Differential Tuition Fee Exemption — Undergraduate

What you will need

• ✓ No separate application for fall and winter terms — the amount is set out in your offer of admission
• ✓ Accept an offer of admission to a program offered in French, or to an English program with the French Immersion Stream
• ✓ Enrol full time with at least three courses taught in French (9 units) per term
• ✓ Pay international tuition fees
• ✓ Spring-Summer term: apply in Online Scholarships and Bursaries

About this award

You can receive between $100,000 and $144,000 in total, which breaks down to $25,000 to $36,000 per year. It is a scholarship that lowers the tuition fees you are charged, so there is nothing to pay back. For students starting in Winter 2024 or later it is worth $12,500 to $18,000 per term, depending on your faculty and program. This is for you if you are an international Francophone or Francophile student who wants to study at the University of Ottawa in French. There is no separate application for the fall and winter terms: the amount is set out in your offer of admission. If you study in the Spring-Summer term, you must apply in Online Scholarships and Bursaries. To be eligible, you must accept an offer of admission to a program offered in French (or to a program offered in English with the French Immersion Stream option, and meet that stream's admission requirements), enrol full time, and take at least three courses taught in French per term (9 units). The scholarship reduces your tuition bill. For example, in the Faculty of Arts, where international tuition was $21,667.54 for the Fall term in 2024–2025, the $12,500 scholarship meant paying $9,167.54. It is renewed each term, up to 12 per-term payments, as long as you stay enrolled full time in an approved undergraduate program in French or French Immersion and take at least three courses taught in French (9 units) per term. Co-op students do not receive it during work terms.

Who qualifies

You must be an international student who pays international tuition fees; students paying domestic fees are not eligible. You must accept an offer of admission to a University of Ottawa bachelor's program offered in French, or to a program offered in English with the French Immersion Stream option (and meet the French Immersion Stream admission requirements). You must enrol full time and take at least three courses taught in French per term (9 units).

This is what the award's official page said when we last checked. Rules change, so confirm on the award's official page before you apply.

• ✓ International student
• ✓ Open to undergraduate students

How to apply

1. 1

   Read the award's official page

   Check you meet every requirement, and note each document they ask for.

2. 2

   Check this year's deadline

   We don't have a confirmed date for this round. The award's official page will have it.

Tips for applying

• LanguageAvoid accepting an offer to an English program without the French Immersion Stream. Instead, choose a program offered in French or an English program with the French Immersion Stream, since only these qualify. Check this before you accept your offer.
• Course loadAvoid dropping below three French-taught courses (9 units) in a term. Instead, plan each term so you keep a full-time load with at least three courses taught in French, or you lose the scholarship for that term.
• Spring-SummerAvoid assuming summer courses are covered automatically. Instead, apply in Online Scholarships and Bursaries for any Spring-Summer term you study.
• RealismAvoid assuming this covers all your costs. Instead, budget for the tuition left after the scholarship plus housing and food. In the 2024–2025 Arts example, the student still paid $9,167.54 in Fall tuition.

Questions students ask

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