2020-2021  Financial Information  Financial Assistance

Financial Assistance

Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)

Full-Time Students

Students enrolling in at least 60% of a full course load each term (or 40% if you are a student with a disability) who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, who have been residents in Ontario for one year prior to beginning their academic program and who satisfy the admission requirements of a Canadian university or an eligible post-secondary institution in Ontario, may apply for financial assistance under this program.

Students qualify for assistance from OSAP on the basis of an established financial need, and funds are provided to supplement students’ own financial resources and those of their immediate families.

To facilitate early processing, prospective students are strongly advised to apply in May for the following academic year.

Students wishing to use OSAP funding to pay for tuition (and residence, if applicable) must complete the online OSAP application AND submit the required supporting documentation to the Student Awards and Financial Aid Office by August 1 to ensure that funding is issued in time for the fee deadline. If an application for assistance is made after this date, funds may not be available in time for the payment of fees by the deadline. In this circumstance, students may be required to make their first payment from their own resources. Please note that the final deadline to apply for OSAP is 60 days before the end of the study period.

OSAP applicants are considered automatically for ALL possible grant funding as part of their full time OSAP application and may choose to receive only the grant portion of their funding by selecting the appropriate box within the application.  

Additional information and applications can be found on the OSAP website at Ontario.ca/OSAP.  An application is required for each year a student wishes to access funding.

Part-time Students

Part-time students with demonstrated financial need may qualify for limited loan and/or grant funding. To be eligible, you must meet the requirements for a part-time Canada Student Loan and you must have a gross (family) income below specified government guidelines.  Funding is only provided to assist with direct educational costs, not living costs.

Further information and an online application can be found on the OSAP website at Ontario.ca/OSAP.

NUWork Work Study Program

Nipissing University offers a Work Study program that enables students with a demonstrated financial shortfall to work part-time on campus in the fall/winter session. Students must first qualify for the program by submitting an application which may be printed from the forms section of our website: www.nipissingu.ca/studentfinancialservices. Notification of eligibility is sent to Nipissing University email accounts. Once eligibility is confirmed, students may apply to work in a NUWork-eligible position. The majority of work study positions begin in September so students are encouraged to apply early. It is expected that students will have explored all possible funding options, including OSAP, before applying for this program.

International Work Study Program

The International Work-Study program provides part-time, on-campus employment to international students who can prove financial need.

International Work-Study is not intended to provide emergency funding; it is to act as a supplement to a student’s finances and to provide valuable on-campus employment which is allowed via Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC). Additional information may be obtained from the International Studies Office.

Scholarships

Guaranteed Entrance Scholarships for Secondary School Applicants*

Candidates must apply for admission to Nipissing University by May 1 for scholarship consideration and they must graduate from high school in the same calendar year in which they are entering Nipissing University. Applicants for admission are considered automatically for entrance scholarships based on their best six 4U/4M final grades (or final IB score plus bonus points) as of June 30. It is not necessary to apply for these scholarships.

Current high school applicants from other Canadian provinces are also eligible for scholarship consideration.

Applicants for admission to the first year of an undergraduate program who are applying directly from the first year of a CEGEP program qualify for Guaranteed Entrance Scholarships. The scholarship average for CEGEP applicants will be calculated on the final grades of their six best courses (excluding courses in Physical Education).

For scholarship eligibility information for international students, please visit our website.

* Note: Students who have studied at another post-secondary institution, for any duration, are not eligible to be considered for our guaranteed entrance scholarships. 

1- Average based on best six final 4U/4M courses          

2- Based on annual grades on 24 credits in the previous fall/winter term

President's and Carl Sanders scholarships may be held for a maximum total of 4 years of undergraduate studies (not including Consecutive Education). The conditions that apply will be included with the scholarship offer.

Students in the Concurrent program who hold the President’s scholarship can hold it for a total maximum of four years.

Note that students in the BSCN Scholar Practitioner Program or the Bachelor of Commerce or Bachelor of Business Administration College Partnership program do not qualify for the annual Carl Sanders Scholarships.

In addition to our Guaranteed Entrance Scholarships, Nipissing University offers a number of awards for which an application is required. The required application may be printed from the Nipissing University website nipissingu.ca/studentfinancialservices or may be obtained by contacting the Student Awards and Financial Aid Office. The deadline for this application is May 1. You do not need to have an offer of admission to apply for these awards.

Awards Available to Upper Year and Schulich School of Education Students

Detailed and up to date information on the scholarships, bursaries, and awards available to upper year students in Arts and Science, Applied and Professional Studies or the Schulich School of Education may be found at our website:https://www.nipissingu.ca/departments/student-financial-services/student-awards-and-financial-aid. Students are considered automatically for scholarships based solely on academic achievement. For the majority of our bursaries and awards, which take into consideration financial need, extracurricular involvement and other factors, students need to complete the Web Bursary application available online on Web Advisor October 1.  Deadline is November 1. These funds are paid in early January.  

Disclaimer: Nipissing University assumes liability for the payment of scholarships, bursaries and other awards only to the extent that expected gifts from donors or returns from particular investments of endowed funds are realized. The University reserves the right to make whatever changes circumstances may require, including the amendment of monetary value, selection criteria and the cancellation of particular awards. Information on the current status of any of these may be obtained by contacting the Student Awards and Financial Aid Office or by visiting the Nipissing University website at nipissingu.ca/studentfinancialservices. Students who feel that their individual circumstances are not being fairly considered when determining eligibility for the aforementioned scholarships, bursaries and awards have the right to submit a written appeal explaining their circumstances to the Undergraduate Services and Awards Committee.