Western University National Scholarship Program 2027 In Canada: Up To $100,000 For International Students — Deadline 14 February 2027

Western University National Scholarship Program 2027 in Canada: Up to $100,000 for International Students — Deadline 14 February 2027

Western University in London, Ontario, runs one of Canada's most generous undergraduate scholarship competitions — and international students have their own awards inside it. The National Scholarship Program 2027–28 offers three International President's Entrance Scholarships worth $100,000 each ($25,000 a year for four years), reserved for international students, plus a further $80,000 Neen Hodgins President's International Entrance Scholarship for an international student entering the Faculty of Arts & Humanities. The catch is that this is a nomination-based competition with a full application of its own, and everything — application, school nomination, transcript, reference letter and personal essay — must be complete by Friday 14 February 2027 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Key deadline: submit the complete National Scholarship application, including nomination and all supporting documents, by 14 February 2027 at 11:59 p.m. EST. You must first apply for admission to Western through OUAC, and you need your OUAC reference number to access the scholarship application — allow at least five business days after your OUAC submission before the scholarship portal becomes available to you.

What the scholarship offers

The National Scholarship Program recognises all-round excellence — strong academics plus leadership, creativity and community involvement — among students entering first-year undergraduate study at Western's main campus. The awards international students can compete for are:

• Three International President's Entrance Scholarships — $100,000 each, paid as $25,000 a year for four years. These are reserved for international students only (not Canadian citizens or permanent residents), as published on Western's admissions pages for the 2027–28 cycle
• One Neen Hodgins President's International Entrance Scholarship — $80,000, paid as $20,000 a year for four years, reserved for an international student entering the Faculty of Arts & Humanities
• Five James Jenkins President's Entrance Scholarships for Black students — $50,000 each, which Western's admissions pages also list among the awards international students are eligible for
• National Merit Awards — up to 50 awards of $2,000 for top applicants who are interviewed for a National Scholarship but are not offered one, and who accept an offer of admission to main campus
• National Scholarship Study Abroad Awards — up to 30 awards of $2,500 for up to four months, or $5,000 for more than four months, for National Scholarship recipients studying abroad (not available to International President's Entrance Scholarship recipients)

Be clear about what this covers: this is a substantial partial award, not a full ride. Western estimates international tuition and fees at roughly $48,000 to $64,400 for the first year (2025–26 figures), so $25,000 a year covers around half of tuition, before living costs. It is still one of the largest international undergraduate awards in Canada, and it is renewable for four years.

Who is eligible?

To be considered for the National Scholarship Program, you must:

• Be an international student — the International President's Entrance Scholarships are reserved for international (visa) students. International students already studying in Canada are eligible, provided they are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents. (All other National Scholarships in the programme are for Canadian citizens or permanent residents.)
• Have a minimum overall academic average of 90% on all Grade 12 U/M courses, or the equivalent in your country's system
• Have applied for admission for full-time studies at Western's main campus — the programme is only for main-campus entrants
• Be nominated by your school — a school nomination is required for every National Scholarship applicant
• Be entering first-year undergraduate study directly from secondary school — International Baccalaureate and CEGEP students are eligible for consideration

How to apply

1. Apply for admission to Western through OUAC first, listing Western's main campus as one of your choices. You will need your OUAC reference number and your date of birth to access the National Scholarship application, and Western advises that it takes a minimum of five business days from your OUAC submission before you can get in — so do not leave the admission application until February.
2. Open the online National Scholarship application once your OUAC information has reached Western, and complete the Nomination Request Form early. You enter your school administrator's email address, and Western sends them the nomination request together with the request for your transcript. Give your school plenty of time — some schools run their own internal process for choosing nominees.
3. Arrange your reference letter through the application's Assessor Request Form. You enter the email address of a teacher or staff member at your school who knows your work best, and Western sends them instructions for submitting the reference. Follow up with them yourself and remind them of the deadline.
4. Write your personal essay — an essay of more than 300 words about an idea, issue or interest that genuinely matters to you, uploaded to the application as a PDF.
5. Make sure your school submits your transcript by 14 February 2027. The transcript is uploaded by the school through the link in the nomination email, and it is used for the National Scholarship Program only, not for your admission application.
6. Submit the complete application by 14 February 2027 at 11:59 p.m. EST. That deadline covers the application itself, the nomination, the reference letter, the transcript and the essay — it is your responsibility to follow up and make sure everything is in.

Key dates for the 2027–28 intake

• Now: National Scholarship application for 2027–28 is open online (available from November)
• At least five business days before you need it: Submit your OUAC admission application so your reference number reaches Western in time
• Well before 14 February 2027: Send your nomination request and assessor request so your school and referee have time to respond
• 14 February 2027 at 11:59 p.m. EST: Deadline for the complete National Scholarship application, including nomination, transcript, reference letter and essay
• First week of May 2027: National Scholarship recipients are notified (per Western's programme brochure)
• September 2027: Studies begin at Western's main campus in London, Ontario

Why this one is worth noting

Most Canadian university entrance awards for international students are automatic, modest, and decided on grades alone. Western's National Scholarship Program is different: it is a deliberate competition for all-round excellence, it asks for a nomination, a reference and an essay, and it pays up to $100,000 over four years to just three international students a year. That makes it genuinely prestigious — and genuinely competitive. The practical traps are all about timing: the five-business-day wait between your OUAC application and access to the scholarship portal, the school nomination that has to go through your administrator, and the single hard deadline of 14 February 2027 for every piece of the file. Start with the OUAC application now, send the nomination request as soon as the portal opens to you, and chase the transcript and reference yourself — Western is explicit that following up is the student's job.

Official links

• Western University — National Scholarship Program application page, 2027–28 (official page, with the 14 February 2027 deadline)
• Western University — Costs & Financial Support (official admissions page listing the international National Scholarship awards)
• Western University, Office of the Registrar — National Scholarship Program (official programme page)

Details verified against Western University's official National Scholarship Program application page, admissions costs and financial support page, and Office of the Registrar programme pages on 5 November 2026. Award values are as published on Western's admissions pages for the 2027–28 cycle. Award values, deadlines and requirements can change, so always confirm them on the official pages before you apply.