UPDATE: Scholarships aim to keep talent in British Columbia

UPDATE: The article was corrected as the ministry announced the B.C. Graduate Scholarships and not the BC Access Grant.

VICTORIA, B.C. – B.C.’s Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training is providing $3.75 million to support scholarships for graduate students.

The B.C. Graduate Scholarships will be available for students at ten post-secondary schools in the province. The investment will support 250 awards with a minimum of $15,000 each over the next two years, according to the ministry.

Scholarships are merit-based with a focus on students in research-based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs. Also eligible are students in professional programs such as business administration and health programs.

The scholarships aim to attract the best graduate students to B.C. institutions, increasing their ability to compete for leading students in their field. They also build on the shift towards affordable post-secondary education in the province.

This program means students going into graduate studies will have less debt than previous generations, according to the Ministry. Since eliminating interest on student loans in 2019, graduates across B.C. have saved around $40 million in interest payments.

The 10 post-secondary institutions receiving B.C. Graduate Scholarships are:

Data from the Ministry’s 2018-2019 headcount shows there are nearly 17,000 domestic students enrolled in graduate programs at B.C. public post-secondary institutions.

Approximately 4,000 domestic graduate students received federal or provincial student financial assistance through StudentAid BC last year, totalling $45 million.