Going back to school after years of work, parenting or anything else changes which funding fits you. Many entrance scholarships are built around students coming straight from high school. The awards on this page name mature or adult students in their own rules, or pay for the kind of training adults go back for.
Who this page is for
You are returning to post-secondary study after time away, or starting it later than most students do. Each school and funder sets its own definition of a mature student, often an age or a number of years out of school, so check the eligibility line on each award.
What is on this list
- University awards for mature and adult students. The UVic Alumni Bursary for Mature Students, the University of Regina Adult Learner Award, Queen's University's Science 1948 ½ Mature Student Entrance Bursary, and Mount Saint Vincent University's Leslie V. Sansom Continuing Education Endowed Scholarship.
- Awards from women's organizations. The P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education, the CFUW Dr. Alice E. Wilson Awards, the CFUW Parksville Qualicum Mature Student Bursary for Women, and the Soroptimist Foundation of Canada's grants for women graduate students.
- The Canada Training Credit. A refundable federal tax credit for eligible tuition and fees. You can claim it if you were at least 26 and under 66 at the end of the year, and the amount is the lesser of your training credit limit and half of the eligible fees. You calculate it on Schedule 11 of your tax return.
- Provincial help while you study. Saskatchewan's Education and Training Incentive (it replaced the Provincial Training Allowance in July 2022), B.C.'s Adult Upgrading Grant, Alberta's Foundational Learning Assistance and Quebec's Manpower Training Measure help with training or living costs for adult learners in those provinces.
- Veterans. Veterans Affairs Canada's Education and Training Benefit is on the list for veterans going back to school.
How to use this page
Check how each award defines "mature" before you apply, then check the level and province. If you pay the tuition yourself, keep the receipts: you may be able to claim part of it through the Canada Training Credit. If you are going back to school to change careers, the career changers hub lists retraining programs that pay for short training.