Provincial Scholarships Program

Date came into force or revised

Revised April 2023

Status

Current

Policy statement

The Provincial Scholarships Program recognizes student achievement and encourages students to pursue post-secondary education.

Purpose or Rationale of Policy

To outline the eligibility criteria for students to receive and redeem awards under the Provincial Scholarships Program.

Policy in full

Core Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for an award through the Provincial Scholarships Program, a student must satisfy the following eligibility requirements.

• Must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (landed immigrant) and have that on record with the school at which they registered for Grade 12.
• Must be a B.C. resident.
• Be or have been in the school year for which the scholarship is awarded:
  • Enrolled in a British Columbia public school (including online learning schools); or
  • Enrolled in a Group 1, 2, or 4 British Columbia Independent School; or
  • Enrolled in a Continuing Education Centre; or
  • Registered as a homeschooler with an eligible school in British Columbia.
• Complete all graduation requirements, and be on record as having graduated, by August 31 of the scholarship awards year.
  • Scholarship awards years start September 1 and end August 31. 

A student may receive only one of each scholarship and cannot receive both a BC Excellence scholarship and a Pathway to Teacher Education scholarship.

Redeeming Scholarships

To redeem a BC Achievement, District/Authority, or BC Excellence scholarship voucher, recipients must wait until their post-secondary programs start, and then provide evidence of enrolment and tuition paid at a post-secondary institution that is designated by the Province of B.C. (i.e., approved for Canada Student Loans), or a post-secondary program provider that is approved by SkilledTradesBC. Programs of study should lead to a post-secondary credential.

To redeem a Pathway to Teacher Education voucher, recipients must provide evidence of enrolment and tuition paid at an approved teacher education program at a B.C. post-secondary institution. To qualify, the program must be a teacher education program which leads to certification to teach in the B.C. K–12 school system. Accordingly, some programs do not qualify for this purpose, such as a Minor in Education. 

Tuition paid must be equal to or greater than the amount of the voucher.

Recipients have five years to redeem most vouchers and seven years for the Pathway to Teacher Education scholarship. Expiry dates are printed on the vouchers.

BC Achievement Scholarship

BC Achievement scholarships recognize graduates for top academic achievement in the grades 10–12 courses (including electives) used to meet B.C. Graduation Program requirements. The average of the final marks from these courses, unique for each student, is calculated to determine recipients. Ties are broken using the final percentage reported for the course used to fulfill the Language Arts 12 graduation requirement.

All courses must be reported by schools to the Ministry with a percentage score, other than the Transfer Standing (TS) or Standing Granted (SG) exception noted below.

Scholarship specific eligibility requirements

Students must meet the following requirements by August 31 of their graduating year:

• meet core eligibility requirements;
• be eligible for a B.C. Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma);
• fulfill the requirements of the B.C. Graduation Program;
• have no more than one TS or SG reported among course marks used to satisfy graduation requirements, regardless of the credit value of the courses; and,
• have for the course used to fulfill the Language Arts 12 graduation requirement a percentage score reported and at least a “B” (73% or above).

District/Authority Scholarship

The District/Authority scholarship is awarded to high school graduates who have demonstrated excellence in their chosen area.

District/Authority scholarships are proportionally distributed across school districts, as well as the independent school system through the Federation of Independent School Associations (FISA), based on September 30 Grade 12 enrolments. 

Students attending public schools apply through their school or district. Students attending independent schools apply through FISA, which facilitates the process for Groups 1, 2, and 4 independent schools.

Scholarship specific eligibility requirements

Students selected as conditional recipients of the District/Authority scholarship must meet the following requirements by August 31 of their graduating year to be confirmed as a recipient and receive their scholarship voucher:

• meet core eligibility requirements;
• fulfill the graduation requirements of either the B.C. Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma) or the B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma (Adult Dogwood); and,
• meet criteria determined by the student’s local scholarship committee, including demonstration of outstanding achievement in one of the areas listed below.

Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies	Business, Home Economics, Media Arts, Technology, Tourism
Community Service (Volunteer Activity)	Includes awareness of local, global, and cultural issues
Fine Arts	Dance, Drama, Music, Visual Arts
Indigenous Languages and Culture	Demonstrated at school or in the community
Languages	External Assessments or Languages Curriculum, including AP and IB courses
Physical Activity (and Health)	Athletics, Dance, Gymnastics
Technical and Trades Training	Coding, Culinary Arts, Mechanics, Robotics, Woodwork

BC Excellence Scholarship

The BC Excellence scholarship is awarded to well-rounded high school graduates who have demonstrated service and leadership, both at school and in their communities, and who show aptitude for and commitment to their chosen career or area of post-secondary study.

Each secondary school in B.C. may nominate one eligible student for this scholarship.

To be considered, applications must be submitted complete, on time, and in the mandatory format.

Scholarship-specific eligibility requirements

Students selected as conditional recipients of the BC Excellence scholarship must meet the following requirements by August 31 of their graduating year to be confirmed as a recipient and receive their scholarship voucher:

• meet core eligibility requirements;
• be eligible for a B.C. Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma);
• fulfill the requirements of the B.C. Graduation Program; and
• have the following final marks.
  • Minimum “B” average in grades 11 and 12 courses required for graduation.
  • Minimum "B" (73% or above) in Language Arts 12.
  • Minimum “B” average, no more than one "C+" (67% or above), and no marks lower than “C+” in courses that fulfill graduation requirements for Science 11 or 12, Math 11, and Social Studies 11 or 12.

Pathway to Teacher Education Scholarship

The Pathway to Teacher Education scholarship is awarded to outstanding high school graduates who have demonstrated a commitment to and aptitude for a career in K–12 teaching.

To be considered, applications must be submitted complete, on time, and in the mandatory format.

Scholarship specific eligibility requirements

Students selected as conditional recipients of the Pathway to Teacher Education scholarship must meet the following requirements by August 31 of their graduating year to be confirmed as a recipient and receive their scholarship voucher: 

• meet core eligibility requirements;
• be eligible for a B.C. Certificate of Graduation (Dogwood Diploma);
• fulfill the requirements of the B.C. Graduation Program; and
• have the following final marks.
  • Minimum “B” average in grades 11 and 12 courses required for graduation.
  • Minimum "B" (73% or above) in Language Arts 12.
  • Minimum “B” average, no more than one "C+" (67% or above), and no marks lower than “C+” in courses that fulfill graduation requirements for Science 11 or 12, Math 11, and Social Studies 11 or 12.