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External Awards

External awards describes scholarships, bursaries, and awards that are not administered by BCIT. Students interested in applying are responsible for inquiring and applying through the appropriate agency as indicated in the award description. In most cases, the awards are available to students from other institutions. Criteria and application procedures vary greatly and in some cases students must have a connection or affiliation to the donor organization.

The BCIT Student Financial Aid and Awards office publicizes external award information for general reference only. The information was current at the date of publication. Please note that government and other programs are subject to changes and modifications at any time.

External awards

BC Scholarship Society

The BC Scholarship Society provides scholarships and financial awards to help British Columbia post-secondary students achieve their educational goals. These include:

Beedie Luminaries Scholarship Program

The Beedie Luminaries Scholarship Program
Scholarships for current grade 12 students who meet the following criteria:

  • Canadian citizen or permanent resident for at least 3 years;
  • Full-time resident of British Columbia;
  • Enrolled in the final year of high school (grade 12), entering into full-time studies in a first bachelor degree, first diploma, or first trades program at one of the eligible public post-secondary institutions; program must be of a minimum of 2 years in duration and must commence in September;
  • Ineligible for the BC Tuition Waiver Program (for former youth in care);
  • Have a minimum cumulative average of 75% (or equivalent) for grade 11 and available grade 12 marks based on Universities Canada’s Calculation of Average Policy;
  • Have faced financial adversity.

Value: $10,000 CAD per year for a bachelor degree program, tenable for up to 4 years of funding, or $7,500 CAD per year for a diploma or a trades program, tenable for up to 2 years of funding.

More info

Horatio Alger Scholarships

The Horatio Alger Vocational & Technical Education Scholarship Program
To be eligible for the Horatio Alger Vocational and Technical Education Scholarship Program, an applicant must:

  • Have completed high school (or earned high school equivalency credential) by July 1
  • Be enrolled in a 3 years or less career or technical degree/certificate program at a not-for-profit institution in Fall 2023 that will lead to employment
  • Demonstrated critical financial need ($65,000 or less annual net income per family is required)
  • Demonstrated perseverance in overcoming adversity
  • Be under the age of 35
  • Be a Canadian citizen

Value: 55 Scholarships are available in British Columbia – up to $3400 each

Application Deadline: August 15 (The deadline has been EXTENDED for applicants in British Columbia ONLY.)

To learn more and apply

CICan Paul and Gerri Charette Bursary Program

The Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) Paul and Gerri Charette Bursary provides financial support to first time college and institute students that demonstrate financial need and face challenges or barriers to participating in and completing post-secondary education. This includes 20 bursaries of $5,000 each.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Must be enrolled full time in the first or second year of a multi-year program at a CICan member institution. This must be the first time that the student will be attending a post secondary institution.
  • Must be a Canadian citizen, landed immigrant, permanent resident, or a protected person.
  • Must provide a short essay describing your financial situation and community involvement (page 3).
  • Must demonstrate financial need by completing a budget (page 6).
  • Must provide THREE letters of support from people who know you. This can include a past or current employer, a teacher, a college administrator, a member of a community or campus organization, someone involved in student services or a faculty member. Please use reference form provided and submit with your application form .

Value: up to $5,000 each.

Note: 2023 Application is now closed.

Global Skills Opportunity Award

The Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) is funded by the Government of Canada’s Outbound Student Mobility Pilot Program through Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in partnership with British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), and is administered jointly by Universities Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan).  While open to all Canadian or Permanent Residents, the program targets underrepresented students who identify as Indigenous, low-income students, and students with disabilities to develop the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly globalized and changing economy.

To assist BCIT students with the cost of study or work integrated learning abroad, selected participants may be eligible to receive up to CAD $10,000.00 per student. The amount of funding you qualify for is determined based on financial need, the length of your international experience, and destination costs.

Eligibility Requirements

The student must be:

  • 18 years of age or older
  • Citizen or permanent resident of Canada.  International students are not eligible for funding.
  • Enrolled as a full time or part time student who have completed at least six (6) credits at BCIT, with no FAIL, Unsatisfactory, or Incomplete grade at the time of study or work integrated learning abroad experience.
  • Enrolled in a BCIT credential program that is eligible for StudentAid BC (credential programs lead to a certificate, diploma or degree).
  • Must complete the Global Skills Opportunity Award application form.
  • Applications will be accepted and reviewed by the selection committee on an on-going basis.

Selection Criteria

The selection committee will consider the following criteria in their decision process.

  • While available to all BCIT students, special considerations will be given to low-income students, Indigenous students, and students with disabilities.
  • The benefit gained between the proposed international experience to the student’s academic, future career and professional goals.
  • A clear link between the proposed international experience to strengthening the relevant skills with the integration of digital learning and work strategies.
  • Accepted into an international experience program outside of Canada
  • Strong interest and commitment to fully participate in a study abroad and work integrated learning abroad experience

For more information on the award or the application process, please visit Global Skills Mobility Award or BCIT International.

General awards

General Awards [PDF] include external scholarships, bursaries, and awards that are open to the general full-time student body.

Awards for Indigenous students

Visit Indigenous Initiatives for information on external scholarships, bursaries, and awards that are specifically for Indigenous Peoples who are full-time students.

Students with disabilities

Visit Accessibility Services for information on external scholarships, bursaries, and awards that are specifically for students with disabilities.

Global Talent Loans Program

The Global Talent Loans Program is available to Internationally Trained Professionals (ITPs) who are Permanent Residents, Canadian Citizens, or Refugees in BC. This low-interest loan program is funded by the federal government to support ITPs with skills upgrading, retraining, credential recognition costs, and employment support. ISS of BC welcomes all ITPs to contact them.

Loan amounts can range from $1,000 – $15,000.

More info

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