OISE Bursary Program
The OISE Bursary Program provides financial assistance to full-time OISE students who demonstrate financial need above and beyond OSAP or their home province's student financial aid program. The bursary is non-repayable and intended to assist you in financing your education. Below is a summary of the Bursary Program's policies. Students are encouraged to review this entire webpage carefully before submitting an application.
Who can apply?
- Registered full-time domestic OISE degree-seeking students who are recipients of OSAP or Out of Province financial aid and who demonstrate financial need.
- Note: Students who have been deemed ineligible by their province for government financial aid, please read below section on OSAP ineligibility.
When are the deadlines and application periods?
- The Summer 2024 Bursary is currently closed.
- The Fall 2024 Bursary will open in late September.
How often can I apply?
- MT and MA-CSE students: Fall, Winter and Summer semester (3 times per academic year).
- MEd, MA, EdD, and PhD students: Fall and Winter semester only (2 times per academic year).
How long does an assessment take?
An assessment can take around 6 weeks, but may take longer during peak periods which are typically at the beginning and end of each session. Files are reviewed in the order in which they are submitted.
Fall and Winter term applications are not processed until after U of T Financial Aid (UTAPS) or Professional Master's Financial Aid (PMFA-OISE) information becomes available at the University. We expect to receive this information in mid-October for the Fall and mid-February for the Winter.
The OISE Emergency Bursary:
Regardless of the program of study and session, a student who encounters an unexpected financial emergency can be considered for an OISE Emergency Bursary. The OISE Emergency Bursary aims to provide short-term financial relief to students experiencing an immediate financial crisis caused by unforeseen circumstances. The Emergency Bursary cannot serve as a continued funding source or make up for a shortage in OSAP and other graduate funding sources.
Definition: An emergency is an expense or event in the current session that is (1) unforeseen, (2) derails a student鈥檚 original budget for the current session and (3) impacts a student's ability to continue in the current academic session. Students are expected to review their budgeting plan annually before the start of each academic year.
Emergency Application Process: If you are in a financial emergency, please use the online application 鈥楢dditional Information Student Statement鈥 section to briefly describe the nature of the unexpected financial emergency and how it has impacted your original budget plan for the session. You must provide supporting documentation, if applicable. For example, if you are claiming an unforeseen expense, receipts must be provided along with your statement. After submitting the online bursary application, please email the OISE Financial Aid & Awards Coordinator (oise.financialaid@utoronto.ca) with the subject line 鈥淔inancial Emergency鈥 and report that you have successfully submitted the emergency bursary application.鈥
The program adheres to the . However, it is also sensitive to extenuating personal circumstances and may consider these when assessing bursary applications.
Bursary Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must be registered as a full-time student in an OISE graduate program. Successful applicants are expected to remain registered in the session the bursary is awarded. Students who cancel their registration in the same session that they receive a bursary may be required to return the bursary funds.
Note: Fee-exempt Summer students who are automatically registered by the OISE Registrar's Office must be enrolled in Summer courses to apply for the Summer Emergency Bursary.
Students are expected to rely on OSAP or other government assistance, including other provincial/territorial government financial aid or First Nations band funding, up to the maximum amount of financial assistance provided (loans and grants). If you are eligible for OSAP or other government assistance, you must apply first before seeking assistance from the OISE Bursary Program. If you have been deemed ineligible to receive government student financial aid, you must explain the reason for the ineligibility and provide documentation showing proof of ineligibility in your application.
Applicants must demonstrate financial need over and above what is identified through OSAP: Ontario Student Assistance Program (or other provincial/territorial government assistance or First Nations band funding) standard assessment. The OISE Bursary is not intended to replace OSAP loans.
Any assessed need which remains unmet above the maximum government financial assistance, is expected to be covered by a combination of non-repayable grants from the University of Toronto [depending on your program, either or OISE's Professional Masters Financial Aid (PMFA)] and .
In order to be considered for UTAPS or the Professional Masters Financial Aid grant, students must apply through the Need Navigator Platform on the University Registrar's Office website at .
The OISE Bursary Program expects that you have planned for your full-time graduate education. The purpose of the Bursary Program is to supplement, not replace your resources. In general, you're expected to contribute towards your educational costs. There is a minimum expected student contribution of $3,600 for each OSAP study period. If a student's resources, excluding OSAP, is less than the minimum expected contribution, the difference is calculated and added to the student's resources (known as the adjusted financial contribution).
International students are not normally eligible for support since they must demonstrate sufficient financial resources in order to be approved to study in Canada.
They may be considered for emergency assistance if their financial needs are the result of unanticipated circumstances recognized by the Bursary Program. If you are an international student experiencing an unforeseen financial emergency, please contact oise.financialaid@utoronto.ca.
The University of Toronto funding guarantee referenced in the Student Financial Aid policy does not apply to students who are ineligible for government support for reasons such as defaults on previous government loans, the under-reporting of previous income, disqualifying credit histories, or reaching maximum lifetime OSAP limits.
Students in this category should have a solid financial plan in place as the bursary program cannot and will not replace funds that OSAP and University of Toronto grants otherwise might have provided. Each application will be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine the level of support that is appropriate and feasible.
Application Opening & Closing Dates
Summer 2024 Applications (MT & MA-CSE Only) - Currently Closed. The OISE Bursary Program will re-open in late September. Date to be determined.
Summer 2024 applications will open on May 1, 2024 and will CLOSE on July 23, 2024.
Applications will not be accepted after the deadline. Applications with outstanding information or documentation (incomplete files) after the deadline will be closed. All applicants should strive to fulfill requests for additional information or documentation by the deadline.
Fall 2023 applications will open on September 19, 2023 and will CLOSE on November 20, 2023.
Fall term applications are not processed until after U of T Financial Aid (UTAPS) or Professional Masters Financial Aid (PMFA-OISE) information becomes available at the University. We expect to receive this information in mid-October.
Winter 2024 applications will open on January 9, 2024 and will CLOSE on February 27, 2024.
Winter term applications are not processed until after U of T Financial Aid (UTAPS) or Professional Masters Financial Aid (PMFA-OISE) information becomes available at the University. We expect to receive this information in mid-February.
Summer 2024 applications will open on May 1, 2024 and will CLOSE on July 23, 2024. (For full time students in the MT and MA CSE program and for other OISE students on an emergency basis.)
Application Process
Carefully review the eligibility requirements, then complete and submit your application.
The OISE Bursary Committee considers reasonable general expenses (based on the academic year) without documentation. These include: tuition and incidental fees, books and related costs, rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, maintenance fees, property taxes, food, transportation, communication, household supplies, recreation and entertainment, clothing, and personal and health care expenses.
Students are required to upload any supporting documentation before submitting the online application. All additional allowable expenses supporting documentation for consideration by the OISE Bursary Committee can be uploaded in the respective online application fields.
Additional allowable expenses
If you are claiming additional allowable expenses, you must submit supporting documentation to clarify your eligibility. Review what counts as an Additional Allowable Expense and what supporting documents are required.
Out-of-province students
Out-of-province students will need to upload a student loan assessment from their home province in the online application.
Note: If you receive an error message (413 File Size Too Large) when trying to submit your application, it means the size of your documents uploaded cumulatively exceed the upload limit. To work around this, you may upload your files one at time, click on the save button after each upload, and then click on the edit button again to upload the next file. If this does not resolve the issue, please submit your application without supporting documents and then email your documents separately to oise.financialaid@utoronto.ca.
An assessment can take 4-6 weeks, but may take longer during peak periods which are typically at the beginning and end of each session. Assessments may also be delayed if OSAP, UTAPS and PMFA-OISE amounts have not been confirmed.
Information Request: Required Student Response
During the assessment process, should the application information submitted by the student require clarification so the OISE Bursary Committee can review it, an information request may be sent to the student through the online bursary portal.
It is the student鈥檚 responsibility to respond to the information request in a timely manner clarifying the bursary application details so the assessment process may proceed.
A communication response will be sent to each applicant once the application has been assessed.
Bursaries are typically applied to outstanding fees first. However, if the student faces extenuating personal circumstances and identifies this in the online application, the OISE Bursary Committee will consider alternate arrangements.
Additional Allowable Expenses
Claims for additional allowable expenses without valid supporting documentation will be not be considered.
The supporting documentation for any additional allowable expenses is uploaded by the student in the online application process. Submitted documents must be relevant to the dates of the term that the student applies for a bursary. For example, an application for the Fall term should have documents dated during the period September - December.
Note: If you receive an error message (413 File Size Too Large) when trying to submit your application, it means the size of your documents uploaded cumulatively exceed the upload limit. To work around this, you may upload your files one at time, click on the save button after each upload, and then click on the edit button again to upload the next file. If this does not resolve the issue, please submit your application without supporting documents and then email your documents separately to oise.financialaid@utoronto.ca.
We allow expense claims of 50% of the monthly required interest payments on credit cards, consumer loans and personal loans to a combined maximum of $250.00/month.
If you are registered in a professional Master's program and are also using a student line of credit to cover assessed needs over the OSAP maximum, you can claim 100% of this debt servicing cost. There is a line on the bursary application to record this expense.
An example of a non-OSAP or government loan(s) is a Scotiabank line of credit program arranged by the University of Toronto, or an equivalent loan agreement negotiated by the student.
Supporting Documentation Required: Most recent credit card, loan, and/or line(s) of credit statements showing an interest charge.
For students with children, 12 years of age or younger, reasonable child care costs will be considered, provided that the student's partner is working.
A maximum of $548 of child care costs per child per month can be considered.
Supporting Documentation Required: Documentation from your child care provider.
Because students are automatically covered by University of Toronto's student health plan, all eligible costs should first be claimed against that plan. However, we consider reasonable assistance for health care services provided by a regulated health care professional not covered by an insurance plan.
A maximum of $1,500 per year for all professional/regulated services combined can be considered under this provision.
Supporting Documentation Required: Receipts, including assessed claim documentation from student health plan provider.
The costs of vehicle insurance is allowed to a maximum of $200.00 per month.
Supporting Documentation Required: Most recent auto insurance policy document. The statement should show the coverage/policy period and the premium. The applicant must be listed as a driver on the policy.
Students with expenses that do not fit into an established category may provide information which will allow the bursary committee to determine if it is an expense which the University of Toronto policy will allow the committee to recognize.
The primary purpose of this category is to allow applicants to claim unexpected or unforeseen emergency expenses incurred during the academic study period. Supporting documents are required.
Do not report common living expenses or tuition fees in this category. The OISE Bursary Committee already considers reasonable general expenses (based on the academic year and the student's reported living arrangement) without documentation. These include: tuition and incidental fees, books and related costs, rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, maintenance fees, property taxes, food, transportation, communication, household supplies, recreation and entertainment, clothing, and personal and health care expenses.
Supporting Documentation Required: Receipts or other documentation depending on the nature of the expense.
Ineligible Expenses
Examples of ineligible expenses include:
1. Debts
E.g., income taxes, unpaid tuition from previous years.
2. Obligations
E.g., court-imposed fines/payments.
3. Vacations and gifts