Provincial and Territorial Student Aid Programs

Students who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or protected persons may be eligible for financial assistance from their provincial or territorial government.

Access the Out-of-Province Request Portal

Am I Eligible?

See below for more details on your specific province or territory.

For financial aid purposes, students must be registered in a full-time course load in each term of study for which funding/interest- or payment-free status is being requested. Provinces do not allow averaging of courses between terms. These minimum course loads may be different from how Faculties define full-time course loads to determine registration status for their students.

Full-Time Status – Fall/Winter

Undergraduate: Undergraduate full-time students must remain enrolled in 1.5 credits/60% of a full-time course load (1.0 credits if they have a permanent disability status registered with their home province) or more in each term they have requested funding/interest- or payment-free status..

Exception: Newfoundland and Labrador only – Full-time studies defined as follows:
Provincial: minimum enrolment is 80% of a full-time course load
Federal: minimum enrolment is 60% of a full-time course load

Graduate and Professional Degree: Graduate and professional program students must meet the minimum full-time course load defined by their program/faculty. 

Full-Time Status – Summer

Undergraduate:  

  • If you are enrolled in courses from May to August: 1.5 credits (1.0 credits for students with documented permanent disability with their home province)
    Exception: Newfoundland and Labrador only – Full-time studies defined as follows:
    • Provincial: minimum enrolment is 80% of a full-time course load
    • Federal: minimum enrolment is 60% of a full-time course load
  • If you are enrolled in courses from just May to June, or only July to August: 1.0 credits (0.5 credits for students with a documented permanent disability with their home province) 

Graduate: Graduate and professional program students must meet the minimum full-time course load defined by their program/faculty. 

Part-Time Status

All students interested in financial aid applications who do not meet the above requirements are considered to be in part-time studies. Students must contact their home province to determine whether they may be eligible to apply for a part-time financial aid.

For financial aid applications, “Full-time” is defined as being registered in a minimum 60% of a full-time course load in each term of study the student has requested funding/interest-free status (40% of a full-time course load for students with a documented permanent disability or documented persistent or prolonged disability).

This full-time status definition may be different from how Faculties define full-time status to determine registration status for their students.

Course loads are not averaged over terms. For example, if a student has applied for/is receiving funding for the fall and winter terms, the student must remain enrolled in 60% of a full-time course load in the fall term and 60% full-time course load in the winter term (40% for students with documented disability status).

It is your responsibility to check the program length/number of study weeks requirement of your home province.

Note: Students with a permanent disability or documented persistent or prolonged disability must establish disability status with their home province. After establishing disability status with their home province, students may further contact the U of T Accessibility Services office to be set up with an advisor.  

  • International Dentist Advanced Placement Program (IDAPP) for Foreign-Trained Dentists  
  • Dental Specialty Assessment and Training Program (DSATP)  
  • Non-conjoint Toronto School of Theology Programs (TST students in conjoint programs are eligible to apply for OSAP)  
  • All executive programs at the Rotman School of Management 
  • Executive MBA programs at the Rotman School of Management
  • Graduate Diploma in Professional Accounting – Faculty of Management  
  • International Pharmacy Graduate Program (Canadian Pharmacy Skills) for individuals with foreign pharmacy degrees  
  • Ontario Institute for Studies in Education – additional qualification courses  
  • School of Continuing Studies courses  
  • Residency programs  
  • Certificate in Environmental Management  
  • Certificate in Renewable Energy  
  • Certificate in GIS for Environmental Management  
  • Certificate in Environmental Health  
  • Certificate in Leadership in Higher Education  
  • Internationally Trained Lawyers Program  
  • National Committee on Accreditation at the Faculty of Law  
  • Master of Mathematical Finance  
  • Doctor of Public Health  
  • Master of Forensic Accounting
  • Any non-degree studies

Students must contact their home province well in advance of the exchange study period start date to determine whether they may be eligible to receive financial aid. 

How Do I Apply for Financial Assistance?

Fall/Winter financial aid applications: These applications become available from your home province or territory around May of each year.

Summer financial aid applications: You should contact your home province or territory’s financial aid office several months prior to the start of the first day of summer session classes. They will help you to determine the process, eligibility and timeframes for applications. 

If you have paper forms that need to be completed by the Out-of-Province financial aid team, please submit them through our Out-of-Province Request Portal.

British Columbia students: If you have submitted a StudentAid BC application for full-time studies, please submit the Appendix 3 through the StudentAid BC online portal.

I Applied for Financial Assistance – Now What?

The University Registrar’s Office will begin processing requests (e.g., completing forms uploaded on the Out-of-Province Request Portal) for the upcoming Fall/Winter session starting in mid-July, when program costs and study start/end dates information are available. As a result, students who submit requests prior to mid-July must expect an extended gap of time from their request date.

Requests will be completed in date order received.

Students will receive email notification at their utoronto.ca email account once requests have been completed. Please allow three weeks from mid-July for forms to be completed.

Confirmations of enrolment (COEs) are completed by the University Registrar’s Office within the first three weeks of class start date, or within three weeks of receiving the COE request from the province – whichever is later.

The student financial aid grants and loans that you are eligible to receive from your home province will be directly deposited into the bank account you listed on your government student funding application; no funds will be sent directly by your home province to U of T. You can use the grant and loan funds to pay your outstanding balance. Financial information may be viewed on ACORN under ‘Financial Account.’ See the ACORN How-to step-by-step guide

Payment Instructions: See ‘Making Payments’ instructions on the Student Accounts website. 

The University Registrar’s Office will assist Canadian non-Ontario students complete any Confirmation of Enrolment processing that the student requires so funding can be received. On occasion, a student may need to initiate an appeal to their home province for their financial aid application. The University Registrar’s Office may assist with the appeals process in such cases. 

If you have further questions, please see these resources: