McGill offers $3,000 award to help out-of-province students with tuition increase
McGill University will provide a $3,000 annual scholarship for new undergraduate students from other provinces to help offset a tuition increase imposed by the provincial government. The school made this announcement on December 19.
About 80% of Canadian undergraduate students who apply to the university will be eligible for the scholarship, starting in the 2024-2025 school year.
The Canada Award will be guaranteed for up to four years of study, as the university aims to maintain enrollment due to the province’s plan to raise tuition for out-of-province students from $8,992 to $12,000 per year.
“Roughly 1,200 students would be eligible for this award, but again we don’t know because we’re facing an uphill battle where the messaging from the government has potentially turned away some students,” Fabrice Labeau, deputy provost, said in an interview.
“So what we’re trying to do with this award is actually do the opposite and bring students back, make them consider McGill as their place of choice, because we’re ready to host them, and we’re trying to help them overcome new barriers that have been put in place by the government.”
The scholarship will be available for Canadian students studying in arts, agricultural and environmental sciences, music, education, architecture, nursing, and most science programs. These are departments that may see a decline in enrollment if tuition were set at $12,000. Students in engineering, administration, dentistry, medicine and law will not be eligible for the scholarship.
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McGill University President Deep Saini stated that the school’s success relies on its ability to attract talent from Quebec, Canada, and around the world. He believes the scholarship will allow the institution to maintain its status as one of the world’s best.
Mr. Saini mentioned that funding the scholarship will require financial sacrifices from the university, but added that out-of-province students are “part of our DNA.”
“We believe that the diversity of McGill’s student population makes for a richer learning experience that benefits all our students,” he said.
Quebec has presented the tuition increase for out-of-province students at McGill and Concordia University as a means to protect the French language in the city. Initially, the government planned to almost double tuition to $17,000 from $8,992, but it then decided to set fees at $12,000 starting next fall.
There will also be a new language requirement beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year, requiring English-language universities to ensure 80% of their graduates from out of province have an intermediate level of French by the time they graduate.
Both Concordia and McGill have stated that they have seen significant decreases in applications since the announcement of the tuition hike in October. They have warned that the increase could result in a sharp decline in enrollment and severely impact their finances.
Quebec Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry responded to McGill’s announcement with a short statement.
“McGill is free to grant scholarships to its students from its own funds,” her office said. “That said, the minister hopes to be able to count on their collaboration in order to implement the announced measures.”
McGill estimates that a tuition increase to $12,000 would lead to a loss of revenue between $42 million and $94 million. Mr. Labeau stated that the university has made some cuts in response to the hike.
“We’re going to be doing targeted budget cuts and at the end of the day, it’s going to be an internal reallocation,” Mr. Labeau said of funding the scholarship.
