Carleton University Scholarships for International Students
Start with the fact that changes what you do this month, because almost nobody writes it down.
Carleton sets your scholarship from your admission average at the time you are admitted, and it does not reassess the offer on your final high school grades. The university states this plainly. So the student who applies early with strong interim results is awarded on those results, and the student who waits to improve their average gains nothing from the improvement.
That single rule matters more than any list of award names. Apply early, with the best average you hold at that moment.
Here is everything else, with the real figures.
The renewable Entrance Scholarship — automatic, and the main event
Carleton’s main entrance scholarship runs on a simple grid. These are the published values for Fall 2027 entry into a four-year honours degree:
| Admission average | Each year | Over four years |
|---|---|---|
| 95–100% | $3,000 | $12,000 |
| 90–94.9% | $2,000 | $8,000 |
| 85–89.9% | $1,000 | $4,000 |
International high school students qualify. Carleton lists them alongside Canadian high school students and transfer students as eligible groups.
There is no application. Admitted applicants with an average of 85 per cent or better receive consideration automatically. Your file needs to be complete, with all grades submitted, by 15 June.
Renewal depends on your university grades, not your high school ones. You need an annual GPA of 10.0, which is A- standing at Carleton, in every year you want the money again. A student who slips below that loses the remaining years.
One honest note. Several sites advertise this scholarship as worth “up to $16,000”. Carleton’s own awards table caps it at $12,000 over four years for Fall 2027. Where a listing site and the university’s own table disagree, believe the university.
Nursing students on the three-year compressed honours degree follow a separate grid that includes summer semester payments and reaches the same $12,000 maximum at the top band.
The President’s Welcome Award for International Students
CAD 2,000 to CAD 5,000, with the amount set by your grades at admission, and an unlimited number of awards.
This one exists only for international students. You qualify by entering directly from high school and paying international student fees. Like the entrance scholarship, it arrives automatically when you apply for a bachelor’s degree.
A correction worth knowing. Carleton’s dedicated page for this award still describes it for September 2026 applicants, while the university’s other scholarship pages apply it to September 2027. One of those pages has not been updated. If you are applying for 2027, confirm the award with Carleton’s admissions office rather than relying on either page alone.
Because both of these are automatic and separate, a strong international applicant can hold the entrance scholarship and the President’s Welcome Award together in first year.
The Prestige Scholarship — the one that needs work
This is Carleton’s highest entrance award, and the only major one that asks something of you.
You need an admission average of 90 per cent or better, an application, and a letter of reference. The committee assesses extracurricular activities alongside grades. Entry must be direct from high school or CÉGEP.
The deadline is 1 March, three and a half months before the 15 June date that governs the automatic awards. Students who work to the June date miss this one entirely.
Carleton does not publish the Prestige Scholarship’s value on its public pages. Several listing sites print figures anyway; those numbers have no official source that we could find. If the amount decides whether you apply, write to awards@carleton.ca and ask. That is a one-line email, and the answer is authoritative.
If you are writing to the awards office or preparing a reference request, our free email reviewer checks the message before you send it.
The smaller and specialised awards
The Law Scholarship in Architectural Studies $10,000 annually. For outstanding international undergraduates admitted to the Bachelor of Architectural Studies from a high school in China or Hong Kong. Application required, deadline 31 August. This is the largest single award on this page, and its eligibility is the narrowest.
W.H. Collins Entrance Scholarships of Excellence $3,000 each, for the top five students entering the Bachelor of Science in Earth Sciences. Automatic, no application, renewable for one further year with an annual GPA of 10.0, and it combines with the Entrance or Prestige scholarships.
Arthur Kroeger College National Scholarships $2,000 each, up to ten awards for the Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management. The regions listed are Canadian, so international applicants should confirm eligibility before counting on it.
House of Commons Page Program Entrance Scholarship $1,000 each, up to fifteen awards, for Page Program participants. Combinable with other entrance scholarships.
Entrance bursaries. Carleton runs a Carleton University Entrance Bursary assessed primarily on financial need, with a 30 June deadline, and a Leadership Entrance Bursary for students with records of leadership and community service. Both need an application and neither publishes a fixed value.
What this actually leaves you to pay
This is where honesty matters more than enthusiasm.
Carleton’s published estimates for international students, with tuition frozen across 2026/27 and 2027/28, come to:
| Programme | Tuition | Estimated total cost |
|---|---|---|
| Arts, Science and most programmes | $39,000 | $59,910 |
| Accounting, Commerce, Entrepreneurship, Media Production | $45,000 | $65,910 |
| Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science | $55,000 | $75,910 |
| Nursing with RN Prescribing | $39,000 | $61,710 |
Those totals include residence and a meal plan at $14,010, books at $1,400 and personal expenses at $3,000.
Now the arithmetic. The strongest possible international first-year award combines a $3,000 entrance scholarship with a $5,000 President’s Welcome Award, reaching $8,000 and that is for a student with an average of 95 per cent or above. Against $59,910 in Arts, that covers about one dollar in seven. Against $75,910 in Engineering, roughly one in nine.
From second year the President’s Welcome Award no longer applies, so the entrance scholarship alone leaves $3,000 a year at the very top band.
None of this makes Carleton a bad choice. It makes it a university you need a funding plan for. Students who treat these awards as a discount rather than as funding arrive with a workable budget; students who read “scholarship” and assume the rest will follow do not.
If your family cannot contribute meaningfully, read our guide to the UBC International Leader of Tomorrow Award instead, which assesses need and covers tuition and living costs together. For a larger merit award with no nomination required, the Calgary international entrance scholarships pay CAD 20,000 and renew.
The calendar
1 March 2027, Prestige Scholarship application and reference letter. 3 April 2027, several named entrance scholarships, including the David Muir Entrance Scholarship in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. 15 June 2027, complete application and all grades submitted, for the automatic entrance scholarships. 30 June 2027, Carleton University Entrance Bursary. 15 August 2027, International Certificate Program Award for BGInS. 31 August 2027, Law Entrance Scholarship in Architectural Studies.
Confirm each date on Carleton’s own dates and deadlines page for your intake, because they shift between cycles.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to apply for Carleton scholarships?
For the main ones, no. The renewable Entrance Scholarship and the President’s Welcome Award both arrive automatically with admission. The Prestige Scholarship, the bursaries and a handful of named awards need applications.
How much is the Carleton entrance scholarship?
$3,000 a year at 95 per cent and above, $2,000 at 90 to 94.9 per cent, and $1,000 at 85 to 89.9 per cent, each renewable across four years, for Fall 2027 entry.
Can international students get it?
Yes. Carleton lists international high school students among the eligible groups.
Will my award increase if my final grades improve?
No. Carleton sets the award on your average at the time of admission and does not reassess offers on final high school grades.
What do I need to keep it?
An annual GPA of 10.0, which is A- standing, in each year you want renewal.
Can I hold more than one award?
Yes, in several combinations. The President’s Welcome Award sits alongside the entrance scholarship, and the W.H. Collins and Page Program scholarships combine with the Entrance or Prestige awards.
How much is the Prestige Scholarship worth?
Carleton does not publish the figure on its public pages. Write to awards@carleton.ca and ask rather than trusting a listing site’s number.
Does Carleton have full scholarships for international students?
Not among its entrance awards. The maximum realistic first-year package of about $8,000 sits against total costs of $59,910 to $75,910.
Is IELTS required?
Carleton sets its own English language requirements and several qualifications satisfy them. Where a medium of instruction letter applies to your case, our free MOI generator produces the request letter for your registrar.
What to do this week
Three steps, in order. Submit your Carleton application as early as you can with the strongest interim average you hold, because that average fixes your award. If your average sits at 90 per cent or above, mark 1 March for the Prestige Scholarship and ask a teacher for the reference letter now rather than in February. Then build a funding plan for the gap, using the cost table above and your own programme’s figure.
Our free tools cost nothing and need no account, the personal statement generator, the CV reviewer, and the email reviewer for anything you send the awards office.
We checked every figure in this guide against Carleton University’s own admissions, awards and international costs pages in October 2026. Award values, deadlines and tuition change between cycles, and we found two of Carleton’s own pages disagreeing on dates, confirm anything decisive with awards@carleton.ca before you rely on it. If you find something here that no longer matches, write to us at scholarwingofficial@gmail.com and we will correct it.
Sources: Carleton Undergraduate Admissions, Scholarships and Bursaries · Carleton Awards and Financial Aid, Entrance Scholarships · Carleton, President’s Welcome Award for International Students · Carleton, USA and International Costs