Provincial Government Student Aid Programs

Determining your residency

Your “Home” province or territory is usually defined as:

• the province in which your parents currently reside, OR
• if you are an independent applicant, the province in which you have most recently lived and worked for 12 consecutive months (excluding residence for full-time attendance at a post-secondary institution)

Use the links below to find out more about Government Student Aid in your home province.

• Alberta Financial Assistance
• British Columbia Student Assistance Program
• Manitoba Student Financial Assistance
• New Brunswick Student Assistance Program
• Newfoundland Student Aid System
• Northwest Territories Student Financial Assistance
• Nova Scotia Student Assistance Program
• Nunavut Student Loan Program
• Prince Edward Island Student Financial Services
• Quebec Financial Aid Program***
• Saskatchewan Student Assistance Program
• Yukon Student Financial Assistance

Full-Time vs Part-Time

Funding is available for both full-time and part-time post-secondary students.

Full-time

• Undergraduate: You must be taking 60% or more of a full course load to be considered full-time for Provincial Government Student Aid programs.
  • This means a minimum course load of 1.5 credits per term for undergraduate students.
• Graduate: Graduate students must be designated as a full-time graduate student by the Office of Graduate Studies.
  • If you are a full-time graduate student, you will enter a 100% course load on your Provincial Government Student Aid application, regardless of the number of credits you are taking.
• Check here for the Summer OSAP course load table.

Part-Time

• Undergraduate: You must be taking less than 60% of a full course load to be considered part-time for Provincial Government Student Aid programs.
  • This means a course load of fewer than 1.5 credits per term for undergraduate students.
• Graduate: Graduate students must be designated as a part-time graduate student by the Office of Graduate Studies.
  • If you area  part-time graduate student, you will enter a 50% course load on your OSAP application, regardless of the number of credits you are taking.
• Check here for the Summer OSAP course load table.

Students with a Permanent Disability

• Students with a permanent disability are eligible for either Full-time or Part-time Provincial Government Student Aid funding when taking a 40% course load (1.0 credit per term).
  • The full-time program will provide you with funding for tuition, books and living costs
  • The part-time program will only provide you with funding for tuition and books.

***Quebec students at Carleton University

To qualify for the Quebec Loans and Bursaries program, you must be enrolled in a degree program and enrolled in at least 2.0 credits per term to be considered a full-time student.  

If you are unsure which program is best for you, contact us.

Requesting a Payment Deferral

If you will be receiving funding from a Provincial Student Aid Program and you intend to complete your fee payment with these funds, you may be eligible to defer payment of your Fall /Winter  fees without incurring the Late Payment Charge. You must contact the Awards Office  to request a payment deferral before the end of August payment deadline to avoid the Late Payment Charge.