Renewable scholarships have conditions such as maintaining a minimum course load or grade point average (GPA) and/or participating in a mentorship program. These conditions are outlined in the scholarship notification letter you receive. GPA calculations for scholarship renewal consider all credits completed during the previous summer and fall/winter sessions. Your record will automatically be reviewed at the end of each academic year. Where applicable, the scholarship is applied directly to your account by September 1.

For example, the renewal of your scholarship for the Fall/Winter 2023-2024 academic session would be based on the GPA from your courses in the Summer 2022 session and the Fall/Winter 2022-2023 academic session.

If you do not meet the renewal criteria for a scholarship due to extenuating circumstances, you can submit a petition for renewal. Extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to, a serious documented medical illness or the death of an immediate family member.

Your petition is considered after all your final Fall/Winter grades are posted on your student record.

Your petition must include a personal statement outlining the extenuating circumstance and relevant supporting documents (for example, medical documentation, a letter from a therapist or a letter of support from faculty member).

Submit your petition by email to bursary@yorku.ca. The University will communicate its decision to you in writing.

The scholarship funds are posted in August and applied towards the Fall/Winter courses/fees. This applies to both first year and renewable funding.

Please note that refunds for surplus scholarship funding will not be issued until November. 

You can request a refund directly through the Refunds website. Please scroll down to the “Request a Refund” section for details and to submit your request. 
 

York University’s preferred refund method is through Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT). If you have not already done so, please visit this page for information on how to provide the university with your Canadian banking information: https://students.yorku.ca/sfs/refunds#request. If no banking information is provided, the refund will be issued as a cheque which will be mailed to the local address on the student record.  Processing times are 3 to 5 business days for EFT and 4 to 6 weeks for cheques. 

The scholarship funds are always posted in August to be applied towards the Fall/Winter fees. If the scholarship amount exceeds the Fall/Winter charges, the surplus amount can be refunded to the student, or the student can elect to leave the funds on their account to cover summer tuition.

Scholarship renewals are assessed based on previous summer and then Fall/Winter. Example: the assessments for the Fall/Winter 2025-26 will consider credits and grades for all courses completed in Summer 2024 and Fall/Winter 2024-25. For first year students admitted for a Fall entry term, the assessments will be based solely on the Fall/Winter results for their first year. The summer will be considered for all subsequent renewals. 

Renewable scholarships are typically renewable for a maximum of 3 years of study or until degree completion, whichever comes first. Students who fast track and complete their four-year degree in three years forfeit their last year of renewal.

Renewable scholarships are assessed in May/June once the final grades have been reported. Funding will be posted to the student accounts in August each year.  All recipients of renewable scholarships will be notified of their status by email upon completion of the assessments. 

It varies by scholarship. Renewal requirements are outlined in the awards offer letter. The renewal details are also available on the Award Search site.  If the renewal criteria changes for any reason, the initial criteria at the time of awarding will be honoured unless otherwise notified.

We recommend using the GPA Calculator Tool. The assessment for renewal will consider all courses/grades for the applicable period.  For example, if you have a minimum requirement to complete at least 18 credits per academic year for your renewal, but you complete 30 credits for the academic year, the GPA will be assessed on all 30 credits. 

It is important to contact the Scholarships and Bursaries team (bursary@yorku.ca) immediately if your tuition status changes. If you become eligible to pay domestic tuition fees, your eligibility for any renewable international scholarship is impacted.

For some scholarships, you will no longer be eligible to receive funds. For other scholarships, the value of your scholarship will be reduced to account for the lower tuition fees you are being charged. 

The Scholarships and Bursaries team will review your eligibility change and assess whether you have any eligible, pro-rated amount of scholarship you can receive or not. The amount of scholarship funds posted to your student account will be adjusted accordingly.
 

Scholarship renewals will only be assessed once final grades have been reported for all courses completed in the previous academic year.  If a grade(s) takes a significant amount of time to be reported, you may need to contact the Scholarships and Bursaries team (bursary@yorku.ca) to initiate the review.

Effective Fall/Winter 2025-26, recipients of scholarships that require students to engage in volunteer work as a condition of renewal, must complete a minimum of 40 hours per academic year (hours must be completed by the final date of the relevant academic year). Both on and off campus volunteer work/community engagement is acceptable.

The Scholarships and Bursaries team (bursary@yorku.ca) will email students in May to request proof of participation in volunteer work or other engagement on campus. You will need to submit a letter(s) completed by a person of authority within each organization, club, school, or York department that speaks to the nature of your engagement, including applicable timelines and number of hours completed throughout the academic year.

No, you can engage in volunteer opportunities either on campus or in the external community.

There are a limited number of renewable scholarships that are also regainable. Those scholarships (subject to change) currently include the following: York University Automatic Entrance Scholarship, York International Scholarship of Distinction, and the York International Merit Award. All others are non-regainable.

If you do not meet the renewal criteria for a scholarship due to extenuating circumstances, you can submit a petition for renewal. The petition must consist of a personal statement explaining the circumstances that prohibited the student from meeting the criteria and relevant supporting documentation. Extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to, a serious documented medical illness or the death of an immediate family member. Petitions will be considered/granted on a one time only basis. 

Most scholarships are not tied to any specific program of study. Renewal requirements are outlined in the awards offer letter. Students can contact the Scholarships and Bursaries team (bursary@yorku.ca) if they would like confirmation.

Yes, students can add a minor. No additional funds are offered if a student chooses to add a minor.

It is important to contact the Scholarships and Bursaries team (bursary@yorku.ca) to alert us that you will be on exchange. Your renewal will be determined based on meeting the specific minimum credits and GPA required for the scholarship for the last academic year/term completed at York AND successful completion of the courses taken on exchange denoted as a PASS (P).

Yes, but your scholarship will be deferred for the co-op term. It is important to contact the Scholarships and Bursaries team (bursary@yorku.ca) before starting the co-op to confirm how your renewable scholarship may be affected. Please attach a copy of the co-op notification letter to our email for review.

Depending on the length of the co-op, the scholarship will either be partially awarded or will be deferred for a maximum of one year.

The renewal will be assessed based on the academic results and credits for the last academic term/year completed at York and successful completion of the co-op. If, for example, the student is completing a full year co-op, the renewal will be based on the academic results for the academic year preceding the co-op year. If the student is completing a one term co-op, they will be expected to complete 50% of the required credits in the one term in which they are enrolled and meet the required GPA for that term.