OISE Bursary Program
The OISE Bursary Program
The OISE Bursary Program offers non-repayable financial aid to full-time OISE students demonstrating financial need beyond what is covered by OSAP or their home province's student financial aid program.
The Bursary is a last-resort financial support option, intended for students who have exhausted all other avenues of financial assistance.
Eligibility
To qualify for an OISE Bursary, students must meet the following criteria:
- Be registered as a full-time domestic student in a graduate degree program at OISE.
- Have exhausted all other avenues of financial assistance, including an application to the (or other provincial student aid program) and the .
- Demonstrate financial need according to the Bursary Program's assessment process.
Deadlines
The Winter 2025 Bursary Program will begin accepting applications on January 15, 2025 and close on February 28, 2025.
If you would like to submit an OISE Emergency Bursary application after the deadline, please email oise.financialaid@utoronto.ca. Please explain the nature of your financial emergency and provide supporting documents if applicable.
Otherwise, applications will not be accepted after the deadline. If you have already applied and the OISE Bursary Committee has requested additional information, you must submit the required details by the deadline.
Application Process
Step 1: Apply for Your Home Province's Financial Aid Program
- Begin by applying for financial aid through your home province's program. Students are expected to rely upon the full amount of loans and grants offered.
Step 2: Submit an Application for the PMFA/UTAPS Programs through the (New for 2024-2025).
- To be considered for other need-based opportunities at U of T, such as the UTAPS Program or the PMFA Program. Submission of a Need Navigator application is required for OISE Bursary consideration. Note that Need Navigator and OISE Bursary deadlines differ—apply early to ensure timely consideration.
- Please note that a Need Navigator application by itself is not an application for an OISE Bursary. Students must apply through the OISE Bursary Portal.
Step 3: Submit Your Bursary Application and Supporting Documents through the OISE Bursary Portal
- Submit your application through the OISE Bursary Portal and provide applicable supporting documents. Access the Bursary Portal by scrolling to the bottom of this page.
- You must provide relevant documentation for any government financial aid/awards received, student lines of credit, and additional allowable expenses. Documentation for government financial aid can include a screenshot/pdf of your funding summary, award letter, or notice of assessment showing total loans and grants for the academic study period. For a guide on documentation for additional allowable expenses, navigate below to the section on Additional Allowable Expenses.
Application Frequency
- MT and MA-CSE Students
- Eligible to apply once per semester.
- MEd, MA, EdD, and PhD Students
- Eligible to apply once per semester in the Fall and Winter ONLY.
Results
- Applications are processed within 6-8 weeks, depending on volume.
- For Fall term applications submitted in late September, expect a decision around mid November.
- For Winter term applications submitted in early January, expect a decision around mid March.
- Please note: PMFA & UTAPS: Fall and Winter term applications are not processed until after OISE receives U of T Financial Aid (UTAPS) or Professional Master's Financial Aid (PMFA-OISE) information, expected by early November for Fall and early March for Winter.
The OISE Emergency Bursary
Regardless of the program of study and session, a registered 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.
What is an Emergency?
An unforeseen expense or event during the current session that meets all of the following criteria:
- It is recognized by the Bursary Program as an eligible expense or event for emergency support consideration.
- It disrupts your budget, which would otherwise have been adequate for the academic year.
- It impacts your ability to continue in the current academic session, in which you are registered, are in good academic standing, and have made academic progress.
Application Process:
Step 1: Submit an Application
- Follow the same application procedures for a standard application.
Step 2: Provide a Statement
- Use the ‘Additional Information Student Statement’ section in the online application to describe the unforeseen emergency and its impact on your budget. You must provide supporting documentation, such as receipts for unexpected expenses.
- Please be advised that a student cannot apply for an Emergency Bursary in anticipation of a future expense that has not yet been incurred. Receipts/invoice are required.
Step 3: Notify Us
- After submitting your application, email the OISE Financial Aid & Awards Coordinator at oise.financialaid@utoronto.ca with the subject line “Financial Emergency” to confirm your submission.
The program adheres to the . However, it is also sensitive to extenuating personal circumstances and may consider these when assessing bursary applications.
Technical Issues?
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.
If you receive error message (403 Forbidden) when trying to apply, try accessing the portal in an incognito browser, Alternatively, clear the cache/cookies in your browser, as they could be causing the error. If you still receive this message, contact Education Commons through their online Zoom drop-in sessions for live troubleshooting assistance.
If you receive any other error message, please reach out to Education Commons for technical assistance.
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 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 academic year.
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 eligible for support since they must demonstrate sufficient financial resources in order to be approved to study in Canada.
In rare circumstances, 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.
Students who are ineligible for government student aid 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 will not replace funds that OSAP and other 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.
Please note: You must upload proof of OSAP ineligibility with your application. This can be a document, screenshot, or email from OSAP or your home province's student aid program stating that you are ineligible for assistance and the reason for the ineligibility.
If your ineligibility cannot be verified, you will be required to apply or complete the and provide a screenshot of the result.
Application Opening & Closing Dates
The 2025 Winter OISE Bursary Program will open January 15, 2025 and close February 28, 2025.
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 2024 applications will open September 26, 2024 and close on October 31, 2024*
Please be advised that your application can take 6-8 weeks to process, depending on application volume.
Winter 2025 portal will open on January 15 and close on February 28.
Please be advised that your application can take 6-8 weeks to process, depending on application volume. Decisions will be released starting in mid-March.
Summer 2025 applications will open in early May and close in late July (For full time students in the MT and MA CSE program and for other OISE students on an emergency basis.)
Application Process
NEW: Effective starting September 2024, students applying to the OISE Bursary Program are required to submit a Need Navigator application in addition to applying through the OISE Bursary Portal.
Note: The deadlines for the Need Navigator and the OISE Bursary Program are different. Please plan accordingly and submit your application through Need Navigator early. You will need to submit a Need Navigator application if you intend on applying for any kind of OISE need-based financial assistance. To check Need Navigator deadlines, visit
To submit a Need Navigator application, visit
Note: You only need to submit one Need Navigator application per academic year. If you have already submitted a Need Navigator application for another need-based opportunity, you do not to need to re-apply again. The data from your application will be used to assess you for all need-based opportunities at OISE.
What is Need Navigator?
The Need Navigator is a centralized financial need application platform. The data collected from Need Navigator is used by the University Registrar's Office, individual faculties, and academic divisions to assess student financial need for various programs, such as UTAPS, the Professional Master's Financial Aid, and OISE need-based awards.
For Professional Master's Students (MT, MEd, MA-CSE):
Please note that while the website for Need Navigator is linked to the UTAPS Program, which professional master's students are not eligible for, the data collected from the platform is also used for other purposes, such as assessments for other OISE need-based awards and grants. Therefore, the Need Navigator application serves a multi-purpose beyond assessing for UTAPS.
For example, a full-time domestic OISE professional master's student who is a recipient of provincial government financial aid (e.g., OSAP) is not eligible for UTAPS. However, they should still submit an application through Need Navigator to be considered for the Professional Master's Financial Aid Grant, which is the equivalent of UTAPS for professional master's students. As well, if a student is interested in applying for a need-based OISE faculty-wide award, they would be required to submit an application through Need Navigator for the financial need assessment portion of their application.
The OISE Bursary Program serves as a last resort emergency support program for students. It is expected that eligible students exhaust their other options for financial support before applying to the OISE Bursary. This means that a student would need to first apply for provincial government financial aid, and then seek support from the UTAPS/PMFA Programs through Need Navigator if eligible, before applying for a Bursary.
Carefully review the eligibility requirements, then complete and submit your application. Keep in mind the following before you submit:
- Have you submitted an application through Need Navigator?
- Do you meet the legal status, registration status, and program eligibility requirements?
- Have you exhausted all other forms of financial support, including an application for government financial aid through your home province?
- Do you have all supporting documentation ready for upload?
- Documents are required for additional allowable expenses.
- If you have received government financial aid, please upload a screenshot, email, or document from your home province showing the total amount of loans and/or grants you were offered for the academic study period.
- If you are OSAP ineligible, please upload a screenshot, email, or document from your home province showing that you are ineligible and the reason for the ineligibility.
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 6-8 weeks, depending on application volume. Please plan accordingly and apply early for an earlier assessment. Applications are reviewed in the order submitted and requests to expedite applications will not be accepted.
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’s 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. If an applicant claims an additional allowable expense but does not upload documentation, the claim will be removed and will not be factored into the assessment.
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 on General Living Expenses
You do not need to report general living expenses in your application. These include tuition fees, books, rent, mortgage, utilities, insurance, maintenance fees, property taxes, food, transportation, communication, household/personal supplies, recreation, clothing, and entertainment.
These costs are automatically considered by the OISE Bursary Committee. A monthly allowable amount for living costs is assigned to every applicant based on their reported living arrangement.
Please only claim the expenses listed in the application, if applicable to you.
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. For example, if you pay $50 in interest fees per month on a credit card or student line of credit due to an outstanding balance, you should report $25 per month on your application. Note that this provision refers to monthly interest and NOT the monthly balance.
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 (1) your name (2) the date and (3) the monthly interest charge.
For students with children who are residing with them in Canada, 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 showing (1) your name, (2) the date, and (3) cost of child care.
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 from your professional healthcare provider including (1) your name, (2) the date, (3) description of the service/product received, and (4) the amount billed.
- Claim statement from your GreenShield Student Insurance showing the amount not covered by insurance. If you have maxed out on your student insurance plan, please provide proof.
You can claim vehicle insurance costs up to a maximum of $200.00 per month.
Supporting Documentation Required: Most recent auto insurance policy document. The statement must show (1) your name on the policy, (2) the coverage/policy period, and (3) the monthly or annual premium.
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, personal supplies, and clothing.
Supporting Documentation Required: Receipts or other documentation depending on the nature of the expense.
Ineligible Expenses
Examples of ineligible expenses include (but are not limited to):
1. Debts
E.g., income taxes, unpaid tuition from previous years.
2. Obligations
E.g., court-imposed fines/payments.
3. Vacations and gifts