Concordia University Scholarships 2026–2027

Concordia University in Montréal, Canada offers multiple scholarships for international students at the undergraduate, master’s, and PhD levels for the 2026–2027 academic year. Open to students from all nationalities, these awards range from partial tuition coverage to full doctoral fellowships worth up to $14,000 per year. You do not need a separate scholarship application for most entrance awards — admission itself triggers consideration. Deadlines vary by program, but the undergraduate entrance deadline is June 1, 2026.

Did you know that Montréal is consistently ranked among the top 10 best student cities in the world — and Concordia University sits right in the middle of it? If you’ve been looking for a Canadian university that doesn’t just tolerate international students but actively funds them, Concordia may be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.

Concordia University Scholarships 2026–2027 — Quick Facts Table

What Is the Concordia University Scholarship?

Concordia University was founded in 1974 through the merger of two Montréal institutions — Sir George Williams University and Loyola College. Today it is one of Canada’s largest public research universities, with over 46,000 students from more than 150 countries. That diversity is not accidental — it is built into the university’s identity.

The scholarship program at Concordia is not a single award. It’s a family of funding opportunities that covers different student levels, fields, and nationalities. Some are entrance-based (awarded automatically at admission), others are competitive (requiring a separate application), and a few are funded directly by the Canadian government for students from specific regions.

What makes this program stand out for international students is that many awards are automatic — you get considered simply by applying for admission. You don’t need to submit a separate scholarship application for most undergraduate entrance scholarships. The university’s admissions office does the initial screening.

What Does It Cover? (Benefits)

The benefits vary depending on which scholarship you receive. Here’s a breakdown of what’s available across the scholarship portfolio:

• Top Concordian Entrance Scholarship — A one-time award of CAD $10,000 for exceptional entering students at the undergraduate or graduate level.
• Concordia International Tuition Award of Excellence — This is the flagship award for international undergrads. It covers tuition at the Québec domestic rate instead of the international rate — a saving of approximately CAD $39,280 over your degree. This is one of the most valuable partial-funding awards at any Canadian university.
• Concordia Merit Scholarship — Valued at CAD $10,000, awarded based on academic merit.
• Concordia Doctoral Graduate Fellowship — For PhD students, this fellowship is worth CAD $14,000 per year for up to four years. That’s up to $56,000 in total doctoral support.
• Government of Canada Exchange Scholarships (Study in Canada / SEED) — These are short-term awards for students from ASEAN countries, Pacific Island nations, and other partner regions. Values range from CAD $10,200 to $20,400 depending on duration.
• Health Insurance — International students at Concordia are enrolled in a mandatory health insurance plan. Some scholarship packages include coverage; others require you to pay the annual premium (approximately CAD $750/year).

Most scholarships do not cover flights or visa fees directly, but the tuition savings are substantial enough to free up funds for these costs.

Who Can Apply? (Eligibility)

Nationality

All international students are eligible for Concordia’s entrance scholarships — there is no country restriction for the main university awards. Students from Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America are all welcome to apply. For the government-funded SEED scholarship, you must be a citizen of an ASEAN member state or a Pacific Island country.

Academic Record

You need a strong academic background. For undergraduate entrance scholarships, a competitive academic average is expected — typically in the top percentile of your class. For doctoral fellowships, a first-class academic standing in your previous degree is required. There is no single published GPA cutoff, but the stronger your grades, the better your chances.

Enrollment Status

You must be enrolled full-time at Concordia. For undergrads, this means at least 12 credits per semester. Scholarship funding can be affected if you drop below this threshold mid-term, so plan your course load carefully.

Language Proficiency

You must meet Concordia’s English (or French) language requirements. Accepted tests include IELTS, TOEFL, and others. For most programs, a minimum IELTS score of 6.5 overall is required. Check the specific program page for exact requirements.

Admission Requirement

You must first be admitted to a Concordia program. You cannot apply for most entrance scholarships independently — admission is the gateway.

What Can You Study?

Concordia offers programs across five main faculties:

• Faculty of Arts and Science — Humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, mathematics, psychology
• Faculty of Fine Arts — Studio arts, design, film, theatre, music
• Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science — Electrical, mechanical, civil, software, computer engineering, and AI
• John Molson School of Business — Accounting, finance, marketing, management, supply chain
• School of Graduate Studies / School of Health — Research-based masters and PhDs across all disciplines

Degree programs are available at the Bachelor’s (3–4 years), Master’s (1–2 years), and PhD (4–5 years) levels. Diploma and certificate programs also exist but are not usually covered by the main scholarship categories.

How to Apply — Step by Step

1. Research your program first. Go to concordia.ca and browse programs under your faculty of interest. Each program has specific admission requirements — read them carefully before anything else.
2. Apply for admission online. Submit your application through Concordia’s online portal at admissions.concordia.ca. Pay the application fee (approximately CAD $100 for international applicants).
3. Upload all required documents at the time of application. Missing documents delay your admission decision, which in turn delays scholarship consideration.
4. Do not submit a separate scholarship application for entrance awards. For most undergraduate and graduate entrance scholarships, the admissions office automatically reviews your file. You will be notified of any award in your admission letter or shortly after.
5. Check if your target scholarship requires a separate application. Some awards — particularly the government-funded ones like SEED — do require you to submit a scholarship-specific form directly to Concordia International. Deadlines for these are earlier than admission deadlines.
6. Monitor your application portal. Once admitted, track your status through the student portal. Scholarship decisions and interview invitations (for competitive awards) come through this system.
7. Accept your offer before the deadline. If you receive a scholarship, you typically need to confirm your enrollment by a set date or the award is forfeited.

Required Documents

• Academic Transcripts — Include official, translated copies from every institution you’ve attended. Unofficial transcripts are accepted for initial review; official copies are required before enrollment.
• Proof of Language Proficiency — Submit your IELTS, TOEFL, or equivalent score. Arrange the test early — it can take 2–3 weeks to receive results.
• Letters of Recommendation — Usually 2 required, especially for graduate programs. Choose referees who know your academic work well, not just your character.
• Statement of Purpose / Motivation Letter — For graduate applicants, this is often the deciding factor. Be specific about your research interests and why Concordia specifically.
• CV / Résumé — For graduate and some competitive undergraduate scholarships. Keep it to 2 pages and focus on academic and research experience.
• Portfolio — Required for Fine Arts and Architecture applicants. Follow the faculty’s exact format guidelines.
• Passport Copy — A clear scan of your photo page.
• Proof of Admission (for external/government scholarships) — If applying to the SEED or Study in Canada scholarship, you need your admission confirmation before applying.

Application Deadlines

For graduate programs, the earlier you apply, the better. Many departments have rolling admissions and funding pools that dry up once enough students are admitted.

Tips to Write a Winning Application

1. Tailor your statement of purpose to Concordia specifically. Mention a faculty member whose research interests you, a specific lab or research group, or a Concordia initiative that connects to your goals. Generic letters are easy to spot and easy to reject.
2. Address the “why Canada” question directly. Many international applicants focus on the university but skip the country context. Explain why studying in Montréal — a bilingual, research-focused city — serves your academic and career goals.
3. Quantify your academic achievements. Instead of saying “I performed well in my degree,” say “I graduated in the top 5% of my class of 300 students.” Numbers stand out in a way that adjectives don’t.
4. Get recommendation letters that speak to your research or analytical skills. For graduate scholarships especially, committees want to know you can do the work — not just that you’re a good person. Ask your referees to include specific examples of projects or papers you contributed to.
5. Apply as early as possible. Concordia’s scholarship review runs alongside the admissions process. An early application means your file gets more attention before decisions become a backlog. Late applicants often miss funding pools that were still available in January or February.
6. For doctoral applicants — contact a supervisor before applying. In Canada’s graduate funding system, having a faculty supervisor who agrees to take you on is often a prerequisite for competitive funding. Email potential supervisors before you submit your application.
7. Proofread everything twice. This is not a metaphor. Have someone else read your statement of purpose. Grammatical errors and vague language in a scholarship application signal poor communication skills — not the impression you want to leave.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Applying for admission without checking the scholarship requirements separately. Not all Concordia scholarships are automatic. If you only apply for admission and assume you’ll be considered for everything, you may miss competitive awards that required a separate form.
• Submitting a generic personal statement. One of the most common reasons strong academic candidates don’t receive competitive awards is because their essay could have been written for any university on the planet. Specificity wins.
• Missing the Concordia International Tuition Award of Excellence fine print. This award covers tuition at the Québec rate, but you still pay fees and living costs. Some students receive this award and then realize Montréal’s cost of living is higher than expected. Budget accordingly — living costs typically run CAD $1,200–$1,700/month.
• Not securing admission first. A few applicants have tried to apply for the government-funded scholarships (SEED, Study in Canada) before receiving a Concordia admission offer. Most of these programs require a Concordia nomination — you can’t self-nominate. Get admitted first.
• Underestimating French language as an advantage. Concordia operates primarily in English, but Montréal is a French-speaking city. Students who demonstrate even basic French proficiency often have an edge in scholarship interviews and in networking post-graduation. If you have any French, mention it.

ScholarPositions Insight

Competitiveness Rating: 3 / 5 — Moderate to Competitive

Concordia’s entrance scholarships are more accessible than the marquee awards you’d find at the University of Toronto or McGill. The Tuition Award of Excellence, in particular, is achievable for students with a strong academic record. That said, the doctoral fellowships and named competitive awards are genuinely selective.

Acceptance Reality

Concordia receives thousands of international applications each year across all levels. The university does not publish acceptance rates for individual scholarships. Based on the structure of the program: entrance scholarships go to a meaningful percentage of admitted students (possibly 10–20% of international admits at the undergraduate level), while the doctoral fellowship pool is smaller and tied directly to departmental funding capacity.

Best Candidate Profile

The students who win Concordia’s most competitive awards typically have a first-class academic average, a clear research focus (especially at the graduate level), and can articulate why Montréal — not just Canada — fits their goals. They’ve often already engaged with their potential field through research projects, publications, or relevant professional experience. They’re not just high-GPA students; they’re students with a story that connects their past work to a future purpose.

Honest Advice from the ScholarPositions Editorial Team

Here’s something most scholarship guides won’t tell you: Concordia’s scholarship landscape rewards students who treat the admissions process as a relationship-building exercise, not a one-click form submission. At the graduate level especially, the strongest funding packages often go to students who reached out to potential supervisors early, built a rapport, and arrived at the application stage with an informal yes from a faculty member. This doesn’t mean gaming the system — it means understanding how Canadian graduate admissions actually works. The official website will tell you to “apply online.” What it won’t say is that the email you send to a professor in November can determine your February scholarship offer.

Comparison: Concordia vs. University of Toronto International Scholarships

Both universities fund international students, but they target different profiles. The University of Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson Scholarship is one of the most prestigious undergraduate awards in Canada — fully funded and extremely selective (roughly 37 spots globally). Concordia’s approach is broader: more students receive partial support, the application process is more accessible, and the research environment at Concordia is particularly strong in areas like engineering, fine arts, and sustainability. If you’re a research-focused graduate student, Concordia offers a more realistic path to meaningful funding than trying to crack Toronto’s most competitive programs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Concordia University Scholarship fully funded? Most of Concordia’s scholarships are partial. The most notable exception for international undergrads is the Tuition Award of Excellence, which covers approximately CAD $39,280 in tuition savings over a degree — significant, but not a full scholarship when you factor in living expenses. PhD fellowships offer the most comprehensive support at $14,000/year.

Do I need to apply separately for the scholarship? For most entrance scholarships, no. Your admission application automatically puts you in consideration. However, some competitive and government-funded scholarships require a separate application — always check the individual scholarship page.

Can students from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East apply? Yes. Concordia’s university-funded scholarships are open to international students from all countries. There are no nationality restrictions on the main entrance awards. The SEED scholarship is specifically for ASEAN and Pacific Island nations.

Is it hard to get a Concordia scholarship? It depends on which scholarship. The entrance scholarships are competitive but not out of reach for students with strong academics. The doctoral fellowships are more selective and tied to departmental funding. The Tuition Award of Excellence is genuinely valuable and awarded to a subset of admitted international students.

What if I get rejected for a scholarship? You can still enroll at Concordia and apply for in-course awards after your first semester. Concordia also has external scholarship databases and bursary programs that students can access once enrolled. Getting rejected from an entrance award is not the end of the road.

Can I work while on a scholarship at Concordia? Yes. International students in Canada on a valid study permit can work up to 24 hours per week off-campus during the academic term (a 2024 policy change from the previous 20-hour limit). On-campus work has no hour restriction. This is a meaningful financial supplement alongside any scholarship you receive.

What language do I need to study at Concordia? Concordia is an English-language university, so English proficiency is required. You do not need French to study or live comfortably, though basic French helps in day-to-day life in Montréal.

When will I find out if I received a scholarship? For entrance awards, you typically receive notification at the time of your admission offer or within a few weeks of it. For competitive awards with separate applications, timelines vary — check each scholarship’s specific page.

Official Source

For undergraduate funding specifically: https://www.concordia.ca/students/financial/scholarships-funding.html

For graduate and doctoral funding: https://www.concordia.ca/gradstudies/funding.html

✍️ Written by

Ayan Adeel

Ayan Adeel is an educational content researcher and scholarship editor with several years of experience tracking and verifying fully funded opportunities from governments, universities, and international organizations worldwide. He founded ScholarPositions after witnessing firsthand how thousands of legitimate scholarships go unclaimed every year simply because deserving students never heard about…

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