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Scholarships and Awards for UofA CS Students

Money for school is money for school. Whether it's covering tuition, rent, or giving you freedom to focus on studies instead of part-time work, scholarships can make a real difference. Here's what's available specifically for UofA CS students, when to apply, and how to actually win them.

Provincial Government Scholarships

Jason Lang Scholarship

  • Amount: $1,000
  • Criteria: Alberta resident, full-time student, GPA of 3.5+ on a 4.0 scale based on at least an 80% full course load in the previous fall and winter terms
  • Application: Automatic consideration, no application required
  • Timeline: Awarded in fall and winter terms
  • Reality check: As of August 1, 2025, this became meaningfully more competitive. The cutoff was previously 3.2, but it is now 3.5, so this is no longer just "decent grades" territory.

Louise McKinney Post-Secondary Scholarship

  • Amount: $2,500
  • Criteria: Alberta resident, exceptional academic achievement (usually 3.7+ GPA), demonstrated leadership
  • Application: Automatic consideration based on academic record
  • Timeline: Awarded once per academic year
  • Reality check: More competitive than Jason Lang. You need consistent high grades, not just one good semester.

Alexander Rutherford Scholarship

  • Amount: $2,500 (can receive up to $5,000 total across high school achievements)
  • Criteria: Alberta high school graduate achieving 75%+ average in five designated courses
  • Application: Automatic for eligible Alberta high school graduates
  • Timeline: One-time award upon entering university
  • Reality check: If you went to Alberta high school and did well, you probably already got this in first year.

Federal Scholarships and Research Awards

NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)

  • Amount: $4,500 (16 weeks) or $6,750 (24 weeks) + additional funding from supervisor
  • Criteria: Strong academic record, research potential, Canadian citizen/permanent resident
  • Application: Through supervising professor, deadline usually early February
  • Timeline: Summer terms (May-August)
  • Reality check: Excellent way to get research experience + funding. Start building relationships with professors in second year to be competitive.

Canada Student Grants

  • Amount: Varies (up to $3,000+ depending on need)
  • Criteria: Financial need, Canadian citizen/permanent resident
  • Application: Through Alberta Student Aid when applying for student loans
  • Timeline: Each academic year
  • Reality check: Need-based, not merit-based. Worth applying for if you qualify for student loans.

University of Alberta Awards

Dean's Honor Roll

  • Amount: Recognition + transcript notation (valuable for grad school/jobs)
  • Criteria: Top 5% of students in your faculty each year
  • Application: Automatic consideration
  • Timeline: Awarded annually
  • Reality check: Highly competitive but worth achieving. Looks excellent on resumes and grad school applications.

Faculty of Science Awards

Multiple awards available specifically for Science students, including CS:

Rutherford Memorial Scholarship in Science

  • Amount: $1,100
  • Criteria: Outstanding academic achievement in Science
  • Application: Automatic consideration
  • Reality check: Competitive within Science faculty

Peter Lougheed Leadership Award

  • Amount: $500
  • Criteria: Leadership potential and academic excellence
  • Application: Application required (usually due in February)
  • Reality check: They want to see actual leadership activities, not just good grades

Science Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program

  • Amount: $1,500 stipend + research experience
  • Criteria: Strong academic record, interest in research
  • Application: Application required (deadline in January)
  • Reality check: Less competitive than NSERC USRA, good stepping stone to research

Computing Science Department Awards

Dr. Frank Tompa Prize in Computing Science

  • Amount: $500
  • Criteria: Outstanding performance in CS courses, typically final year
  • Application: Nominated by department
  • Reality check: Small but prestigious within the CS community

IBM Prize in Computing Science

  • Amount: Varies
  • Criteria: Excellence in CS studies, often project-based or thesis work
  • Application: Usually nominated by professors
  • Reality check: Industry-sponsored awards look good on resumes

Computing Science Undergraduate Research Awards

  • Amount: Varies
  • Criteria: Research potential in CS
  • Application: Work with CS professors
  • Reality check: Department-specific research funding, good if you're considering grad school

External Tech Industry Scholarships

Google Scholarships (various programs)

  • Amount: $1,000 - $10,000 USD
  • Criteria: Varies by program (often focus on underrepresented groups, academic excellence, leadership)
  • Application: Online applications, usually due in winter
  • Timeline: Awarded for following academic year
  • Reality check: Highly competitive but worth applying. Google Generation Scholarship, Google Lime Scholarship, others.

Microsoft Scholarships

  • Amount: Varies
  • Criteria: Academic achievement, leadership, interest in technology
  • Application: Online applications
  • Reality check: Less well-known than Google scholarships, potentially less competitive

Adobe Research Women-in-Technology Scholarship

  • Amount: $10,000 USD
  • Criteria: Women studying CS/related fields, academic excellence, research interest
  • Application: Online application with research proposal
  • Reality check: Excellent if you meet criteria and are interested in research

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Student Travel Awards

  • Amount: Up to $500 USD for conference travel
  • Criteria: Student presenting at SIAM conferences
  • Application: Conference-specific
  • Reality check: If you're doing research and presenting, these help cover conference costs

Local Edmonton/Alberta Industry Scholarships

TELUS Community Board Scholarship

  • Amount: $1,000
  • Criteria: Community involvement, academic achievement
  • Application: Online application
  • Reality check: Focus on community service alongside academics

ATB Financial Community Scholarship

  • Amount: Varies
  • Criteria: Alberta residents, community involvement
  • Application: Online application
  • Reality check: Financial services company, good if you're interested in fintech

Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship

  • Amount: $21,000/year (for graduate study, but worth knowing about)
  • Criteria: Research potential, planning graduate studies in Alberta
  • Application: Through university graduate programs
  • Reality check: If you're considering grad school, this is significant funding

Application Strategy

For Automatic Awards

  • Focus on GPA: Jason Lang, Louise McKinney, and Dean's Honor Roll are purely grade-based
  • Consistency matters: One bad semester can hurt your average significantly
  • Credit load: Some awards require full-time status (minimum 12 credits/semester)

For Competitive Awards

  • Start relationships early: Research awards require professor support
  • Document everything: Keep records of projects, leadership, volunteer work
  • Tailor applications: Don't use generic essays for multiple scholarships
  • Apply broadly: Don't put all eggs in one basket

For Industry Awards

  • Build online presence: GitHub profile, LinkedIn, personal projects
  • Show genuine interest: Research the company and align your application
  • Highlight relevant projects: Show practical application of your CS knowledge

Timeline and Deadlines

Fall Semester (September-December)

  • Jason Lang Scholarship consideration (automatic)
  • Research for spring application deadlines
  • Work on personal projects for industry scholarship applications

Winter Semester (January-April)

  • February: NSERC USRA applications due
  • February/March: Many university-specific scholarship applications due
  • March/April: Industry scholarship deadlines vary
  • Louise McKinney consideration (automatic)

Spring/Summer

  • NSERC USRA positions (May-August)
  • SURE program positions
  • Industry internships (many include scholarship components)

Less Obvious Opportunities

Conference Travel Grants

  • Many CS conferences offer student travel support
  • ACM, IEEE, and other professional societies have travel grants
  • University graduate students association often has conference funding

Hackathon Prizes

  • Major League Hacking (MLH) events often have cash prizes
  • Local Edmonton hackathons (HackED, others)
  • Corporate-sponsored hackathons

Open Source Contributions

  • Google Summer of Code ($3,000+ stipend)
  • Other tech companies sponsor open source work
  • GitHub sponsors program

Research Publication Rewards

  • Some departments give awards for undergraduate research publications
  • Conference presentation opportunities

Scholarship Application Tips

Academic Record

  • GPA matters most: Focus on grades first, activities second
  • Course selection: Taking challenging courses shows ambition
  • Improvement trend: Upward grade trajectory is valuable

Application Essays

  • Be specific: Generic essays are obvious and boring
  • Show impact: Quantify your achievements where possible
  • Connect to goals: Explain how the scholarship advances your career plans
  • Get feedback: Have professors or career services review your essays

Letters of Recommendation

  • Give notice: Ask recommenders at least 4 weeks in advance
  • Provide context: Give them your resume and scholarship details
  • Follow up: Send gentle reminders as deadlines approach
  • Say thank you: Always thank recommenders regardless of outcome

Financial Aid vs. Scholarships

Student Loans and Grants

  • Apply through Alberta Student Aid
  • Needs-based, not merit-based
  • Can be combined with merit scholarships
  • Grants don't need to be repaid

Work-Study Programs

  • On-campus employment with flexible schedules
  • Often available through financial aid office
  • Can complement scholarship funding

The Reality Check

What Actually Matters

Most scholarships are either automatic (based purely on grades) or highly competitive (requiring exceptional achievement). The middle ground is thin.

Focus on: 1. Maintaining high GPA for automatic awards 2. Building genuine research relationships for research-based awards
3. Developing real projects and leadership experience for competitive awards

Don't: - Rely on scholarships as your primary funding strategy - Sacrifice GPA for scholarship applications - Apply to scholarships where you clearly don't meet criteria

Expected Outcomes

  • Strong students (3.5+ GPA) typically receive $1,000-3,000/year in automatic awards
  • Research-active students can add $4,500-6,750 through USRA programs
  • Exceptional students might receive additional competitive awards

The money helps, but it's not a full ride. Plan accordingly with student loans, part-time work, and family support as needed.

Long-Term Perspective

Scholarships are nice, but they're not career-defining. The relationships you build applying for research awards, the projects you develop for applications, and the academic excellence required to be competitive will matter more for your career than the money itself.

Focus on being the kind of student who deserves scholarships, and the scholarships will follow.