Scholarships and Bursaries in Newfoundland and Labrador: What Exists and Who Qualifies
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026 • Scholarships & Funding, Canadian Universities & Colleges
Newfoundland and Labrador funds about 201 high school scholarships worth $1,000 to $2,500 a year, and Memorial University adds its own entrance and named awards on top. Most of these need no separate application: your grades and scholarship score qualify you automatically.
🎓 Junior Jubilee Scholarship pays $2,500 to the province's highest scholarship score
Electoral District and Centenary of Responsible Government awards pay $1,000 each, spread across every district
Lester B. Pearson Scholarship funds a two year program at Pearson College UWC in Victoria, BC, worth about $34,000 a year
Memorial University's Transforming Our Horizons entrance scholarships apply automatically on admission
Named awards such as Schulich Leader, SHAD, and Harrison McCain top up what Memorial offers
💵 NL Housing Corporation gives 12 awards of $1,000 to graduating students and adult learners
Provincial government scholarships for high school graduates
The Department of Education administers around 201 scholarships a year to NL high school graduates, ranging from $1,000 to $2,500, based on your Department of Education scholarship score rather than a separate application (Government of Newfoundland and Labrador ).
| Scholarship | Amount | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|
| Junior Jubilee Scholarship | $2,500 | Highest scholarship score in the province |
| Constable W.C. Moss Memorial Scholarship | $1,000 | Child of an active, retired, or deceased RNC or RCMP member with the highest score in that group |
| Electoral District Scholarships | $1,000 each | Three top graduates in each provincial electoral district |
| Centenary of Responsible Government Scholarships | $1,000 each | 79 additional graduates ranked by scholarship score |
You do not submit a separate form for these.
Your final grades feed the Department of Education scholarship score, and the department ranks and pays out automatically. Winners are published each year in the provincial scholarship winners list .
Larger provincial awards
Two provincial programs pay well beyond the standard $1,000 to $2,500 range. The Lester B. Pearson Scholarship sends a Level II NL student to Pearson College UWC in Victoria, British Columbia, for a two year International Baccalaureate program, worth about $34,000 a year (Government of Newfoundland and Labrador ). RISE Awards fund high school students attending STEM enrichment programs, with the amount set by the specific program you attend.
The NL Housing Corporation funds 12 scholarships of $1,000 each: six for high school graduates entering post-secondary study and six for adult learners.
Memorial University entrance and in-course scholarships
Memorial University does not require a separate application for most of its scholarships and awards. The university evaluates every admitted student automatically through its Transforming Our Horizons Entrance Scholarship Program and recommendations from individual academic units (Memorial University ).
Once you are enrolled, in-course scholarships are organized by academic unit, including Business, Engineering, and Nursing, by campus (St. John's, Grenfell in Corner Brook, and Labrador), and by convocation. Memorial also lists dedicated study abroad funding and the Killam Fellowship among its award categories.
Named and employer-funded awards
Community groups and employers fund named awards that flow through Memorial's scholarship office rather than a separate application system. These include the Joyce Foundation Bursary, the Schulich Leader Scholarship for students heading into science, technology, engineering, or math, the SHAD Scholarship, the Harrison McCain Scholarship Bursary, the Fry Family Foundation Dr. Philip Warren Award, and the Ocean Ranger Memorial Award (Memorial University ).
Schulich Leader nominations go through your high school, so ask your guidance counsellor whether your school participates before you graduate.
Scholarships beyond Memorial University
Memorial University enrolls most of the province's post-secondary students, but College of the North Atlantic and Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook run their own award programs alongside the provincial scholarships above. Ask your program's awards or student services office directly for a list specific to your campus, since these vary by program and are not centralized on the provincial scholarship page.
Scholarship income and your taxes
Scholarship, fellowship, and bursary income is not taxed for a student enrolled full time in a program that qualifies for the education amount, under the Canada Revenue Agency's scholarship exemption. Keep every award letter for your records regardless of the source, since you still report the income even when it is exempt from tax.
Need-based aid alongside scholarships
Scholarships reward academic performance. If you need help covering costs regardless of grades, StudentAidNL is the province's combined federal-provincial loan and grant application, submitted through one portal instead of separate federal and provincial forms (StudentAidNL ). Grant and bursary maximums change every academic year, so confirm current figures on the StudentAidNL site before you build a budget around a specific amount.
Combining a scholarship with StudentAidNL loans and grants does not usually shrink the scholarship itself, but a large award lowers your assessed financial need and reduces the grant or loan portion of your aid package. Report every scholarship you receive when you apply or update your StudentAidNL file, since an undisclosed award creates a repayment problem later.
Community and employer awards
Local credit unions, industry associations, and individual employers across Newfoundland and Labrador fund smaller named awards tied to a specific community, high school, or trade. These rarely appear on a single provincial list, so ask your high school guidance counsellor, your program's academic unit, and any employer connected to your family about awards specific to your town or field of study.
How to apply
Scholarship and bursary deadlines cluster around two points in the year: before high school graduation for entrance awards, and early in each fall or winter term for in-course and community awards. Build a simple calendar so you do not miss a nomination window.
Check with your high school guidance office each fall for scholarships that need a nomination, such as Schulich Leader
Confirm your Memorial University admission is complete before entrance scholarships are calculated, since most are automatic on acceptance
Watch for community and employer award deadlines through your academic unit once you're enrolled
Apply to StudentAidNL separately if you need loans or need-based grants on top of scholarships