Carleton University Prestige Scholarships 2027 In Canada: Up To Cad 32,000 For First-year International Students

Carleton University Prestige Scholarships 2027 in Canada: Up to CAD 32,000 for First-Year International Students

If you are finishing high school with an average of 90% or better, a record of leadership, and plans to start university in Canada in September 2027, the Carleton University Prestige Scholarships are worth your attention. Carleton University, in Ottawa, Canada's capital, calls these its highest entrance awards — and one application puts you in the running for all of them.

This is not a fully funded scholarship for most winners, and it is important to be clear about that from the start. The Prestige Scholarships are generous, renewable, merit-based entrance awards worth up to CAD 32,000 over four years. Only the single Riordon Scholarship covers full tuition, and even that is capped at the Canadian domestic tuition rate, so international students would still pay the difference between domestic and international tuition, plus living costs. Treat this as a major tuition reduction that rewards top students, not as a promise to cover everything.

What the Prestige Scholarships offer

Carleton lists six Prestige Scholarship categories for 2027-2028. One application form is used for all of them:

- Chancellor's Scholarship: ten awards of CAD 32,000 (CAD 8,000 per year for four years)

- Richard Lewar Entrance Scholarship: seven awards of CAD 21,500 (CAD 6,500 in the first year, then CAD 5,000 in each of the second, third and fourth years)

- Carleton University Scholarship of Excellence: three awards of CAD 20,000 (CAD 5,000 per year for four years)

- Carleton University SHAD Scholarship: two awards of CAD 20,000 (CAD 5,000 per year for four years)

- Jay Woo and CAA Scholarship: one award of CAD 20,000 (CAD 5,000 per year for four years)

- Riordon Scholarship: one award covering full tuition in each of the four years, capped at the Canadian domestic full tuition fee amount

All Prestige Scholarships are renewable, provided you maintain an annual Carleton GPA of 10.0. If you are awarded a Prestige Scholarship, it will replace any automatic Entrance Scholarship you may have received — the awards cannot be combined.

Who can apply

Carleton sets a short, strict eligibility list. You must:

- Be entering Carleton directly from high school or CEGEP

- Have an admission average of 90% or better

- Have demonstrated leadership roles in your extracurricular activities throughout school

- Have no previous attendance at a post-secondary institution (college or university, excluding CEGEP) — you must be pursuing post-secondary studies for the first time

Carleton's international admissions information confirms that its scholarships are available to international students, and describes the Prestige Scholarships as awards for students with a minimum of 90% and impressive extracurricular activities and community involvement. International applicants should also meet Carleton's admission and English-language requirements for their programme, and check the document deadlines that apply to their school background.

How to apply

The process has two parts, and the order matters:

1. Apply for undergraduate admission to Carleton University for September 2027. You will need your Carleton student number for the scholarship submission, so do not leave your admission application until March.

2. Complete the 2027-2028 Prestige Scholarship application form. Carleton instructs applicants to download the file, open it in Adobe, fill it out, and submit it by email to [email protected].

When you send that email, make sure that:

- The reference letter is signed by your referee

- You attach both the application and the reference letter

- You include your student number

A missing signature, a missing attachment, or a missing student number is an avoidable reason to lose a competitive award, so check the email before you send it.

Important deadlines

- Prestige Scholarship application deadline: 1 March 2027 by 11:59 p.m. EST (if the deadline date lands on a weekend, Carleton says the application must be submitted on the first working day after the deadline date)

- Main international application deadline: 1 April 2027 for students whose transcripts originate outside Canada or the US

That second date is the trap to avoid. The general international admission deadline comes a full month after the Prestige Scholarship deadline, so waiting for the general deadline would mean missing the scholarship entirely. Apply for admission early, get your student number, and submit the Prestige application well before 1 March 2027.

Why this scholarship stands out

Many entrance awards are assessed automatically and stop at a few thousand dollars. Carleton's Prestige Scholarships are different in three ways: they are among the university's largest entrance awards, they are renewable for four years if you maintain the required GPA, and a single application covers six named awards, including the CAD 32,000 Chancellor's Scholarship. For a high-achieving school leaver with a genuine leadership record — not just strong grades — that combination makes this one of Canada's most straightforward top-end entrance competitions to enter.

It is not, however, a full-cost award for international students in most cases. Go in with that understanding, plan how you will cover the remaining tuition and living costs, and use the Prestige Scholarship as a powerful part of your funding plan, rather than the whole of it.

Official links

- Carleton University — Prestige Scholarships (2027-2028 application, deadline, values and terms): https://carleton.ca/awards/awards/scholarships/prestige/

- Carleton University — Information for international school counsellors (international deadlines and scholarships): https://admissions.carleton.ca/information-for-international-guidance-counsellors/

Apply for admission early, then submit your Prestige Scholarship application and signed reference letter to [email protected] well before 11:59 p.m. EST on 1 March 2027 — and good luck!