000-5,000 in year 1 (≈ ₹1.35-3.38 lakh)2,000-5,000 (≈ ₹1.35-3.38 lakh)AutomaticWith your admission application
Dalhousie CorpFinance (Kevin Andrews) Indian Scholarship15,000 (≈ ₹10.13 lakh)15,000 (≈ ₹10.13 lakh)Separate applicationDalhousie’s general scholarship form, by 15 Feb 2027

UBC’s International Scholars Program also needs a school nomination, by 15 November 2026, but doesn’t say what it pays. It’s for students with all As (or equivalent) and proven leadership whose families can’t pay for UBC without major help. UBC checks your family’s income, expenses and assets to work out the support you need to live and study there. If you apply, UBC won’t consider you for its merit-based awards, such as IMES.

Automatic means no separate application, but the award isn’t promised. UBC picks winners from mid-February to the end of April. Our study in Canada guide covers admissions.

Work through the universities in Canada on your list in this order:

  1. Automatic awards first. UBC, Waterloo, York, Alberta and Carleton consider you when you apply, so apply early.
  2. One or two application-based prizes. York’s PISE, Alberta’s President’s award and Dalhousie need separate forms, due in January and February. PISE can’t be combined with York’s automatic awards.
  3. Nomination awards only if your school is ready. Pearson and UBC International Scholars need your school to act months ahead.

If your school hasn’t nominated you for Pearson by 9 October 2026 and you’re in Class 12, focus on the automatic awards; Class 11 students should plan for next year’s round. Apply to Calgary if you qualify, but it gives only 2 awards a year. McGill’s CAD 12,000-a-year tier is for Canadian citizens and permanent residents only.

Two of these awards are India-only: Waterloo’s Mathematics awards go to up to 15 students from India applying to select Mathematics programmes, and Dalhousie’s is for Indian students entering its Bachelor of Commerce.

Master’s and PhD scholarships open to Indian international students

As of October 2026, the University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship is open to students from any country. It pays master’s students CAD 20,000 (≈ ₹13.51 lakh) a year for 12 or 24 months. Your department, not you, puts your name forward, so ask the department about it when you apply.

Master’s scholarships

Master’s scholarshipValue (CAD, ≈ INR)Total value (CAD, ≈ INR)How you get it2027 status
University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship (UMGF)20,000 a year for 12 or 24 months (≈ ₹13.51 lakh a year)Up to 40,000 (≈ ₹27.02 lakh)Department nominationThrough your department
Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)5,000 a term (≈ ₹3.38 lakh)10,000 or 15,000 for one year (≈ ₹6.75 or 10.13 lakh)Separate applicationUsually from year 2: needs a valid study permit by your department’s deadline

For a taught master’s, ask whether the department offers teaching-assistant work or a fellowship like Manitoba’s. Our master’s in Canada guide covers admission.

PhD scholarships

Applying for a PhD in Quebec? Ask the university about the Québec-India doctoral scholarship (PBEEE), for students starting or continuing a PhD there. In the 2026-2027 round it paid CAD 25,000 a year, and winners also skip the higher tuition fees foreign students pay. Each university can put forward only one candidate a year for it. For 2027-28, the university must send its pick to Quebec’s research funder (FRQ) by 27 October 2026, and its own deadline for you comes earlier, so ask now (see the PBEEE 2027-28 preselection instructions).

Open only once you are enrolled in a Canadian PhD:

Not open to you for 2027

The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute’s travel grant isn’t degree funding: in 2025-26 it paid CAD 1,500 toward airfare for faculty, post-doctoral researchers and doctoral students already at its member institutions to attend conferences.

What a Canada scholarship does not cover: the funding gap and the proof of funds for your study permit

In 2026/2027, average international undergraduate tuition in Canada is CAD 42,062 (≈ ₹28.41 lakh) a year. Graduate tuition averages CAD 24,693 (≈ ₹16.68 lakh). A CAD 10,000 (≈ ₹6.75 lakh) entrance award therefore covers less than a quarter of undergraduate tuition, before any living costs.

Parents, borrow only for what the award leaves unpaid; our cost of studying in Canada guide lists the other costs for the year. From 1 September 2026, IRCC (Canada’s immigration department) expects a student applying alone for a study permit outside Quebec to show CAD 23,448 for living costs. A scholarship letter counts toward that proof of funds, but if the award covers only tuition, you still have to show money for living costs and travel.

Year 1 itemCAD≈ INR
Average international undergraduate tuition, 2026/202742,062₹28,40,867
Living costs for the year (IRCC figure, one student outside Quebec)23,448₹15,83,678
Less a CAD 10,000 entrance award, if you win one-10,000-₹6,75,400
Year 1 still to fund55,510₹37,49,145 (≈ ₹37.5 lakh)

Flights and books come on top. Of all the scholarships in Canada for Indian students above, only the Pearson and York’s PISE pay for most of a degree; every other award leaves most of the four-year bill to your family. Plan the loan before award letters arrive in spring.

IRCC accepts a GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate, a deposit with a Canadian financial institution) or proof of an education loan from a bank as proof of living funds. Our Canada student visa guide covers the documents.

From our counselling desk: we'd put the automatic awards at the top of every shortlist, because they reward the one thing you fully control, a complete application filed early. A nomination award depends on your school's office acting months ahead, so raise it with your principal at the start of Class 12, not after board exams.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, but only a few come close. For a bachelor’s, U of T’s Pearson pays tuition, books, fees and residence for four years. For a McGill master’s or professional degree, McCall MacBain pays tuition and fees plus a CAD 2,300 (≈ ₹1.55 lakh) monthly living allowance during term; its next open round is for 2028 entry.

There’s no national cut-off. At Carleton, renewable entrance awards start automatically at an 85% admission average, and 95-100% earns CAD 3,000 (≈ ₹2.03 lakh) a year. Calgary renews only while your grade point average stays at 2.60 or higher over at least 24 units of fall and winter courses. Board-wise entry marks are in our Canada requirements guide.

Only if your school nominates you by 9 October 2026, you apply to U of T by 16 October 2026, and you submit the scholarship application and documents by 6 November 2026. Each school can nominate one student a year. You must be in Class 12 in 2026/2027 or have graduated no earlier than June 2026.

No, unless it covers living costs. IRCC accepts a scholarship letter as proof of funds, but if the award covers only tuition, you still have to show money for living costs and travel. A CAD 10,000 (≈ ₹6.75 lakh) tuition award lowers what you pay the university, not the living funds you must show.

Mostly not when you first apply. The federal master’s award is only for Canadian citizens, permanent residents and Protected Persons (recognised refugees). The federal doctoral award sets aside up to 15% of awards for international students, but only those already registered in a Canadian PhD. The Ontario Graduate Scholarship has a set number of places for study permit holders.

Ardent Overseas helps Indian students apply to Canada from offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati. Our advisers match scholarship shortlists to your Class 12 or degree marks and check each award’s eligibility for Indian nationals on its official page. We also prepare the study permit file, including the living funds a scholarship does not replace.

Sources

Official sources first, then reputable third-party.

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