This listing is a resource that gives students direct access to bursaries available only through St. Francis Xavier University. The online application forms are available by clicking the Bursary Application link on the right-hand menu.
Entrance Bursaries
Entrance bursaries are available for direct from high school students to apply for beginning in December of their senior high school year, for study beginning the following September at StFX. Please visit Entrance Bursaries for more information and a listing of the awards offered each year.
General and Limited Bursaries
The University has modest bursary programs which have been established to offer financial assistance to students in academic programs who find themselves in unanticipated financial difficulty and unable to meet their obligations. Awards are made to those who meet the qualifications established by the university, and, where applicable, by the individual donors. It is important to understand that applicants for StFX bursaries are expected to have exhausted all other typical student financial resources first, including government student aid if available. Bursaries are not intended to assist students with costs that are unrelated to attending university or to avoid incurring student debt. Financial hardship caused by misuse of private funds will be considered the responsibility of the student.
What to know before applying:
- Students enrolled in degree or diploma programs in the September to April academic and year making satisfactory academic progress are eligible to apply. For bursary purposes, full-time is defined as a minimum of 9 credits per term unless stated otherwise in the bursary description.
- Bursaries fall into one of two programs: Limited or General. General bursaries require that applicants be part-time or full-time students in a degree or diploma program, making satisfactory academic progress and are in need of financial assistance with student costs. Limited bursaries are available to students who meet these criteria and the particular requirements as stipulated in the terms of each bursary award.
- Applicants complete one limited bursary application and up to two general bursary applications per term that will be used to assess eligibility for all bursaries offered in the fall term or winter term.
- Review the criteria of the limited bursaries available before applying each term. You will be assessed for eligibility based on how well your application demonstrates a match to the criteria, you will not be considered for any bursaries for which your application does not indicate a match.
- Applicants reporting $0 in resources for their studies will not be considered for bursaries. All students are expected to have come to university with a sound financial plan to address the cost of attendance. These programs are meant to assist students with small gaps that may exist in their budgets, they are not meant to be used as a main source of funding for post-secondary study.
- Bursary awards will be applied directly to the recipient's student account. In some circumstances, the recipient may request that some or all of the award be issued to them via cheque to use towards external student costs if your required student account term payment has already been made to the university. This requires the approval of the Financial Aid Officer and may not be granted in all cases.
- Renewable bursaries must be applied for each year, renewals are not automatic. The recipient must demonstrate that they continue to have need and meet the criteria in each subsequent year of study for the renewal to be granted. If a renewal is not granted, it cannot be regained in a future year of study. A student who has lost a renewable bursary may be considered again as a new recipient in a future year as part of a new applicant pool, but will not be given preference as a past holder of the bursary.
- Renewal eligibly does not extend between programs. If, while studying in a diploma or degree program at StFX a bursary is awarded with the potential to be renewed, renewals will only be considered during the completion of that diploma or degree program. Should a recipient graduate and begin studies in a new academic program, they may be considered as a new recipient within a new applicant pool, but will not be given preference as a past holder of a renewable bursary during their previous diploma or degree studies.
- While the Financial Aid Office endeavors to assist all applicants who demonstrate genuine student need, there is limited funding available to award each year and the StFX bursary programs are not guaranteed.
- You are not required to meet with the Financial Aid Office to apply for bursaries.
Note to grade 12 students: Apply to the Limited and General Bursary Programs once you have begun your studies at StFX, you cannot be considered for funding in either of these programs while you are still in high school.
Note to Part-Time Students: Part-time Study Awards are also available through Continuing & Distance Education here. Up to ten awards of $500 will be granted each year to part-time students registered in undergraduate courses. Deadline for application is November 15 & February 15 of each academic year.
Note to Masters Students: Masters students are only eligible for those bursaries in the Limited Bursary program that specify in the description they are open to students at the graduate level.
Please be advised that bursary amounts and criteria can change from year to year. The Financial Aid Office will not be held responsible for any inconvenience this may cause. When the website and the Financial Aid Office have discrepancies as to the amount of award, the Financial Aid Office will take precedence in the decision.
For more information about Limited Bursaries, click here.
For more information about General Bursaries, click here.
