Bursaries & Work Study

Western provides bursary assistance to students, based on financial need, to assist with the costs of their academic year.

Eligibility

Eligible students must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, be registered at main campus in a full or part time program and demonstrate a genuine financial need.

How to Apply

The Bursary, Work Study & Need Based Award programs are all based on financial need, and are all applied for via the online Financial Assistance Profile Application.  The application is available through the Student Center . Once logged into your Student Center, click Student Financials > Financial Aid and Funding > Apply for Financial Assistance > Click here to Apply for Financial Assistance to access the application, or go to bursaries.uwo.ca.

Application Deadlines

The Financial Assistance Profile application for bursary consideration will be available until October 31. Students who do not apply by October 31 will have the opportunity to apply for bursary funding again in the second term from the first day of classes in January to February 28.

Note: If you wish to be considered for Need Based Awards please click here to find out more information on these deadlines. 

Financial assistance is also available during the summer term for registered students. The application for summer bursary and work-study funding is available through the Student Center. To be eligible to apply students must be registered in a minimum half credit at Western during the Summer term and must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.

 Application Deadline: 

July 25, 2024 

To use the Admission Bursary application to apply for Admission Bursaries and Need Based Awards, you must be applying to Western for September 2024 admission in either the first year of an Undergraduate program (programs in Arts and Humanities, Engineering, Health Science (Kinesiology, Health Science, Nursing), Media and Communications Studies (MCS), Music, Science (Science, Medical Science), Social Science (Social Science and MOS) or the first year of one of the following second entry Professional Programs: Medicine, Law, Dentistry or Business (HBA1)). You must also be a Canadian Citizen or permanent resident and demonstrate genuine financial need for the Fall/Winter 2024-25 academic year.

Note: Students who are applying to Western as a part-time student, or who have previously attended a post-secondary institution (and are not applying to a Professional Program listed above), will have the opportunity to apply for bursary assistance on the Fall/Winter Financial Assistance application. The Fall/Winter Financial Assistance application will be available through the Student Center by the end of August.

Application

The 2024-25 Admission bursary application deadline has passed. If you did not submit an Admission Bursary Application you can still apply for bursary consideration using the Financial Assistance Application that will become available at the end of August through the Student Center.

Out of Province Guarantee

We will guarantee you a minimum $3,000 admission bursary for September 2024 if you are admitted directly from a secondary school in a Canadian province outside of Ontario, are registered in the first year of an undergraduate program on Main Campus, and are receiving Canadian federal or provincial student loan assistance. Note:  For applicants from Quebec, a minimum of $4,000 is guaranteed.

Financial Assistance for First year First Generation Students

Western will offer minimum financial assistance of $2,000 to First Generation applicants admitted in September 2024 directly from high school to any first-year undergraduate program at the Western Main Campus and are receiving a government student loan. To access these funds, submit an admission bursary application and self-identify as a First generation student in the bursary application. 

To be considered as First generation applicant, you must be a student whose parents have not attended any post-secondary studies. This includes full or part-time studies, in or outside of Canada, at any time, in any program. Post-secondary studies will include college and university.

This bursary is available to senior citizens who are registered as part-time students at main campus, and is awarded on the basis of financial need. The value of the bursary is a maximum of $1200 for the fiscal year (May 2024 to April 2025) for undergraduate and graduate students.

Applications must be submitted prior to the start of classes for the session in which the bursary is required. The value of the bursary will be applied directly to outstanding tuition (only) fees.

For more information, please refer to the guidelines/eligibility requirements outlined on the application.

Senior Citizen Bursary Application - Fall/Winter 2024-2025

The Government of Ontario allocates funding for first generation students through the ministry's Access and Opportunities Strategy.  This bursary opportunity provides direct support to students with financial need who are the first in their families to attend a post-secondary institution.  The Bursary ranges from $1000-3500 dollars, and students with the highest financial need will be selected from the eligible submissions through the Financial Assistance Profile Application (FAP).

To be eligible to receive a First Generation Bursary you must satisfy the following:

• You must be a student whose parents have not enrolled in any post-secondary studies. This includes full or part-time studies, in or outside of Canada, at any time, in any program.
  Post-secondary studies will include college and university.

• You must meet Ontario residence requirements. For more information visit the OSAP website.

• You must be enrolled in the current academic year at main campus.
• You must have applied on the Financial Assistance Profile ("FAP") or Admission Bursary Application and have been approved for bursary/need based awards or work study.

The deadline to apply for consideration for the First Generation Bursary is October 31st.

Special Financial Assistance are available specifically for International Students.  Click here for information on the programs available.

Special Financial Assistance is available for Graduate Students. Click here for information on the programs available.

If you are struggling to buy groceries, please do not hesitate to ask for assistance. Food vouchers are available through the Student Financial Aid office to assist with purchasing groceries. For information on how to obtain a Student Financial Aid appointment please visit the Financial Counselling page.  

Eligibility

To be eligible for Work Study, you must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, and demonstrate a genuine financial need.  If you are applying in Fall/Winter, you must be registered at main campus in a minimum 60% course load (40% course load for students with disabilities).

Work Study is generally not offered to first year students, as their financial need is met through the Admission Bursary process, and Work Study assistance would decrease the amount of Admission Bursary assistance.  For special circumstances for international or graduate students, please see below.

Note: Students registered at an affiliated college are not eligible for the main campus Work Study program during the Fall/Winter academic term.  If you are attending at an affiliate, please check with your college for information regarding available Work Study.

How to Apply

The Bursary, Work Study & Need Based Award programs are all based on financial need, and are all applied for via the Financial Assistance Profile Application. The application is available through the Student Center . Once logged into your Student Center, click Student Financials > Financial Aid and Funding > Apply for Financial Assistance > Click here to Apply for Financial Assistance to access the application.

Application Deadlines

The deadline to apply for work study for the Fall/Winter term is February 28.

Financial assistance is also available during the summer term for registered students. The application for summer bursary and Work Study funding is available through the Student Center. To be eligible to apply students must be registered in a minimum half credit at Western during the summer term and must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident. 

Application Deadline

July 25, 2024 

Special Financial Assistance, including International Student Work Study, are available specifically for International Students.  Click here for information on the programs available.

The Graduate Work Study Program at Western is funded through tuition set-aside funds and administered through the Office of the Registrar.  There are a limited number of spaces available in this program in each term and graduate students must apply and be approved for Work Study in each term.  Applications are assessed in a similar fashion to that of the Undergraduate program; however, decisions are based on the highest demonstrated financial need among the pool of applicants. Approval in one term does not guarantee approval in future terms and any unused hours in one term cannot be carried over to a future term. Graduate terms run from September-December, January- April and May-August.

Minimum Eligibility:

To be eligible for Graduate Work Study, you must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, registered in a full-time graduate program at Western, and demonstrate a genuine financial need.

How to Apply: Log into your Student Center. Click Student Financials > Financial Aid and Funding > Apply for Financial Assistance > Click here to Apply for Financial Assistance to access the application. 

Deadline - September 15, 2024 (Fall Term).

Special Financial Assistance is available for Graduate Students. Click here for information on the programs available.

If you are a Work Study Supervisor looking for information, please go to the workstudy tab on Faculty/Staff page.