Government of Alberta · Provincial
Alberta Student Aid (loans + grants + scholarships via Heritage Scholarship Fund)
About this award
Alberta's combined federal-provincial student aid program — loans, grants, and scholarships via one integrated application at studentaid.alberta.ca. Includes the Alexander Rutherford Scholarship (high school achievement) and Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund-administered awards. Alberta participates fully in federal Canada Student Loans/Grants.
Alberta Student Aid is the Province of Alberta's student financial aid program, administered jointly with the federal Canada Student Financial Assistance Program. Alberta participates fully in the federal program — a single online application via studentaid.alberta.ca assesses you for both federal AND provincial aid in one step. The package combines repayable loans (federal + provincial) with non-repayable grants and scholarships. The provincial component is funded statutorily through the Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund (governed by the Heritage Scholarship Act), which also funds named scholarships including the Alexander Rutherford Scholarship for high school achievement, the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship, and the Alberta Citizenship Award. URL quirk: the portal is at studentaid.alberta.ca (not alberta.ca/studentaid as some external links suggest); always use the studentaid.alberta.ca URL when applying. Application is rolling throughout the program year — apply at least 6 weeks before classes begin so the federal and provincial assessments complete in time for tuition.
Can you get it?
- Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident or Protected Person — citizenship requirement
- All, College, Undergraduate, Graduate, Trades — study level
- Resident of AB — provincial eligibility
How to apply
Review eligibility and gather your documents~1 hour
Read the official award page end-to-end. Confirm you meet every requirement before you start.
Submit by No deadline~1 hour
Double-check every field, save a copy, and submit at least 24 hours early.
More details
Apply through studentaid.alberta.ca 6+ weeks before classes start — the federal and provincial assessments run in parallel through this single portal.
The Alexander Rutherford Scholarship is a separate named-award stream administered through the same portal — if you're a recent Alberta high school graduate with strong Grade 10/11/12 grades, look at Rutherford as a stackable supplement (sibling entry on FundMyCourse).
Alberta has tightened private-institution eligibility in recent cycles; if you're studying at a private institution outside Alberta, double-check eligibility before assuming the integrated package applies.
For graduate students, the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship is the key Heritage Fund-administered merit award — separate from Tri-Agency CGRS-D/M.