UBC Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Awards

What you will need

• ✓ Personal statement (maximum 500 words) on your community involvement, leadership and positive influence (for the International Student Scholarship: your engagement in the Faculty of Arts and your potential to make a scholarly contribution)
• ✓ Resume (maximum 2 pages) listing all community involvement activities with dates
• ✓ Combine the personal statement and resume into one PDF saved as 'Surname, Preferred name then Award Title'
• ✓ One reference letter: your referee gets an email from arts.awards@ubc.ca and submits the letter through a webform, due one week after the application deadline
• ✓ For the Heaslip award: a government student loan in the previous or current winter session, which your UBC Enrolment Services Advisor must be able to confirm by the deadline

About this award

The Faculty of Arts at UBC Vancouver runs several awards for students already in the faculty. The Heaslip Undergraduate Award in Arts pays $20,000 a year and can be renewed for up to 3 years ($60,000 in total) for two domestic students going into second year. The Y.P. Heung Foundation Award in Arts gives $3,000 awards to domestic students going into second year, and a separate Y.P. Heung award gives $3,000 each to Indigenous students going into second year. The Valour Award in Arts for Indigenous Students normally totals $3,000. The International Student Scholarship pays $2,500 to $5,000, and the Katherine Brearley Arts Scholarship pays $500 to $4,000 to students going into third or fourth year. The faculty also runs nominations for UBC's Premier Undergraduate Scholarships and Wesbrook Scholars (by invitation only) and the Russ Patrick Arts Undergraduate Research Writing Award ($500 to $1,000). These are scholarships and awards, not loans, so you do not have to pay them back. This is for you if you are an undergraduate student continuing in UBC Vancouver's Faculty of Arts. These are not entrance awards for students starting first year. Deadlines for this round: October 7, 2026 for the Heaslip award, the Y.P. Heung Foundation Award in Arts and the Katherine Brearley Arts Scholarship; November 5, 2026 for the Valour Award, the Y.P. Heung award for Indigenous students and the International Student Scholarship. Reference letters are due one week after each deadline (October 14 or November 12, 2026). The awards are made on the recommendation of the Faculty of Arts, which looks at your grades and at your community involvement and leadership. The Heaslip award also requires financial need, shown by a government student loan, and a first-year average of at least 75%. Ask arts.awards@ubc.ca how many students apply so you can judge your odds. Ask the Faculty of Arts 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. The Heaslip award can be renewed for up to 3 years, and if you win it you may have to decline other renewable scholarships. The page does not describe renewal for the other Arts awards, so ask arts.awards@ubc.ca if you are counting on one for more than a year.

Who qualifies

All of these awards are for undergraduate students already studying in the Faculty of Arts at UBC Vancouver. Most require at least 24 percentage-graded credits in the previous academic year with no failures or missing grades, and at least 24 credits in the current year (university-approved reduced course loads are also eligible). - Heaslip Undergraduate Award in Arts: domestic students or permanent residents continuing into second year, with a first-year average of at least 75%, who received a government student loan in the previous or current winter session and show outstanding community involvement and leadership. - Y.P. Heung Foundation Award in Arts: domestic students continuing into second year with outstanding academic achievement; preference goes to students with community involvement. - Y.P. Heung Foundation Award in Arts for Indigenous Students: First Nations, Inuit or Métis students continuing into second year with outstanding academic achievement. - Valour Award in Arts for Indigenous Students: Indigenous undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts registered in at least 3 credits this winter session. - International Student Scholarship: international students in a BA, BFA, BMS, BMUS or BSW program who were in Arts at UBC Vancouver last winter session and this one, with a GPA of at least 75%. BIE students and students with Long-term Work Permit Dependent status cannot apply. - Katherine Brearley Arts Scholarship: students going into third or fourth year with an average of at least 80% last winter session and a declared major, honours or combined specialization.

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.

• ✓ Canadian citizen, permanent resident or international student
• ✓ Open to undergraduate students
• ✓ Studying 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

   Ask for reference letters2 weeks

   Give your referees at least two weeks' notice, and send them your résumé.

3. 3

   Write your essay

   Be specific about what you did and what changed because of it. Proofread it twice.

4. 4

   Submit your application

   Save a copy, and submit at least a day before the deadline shown above.

Tips for applying

• Personal StatementAvoid writing a generic essay about your grades. Instead, focus on your community involvement and show how your leadership created a positive influence. Describe the direct relationship between your volunteer work and your academic studies.
• ReferencesAvoid picking a friend or family member. Instead, choose a faculty member, employer, manager, or recent high school teacher who can specifically comment on your leadership. Remind your reference to watch for an email from arts.awards@ubc.ca.
• StrategyAvoid sending your resume and personal statement as separate files. Instead, combine both documents into one PDF saved exactly as "Surname, Preferred name then Award Title". This ensures your materials stay together during the review.
• RealismAvoid assuming that a high GPA alone is enough. Instead, recognize that these awards weigh community involvement and leadership, and the International Student Scholarship gives preference to upper-year students. Focus your application on your engagement with the Faculty and the broader community.

Questions students ask

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