Student Awards
With over 300 awards, scholarships, and bursaries supported by our generous donors, the Awards program promotes affordable learning with a holistic approach centered on:
- Financial need assistance
- Academic achievement and excellence
- Financial literacy coaching
- Academic tutoring
- Leadership, community involvement, and volunteering
- Supporting women in technology
- Career and personal growth
- Overall student success and experience through their Bow Valley College journey
FULL LIST OF SCHOLARSHIPS AND BURSARIES
Student Award Deadlines
Spring/Summer - applications open May 1st, deadline July 1st
Fall - applications open September 1st, deadline November 1st
Winter - applications open January 1st, deadline March 1st
Student Awards Writing Workshops
Want to know how to improve your student awards applications? Join one of our Writing Coaches from the Academic Success Centre to learn tips and tricks on how to write better personal statements.
Awards Essay Writing Video Recording
Student Awards Information Sessions
Consider attending a live session or watch a presentation recording here.
January 10th 1pm-2pm MS Teams Live session
January 17th 12pm-1pm MS Teams Live session
February 7th 11am-12pm MS Teams Live session
To apply for student awards, click the button that applies to your situation.
Continuing students - Click the button below if:
You are attending classes right now and will start your next semester next term.
You are attending classes right now and this is your last term.
Incoming or transitioning students - Click the button below if:
You are not yet enrolled at Bow Valley College but want to sign-in to view and apply for scholarships.
You are already enrolled, but your program will only start next semester.
You are attending classes now and will transition into a "new" program next semester.
Prospective/Incoming Student Awards Portal
Student Awards Advisors
To connect with Student Awards Advisors please email awards@bowvalleycollege.ca or call 403-410-1440 if you have questions. You can also book an appointment with an awards advisor or visit the Front Desk at Learner Success Services.
Financial Need Emergency Bursary
Bow Valley College offers a Financial Need Emergency Bursary for eligible domestic learners who face a financial challenge which is a barrier to completing their studies.
Am I Eligible?
You can submit an application if you meet the following criteria:
- You are enrolled in a Bow Valley College program.
- You are a domestic learner.
- You are in good academic standing.
- You have proof of financial need.
- You have exhausted all other resources for financial assistance.
- Approval is dependent on the availability of funds at the time of application.
If you're eligible, log in to the student awards portal and complete the financial need bursary application.
If you are an international learner you can apply for the International Student Emergency Fund through the student awards portal.
When Can I Apply?
The Financial Need Bursary application is available all year. Applications are reviewed weekly.
To prepare for your appointment with a Student Awards Advisor please review this checklist.
Where Can I Get Help with Food?
Alberta Health Services - Free Food in Alberta
Entrance Awards
Bow Valley College offers entrance awards to assist learners who have completed a high school diploma in Alberta and are entering a certificate or diploma program at the College for the first time. Learners will need to apply for these awards in the semester prior to their planned start date. New learners can log into the awards portal here.
When Can I Apply?
Applications are available during the semester prior to your planned start date. For more information about Entrance Awards, please click here.
Student Aid Alberta Awards
Alberta's Government offers scholarships and awards to encourage and reward the excellence of Albertans in post-secondary study. You can view the Student Aid Alberta awards here. Please find the required application documents below. Learners will need to submit these documents to complete their application on the student awards portal.
Dr. Gary McPherson Leadership Scholarship
Laurence Decore Awards for Student Leadership
Louise McKinney Post-Secondary Scholarship
Indigenous Financial Assistance
Bow Valley College encourages Indigenous learners (First Nations, Metis, Inuit, and non-status) to pursue and complete a program at the College.
Types Of Financial Assistance:
- Emergency food and transportation
- Education support
- Professional development
Bursaries And Scholarships For Indigenous Learners:
(Available through the student awards portal)- Metis Scholars Award
- Indigenous Careers Award
- Indigenous Learner Transition Award
- I Yii Kakimat (Try Hard) Award in Memory of Cori Lyn Big Crow
- Iniikokaan Elders Perseverance Award
- Ptarmigan Foundation Indigenous Student Bursaries
- Scobey Hartley Memorial Endowment Award
- The Nickle Family Foundation Bursary for Indigenous Learners
For external indigenous financial assistance, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions For Student Awards
Once you have logged into the student awards portal (using your MyBVC username and password), and completed your general application, the system will automatically apply you to any awards you are eligible for.
You can then go to your dashboard to see if there are any follow-up tasks for awards that need to be completed in order to submit your applications. Your follow-up tasks must be completed before the award deadline.
Please use the following documents attached.
If you win an award you will receive an email from the awards team asking you to log into the system to accept your award and select your method of payment. You will have 30 days from the initial email to accept your award, after that date the award will be rescinded. We typically try to process emergency funding within 2 weeks of your application being submitted, and other awards we process within 2-4 weeks of the award deadline.
Once you submit your payment information, it will still be a few weeks until you receive the award funding as we need to work with finance at that point to process your payment.
You can track your award applications through the student awards portal. It will show you when it has been awarded or declined.
If you have been notified that you are an award winner, your next steps are to log into the student awards portal as soon as possible to accept your award and select your preferred payment method.
Ensure you provide accurate and up-to-date banking information if you select electronic funds transfer so that finance can process your payment with no delays. If you elect to receive a cheque, please log into your MyBVC profile and ensure that your address is up to date so that the cheque is mailed to the correct place.
Yes, any award for $500 or more will receive an income tax receipt.
All learners can be eligible for emergency bursaries as long as they are registered and in good academic standing.
Learners must not have any outstanding tuition and fees owed to the college when they apply. Emergency bursaries are for learners experiencing an unforeseen financial crisis that is affecting their ability to attend class and be successful. Typically, these requests would be related to basic needs such as food, shelter, etc.
Emergency bursaries cannot be used to pay for tuition and fees.
There are 3 awards periods during the year, and most* of our awards fall within these specific dates:
- Fall Semester Awards – Open September 1st, Deadline November 1st
- Winter Semester Awards – Open January 1st, Deadline March 1st
- Spring/Summer Semester Awards – Open May 1st, Deadline July 1st
*There are some awards with different deadlines that will be listed in the student awards portal.
Learners that are currently on academic probation are not eligible for BVC awards.
Once you have cleared your academic probation you will be able to apply for awards again.
For questions about academic probation, please book an appointment with your Academic Advisor here or email advising@bowvalleycollege.ca
Learners on academic probation may still be eligible for external awards.
You can book an appointment with a Student Awards Advisor if you have questions about your application or the awards system.
You can also book an appointment with a Writing Specialist in the Academic Success Centre for help with your written statements.
If you are receiving Alberta Student Aid, scholarships do not affect your eligibility for Alberta student loans and grants, but are used to calculate your eligibility for Canada student loans and grants (an $1,800 exemption is applied).
If you are a band funded learner, you will want to ask your band for the student handbook regarding your funding so you can confirm the policy regarding scholarships.
If you are a Foundational Learning Assistance Program (FLAP) funded learner, scholarships do not affect your eligibility.
If you are an international learner, receiving Bow Valley College awards will not affect your status for any of the above applications or permits. However, you should always check on external awards and funding as they may have different implications.
Please use the following documents attached.
Receiving Bow Valley College awards will not affect your status for any of the above applications or permits. However, you should always check on external awards and funding as they may have different implications.
Please use the following document attached.
If the award is based on academic achievement, you should ask one of your current Bow Valley College instructors to be your reference, as the person will need to be able to talk about your class participation and achievements.
If the award is based on leadership, community service, or another merit-based category, you will want to ask someone who can speak to your achievements in that area. For example, if you have volunteered within your community ask someone who supervised your volunteer group, or who volunteered with you and can speak to your experience.
The awards portal will email your reference with instructions on what to provide. It will either ask them to answer questions regarding your experience, or upload a reference letter.
The portal will NOT give your reference award details or deadlines, so ensure that you provide that information to them so that they can tailor their responses and ensure they submit by the deadline.
Please reach out to them and ask if they have received it. If they have not, double check that you have spelled their email correctly, and if you are still having trouble connect with the Awards Team at awards@bowvalleycollege.ca.
If you are having trouble sending a request to a Bow Valley College instructor, ensure you are using their @bowvalleycollege.ca email address and not their Brightspace address.
The reference request must be completed before the deadline in order for your application to be considered complete. If you reach out to your reference and they are unable to complete the request, you can go back into your application and resend the request to another individual. Ensure you let them know when the deadline is so that they can complete their tasks on time.
*You can track the completion of this task in the student awards portal by viewing your application.
