Mental Health Fine Arts Bursary

What you will need

• ✓ Electronic submission of application (mail and fax are disqualified)
• ✓ One application per year across all CMHA BC awards (only your first application is evaluated)

About this award

You can receive one of two $1,000 bursaries. As a bursary, this money is yours to keep — there is nothing to repay. This is for you if you are a student in British Columbia pursuing fine arts who has navigated mental health challenges and used therapeutic supports. Applications for the 2026 awards have closed, and dates for the next round are not posted yet. CMHA BC (the Canadian Mental Health Association, British Columbia division) offers these awards each year, accepts electronic applications only, and answers questions at healthy.campuses@cmha.bc.ca. Selection criteria aren't published — ask CMHA British Columbia how winners are chosen and roughly how many applicants they typically receive so you can judge your odds. Ask CMHA British Columbia during your application how the money will reach you — some awards pay students directly, others apply funds to tuition. Confirm this so you can plan your cash flow. Renewal conditions aren't listed, but there is a specific waiting period. If you have won this award, you must wait two years before reapplying, which makes you eligible again in the third year after winning.

Who qualifies

To qualify, you must be a post-secondary student in British Columbia and over the age of 18. You must be pursuing studies in fine arts and have lived experience with mental illness or addiction, including having accessed therapeutic support or mental health services.

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.

• ✓ Open to post-secondary students
• ✓ Resident of British Columbia
• ✓ Studying fine arts

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

• Fine ArtsAvoid describing your art in purely technical terms. Instead, share how your lived experience with mental health informs your creative work. Mention the specific therapeutic supports you have accessed.
• SupportAvoid guessing what to include. Instead, email healthy.campuses@cmha.bc.ca with your questions before you apply.
• StrategyAvoid applying for multiple awards from this organization in the same year. Instead, choose the one that best matches your identity, as CMHA British Columbia will only evaluate the first application they receive from you.
• RealismAvoid counting on this award alone. Instead, remember that there are only two of these bursaries available each year for all of BC, so you should apply for other funding as well.

Questions students ask

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