What Are the UBC International Entrance Scholarships 2027?
The UBC international entrance scholarships 2027 are two merit-based awards for new international undergraduates: the International Major Entrance Scholarship (IMES), worth CAD $10,000 to $25,000 a year and renewable for up to three more years, and the Outstanding International Student (OIS) Award, a one-time CAD $10,000 to $25,000. Both are automatic on application.
Status, checked 9 November 2026: applications for September 2027 entry are open now. The deadline that decides your IMES and OIS consideration is 15 January 2027, 11:59 PM Pacific Time. There is no separate scholarship form or essay. Your admission application is your scholarship application.
That simplicity is also the trap. UBC states that all international undergraduate applicants are considered, which makes the evaluation highly competitive, and that only successful recipients are notified. The work goes into the admission application itself: your grades, your personal profile, and your extracurricular record.
The scale is real. UBC devotes more than $35 million every year to awards and financial support for international undergraduate students, according to the university's own international students page (you.ubc.ca). Students on its two campuses come from 160 countries.
Before any detail, one thing has to be settled: UBC runs two separate funding routes, and you can only travel one of them.
The Choice You Have to Make First: Merit Awards or the Scholars Program?
UBC offers two kinds of entrance funding. The first is merit-based: IMES and OIS, judged on grades and involvement outside the classroom, with financial need left out of the decision. The second is the need-based International Scholars Program (ISP), which covers full tuition and living costs for students who can prove significant financial need. The two routes do not mix: if you apply to the Scholars Program, you will not be considered for merit-based awards.
So the first question is not "which award is bigger?" but "which applicant am I?" If your family can fund a UBC degree with a partial award, the merit route is yours. If a UBC degree would be impossible without meaningful financial help, the Scholars Program is the honest route, but it demands a school nomination, financial documents, essays, and a much earlier deadline.
| IMES | OIS Award | International Scholars Program | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Renewable merit scholarship | One-time merit award | Need-based full funding |
| Value | CAD $10,000-$25,000 per year, renewable up to 3 more years | CAD $10,000-$25,000, paid once | Full tuition plus living costs, minus your family's assessed contribution |
| Application | Automatic with UBC admission application | Automatic with UBC admission application | Separate application, school nomination required |
| Deadline | 15 January 2027, 11:59 PM PCT | 15 January 2027, 11:59 PM PCT | 25 November 2026, 12:00 PM PCT (extended) |
| Financial need considered? | No | No | Yes, and it must be significant |
| Entering from | Secondary school only | Secondary school or post-secondary | Accredited secondary school only |
Read the ISP deadline twice, because it changed. UBC's page shows the original 15 November date struck through and replaced with 25 November 2026, 12:00 PM Pacific Time, marked "deadline extended" after technical issues with the EducationPlannerBC application. Your nominator and teacher referee must complete their forms a few days before the deadline, and you cannot submit your own application until both of theirs are in.
One more date causes confusion every year: 1 December 2026. It appears on UBC's dates page, and it is not your deadline. It is the deadline for Canadian citizens and permanent residents to apply for the Presidential, Centennial, and Beyond Tomorrow Scholars awards.
How Much Is Each Award Really Worth?
At the top value, an IMES of CAD $25,000 a year, renewed for three more years, is worth CAD $100,000 across a four-year degree. At the bottom value it is CAD $40,000 across four years. The OIS Award is simpler and smaller: CAD $10,000 to $25,000 once, in your first year, and then it is gone. Both are real money, and both leave a large part of the bill unpaid. UBC says so itself on the official scholarships page, warning recipients to create a financial plan because these awards do not cover the full cost of education.
There is a smaller layer of funding if you are considering UBC's Okanagan campus in Kelowna. The same official page lists three automatic Okanagan awards: the Global Elevation Award of CAD $8,000, renewable for up to three more years; the International Welcome Award of CAD $5,000 for your first year, if you list an Okanagan degree as your first choice; and the Bachelor of Commerce International Launch Award of CAD $6,000, renewable for up to three more years. Vantage One students have their own separate awards instead.
Who Is Eligible?
For the IMES, you must be new to UBC and entering directly from secondary school, be an international student who will study in Canada on a Canadian study permit, demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and intellectual promise alongside impressive extracurricular and community involvement, and not be nominated for an International Scholars award. For the OIS Award, the same conditions apply, except that you may enter from secondary school or from post-secondary study.
Two points deserve emphasis. First, your citizenship status matters for the whole life of the award: changes to it will affect your IMES eligibility. Second, "exceptional academic achievement" is judged together with your personal profile, not instead of it.
For the International Scholars Program, the bar is higher and narrower. You must be an international student on a Canadian study permit, entering directly from an accredited secondary school, having graduated no earlier than June 2026, applying for your first undergraduate degree, and able to prove significant financial need with documents showing family income, expenses, and assets. You must show superior academic achievement, all As or the equivalent, and meet UBC's English Language Admission Standard. Several degrees are excluded, including Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Medical Laboratory Science, the Bachelor + Master of Management, and dual and joint degrees.
How to Apply
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Choose your programme and campus | Pick your first-choice programme and campus (Vancouver or Okanagan); the Scholars Program considers your first choice |
| 2. Apply to UBC online | Submit your undergraduate admission application by 15 January 2027, 11:59 PM PCT, for automatic IMES and OIS consideration |
| 3. Pay the application fee | CAD $173.25, non-refundable, for international students who require a study permit. Canadian citizens and permanent residents pay CAD $78.50 |
| 4. Submit your documents | Follow the "Your UBC Application, Next Steps" email. Out-of-country high school applicants must submit required documents by 15 March 2027 |
| 5. Do nothing extra for IMES or OIS | No separate scholarship form. Once you are offered admission, you are automatically considered; decisions come between mid-February and the end of April |
| 6. Scholars Program applicants only | Talk to your school about nomination in late September, apply to UBC in early October, invite one nominator and one teacher referee (two different people), and submit by 25 November 2026, 12:00 PM PCT |
The Scholars Program application itself is a project, not a form. UBC asks for income and expenses, family wealth and assets, dependents and school fees, sources of support, your calculation of family contribution and need, extracurricular information, past awards, and four essays of roughly 150 to 250 words each. Applicants may also be invited to a video interview between January and March.
Important Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 25 November 2026, 12:00 PM PCT | International Scholars Program application due (extended from 15 November because of EducationPlannerBC technical issues) |
| 1 December 2026 | NOT an international deadline. Deadline for Canadian citizens and permanent residents to apply for Presidential, Centennial, and Beyond Tomorrow Scholars awards |
| 15 January 2027, 11:59 PM PCT | UBC admission deadline for automatic IMES and OIS consideration, Winter Session September 2027 to April 2028 |
| 31 January 2027 | Scholars Program applicants: submit required documents and meet the English Language Admission Standard |
| Mid-February to end of April 2027 | IMES and OIS decisions made; award announcements run through March and April 2027 |
| February to April 2027 | International Scholars Program results released on a rolling basis, all decisions by early to mid-April |
| 1 May 2027 | Acceptance deadline for most students, and the deadline to apply for first-year housing |
| Early September 2027 | Winter Session begins at UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan |
The Honest Trade-Offs
Three things to weigh before you apply. First, this is a partial award, not a full ride, unless you win the Scholars Program. Even a top-value IMES leaves most of the international tuition bill plus living costs in Vancouver to be covered from other sources. Second, the merit competition is silent. UBC only notifies successful recipients, so no letter in April means no award, and there is no feedback and no appeal. Third, the automatic system gives you no second stage. There is no scholarship essay for IMES or OIS in which to explain a bad semester or a gap year.
Set against that, the case for applying is strong. There is no extra fee, no extra form, and no extra deadline beyond the admission deadline you were meeting anyway. The only way to lose it is to apply late, or to apply to the Scholars Program by mistake when you meant to chase merit funding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline for the UBC International Entrance Scholarships 2027?
Apply to UBC by 15 January 2027, 11:59 PM Pacific Time, for the Winter Session starting September 2027. There is no separate deadline for IMES or OIS. The Scholars Program closes earlier, 25 November 2026, 12:00 PM Pacific Time.
Do I need a separate application for IMES or OIS?
No. Apply to UBC by the admissions deadline and you are automatically considered for both awards once admitted. The Scholars Program is the exception: it needs a separate application and a school nomination.
Can I apply for both the merit awards and the International Scholars Program?
No. If you apply to the International Scholars Program, you will not be considered for merit-based awards. Choose one pathway before you apply.
What does 1 December 2026 mean on UBC's dates page?
It is the deadline for Canadian citizens and permanent residents to apply for the Presidential, Centennial, and Beyond Tomorrow Scholars awards. It is not the deadline for IMES, OIS, or the International Scholars Program.
How much is the UBC application fee?
CAD $173.25, non-refundable, for international students who require a study permit. Canadian citizens and permanent residents pay CAD $78.50.
When will I hear back about a scholarship?
Merit decisions are made between mid-February and the end of April 2027, with announcements through March and April. Only successful recipients are notified. Scholars Program results come from February to April.
Does the scholarship cover full tuition and living costs?
IMES and OIS do not. They are partial awards of CAD $10,000 to $25,000, and UBC advises recipients to make a financial plan. Only the Scholars Program covers full tuition plus living costs.
I am applying to UBC Okanagan. Do I get anything extra?
Possibly. Okanagan applicants are considered for the Global Elevation Award (CAD $8,000, renewable), the International Welcome Award (CAD $5,000 in the first year), and the International Launch Award for Commerce entrants (CAD $6,000, renewable).
Conclusion
The UBC international entrance scholarships reward one thing above all: a strong admission application filed on time. There is no extra form and no extra fee for IMES or OIS, so the whole contest is your grades, your personal profile, and the date you submit. Choose your route now, merit or need-based, because the two cannot be combined. If your route is merit, apply well before 15 January 2027. If it is the Scholars Program, the real deadline is 25 November 2026, and your school nomination needs to move this week.
Apply on Official Website: UBC International Entrance Scholarships, University of British Columbia · key dates: UBC Dates and Deadlines · need-based route: UBC International Scholars Program. Confirm the deadline, the application fee, and your programme's requirements on the official site before you apply.
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By Kashan Ajmeri, Opportunity Wave, 9 November 2026. Sources: University of British Columbia, official International Entrance Scholarships, Dates and Deadlines, International Scholars Program, and International Students pages (you.ubc.ca), checked 9 November 2026. The IMES and OIS values, eligibility rules, 15 January 2027 deadline, CAD $173.25 fee, extended 25 November 2026 Scholars Program deadline, 31 January 2027 document deadline, and Okanagan award values are from UBC's official pages. The $35 million and 160-country figures are from UBC's official international students page.
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