30 POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDY IN CANADA

Deadline: 20 August 2025

The McCall MacBain Scholarships at McGill are Canada’s first comprehensive, leadership-driven scholarships for master’s and professional degree studies. The scholarship program brings together a diverse group of scholars who aspire to lead with purpose – those who have demonstrated leadership potential and an inner drive to make a positive impact in other people’s lives.

The McCall MacBain Scholarship is a full graduate scholarship that provides students with the mentorship, interdisciplinary learning, and global community they need to accelerate their impact on the world. In 2026, Up to 30 full scholarships and 100 entrance awards will be offered to the top candidates. McCall MacBain Scholarships at McGill is situated on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations.

The McCall MacBain Scholarship covers tuition and fees for an eligible master’s program or a second-entry professional undergraduate program at McGill, a living stipend of $2,300 CAD per month during academic terms, a one-time relocation grant, and options for summer funding. Scholars also participate in a leadership development program, connect with mentors and advisors, and attend a breadth of workshops and talks.

BENEFITS

McCall MacBain Scholars, pursue a funded master’s or second-entry professional undergraduate program at McGill University while participating in an interdisciplinary leadership program.

The scholarship covers:

• Tuition and fees for the full normal duration of the master’s or professional program

• A living stipend of $2,300 per month during academic terms

• A one-time relocation grant for moving to Montréal

• Beginner to advanced French language courses offered through McGill

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible in 2025, you must meet ONE of the following criteria:

• You are a current student on track to earn your first bachelor’s degree by August 2026

• You earned your first bachelor’s degree in the last five years (January 2020 or later)

• You earned your first bachelor’s degree more than five years ago, and were 30 years or younger on January 1st, 2025

You will need to meet the minimum degree and language requirements for McGill master’s program admission. Contact McGill Graduate Admissions if you have questions about the university’s minimum requirements for admission. Applicants will need to meet the academic requirements of their desired McGill programs, including GPA.

You will need to apply separately and be admitted to at least one eligible program at McGill University. You should review your desired programs’ admission requirements, including but not limited to GPA, well in advance.

Keep in mind that one of the five selection criteria for the scholarships is “academic strength and intellectual curiosity”. We will look for evidence of this throughout your application, including transcripts.

The measure of academic strength is not limited to a narrow focus on GPA. While GPA is important, we are interested in the fit with your proposed McGill programs, as well as the breadth and difficulty of the courses taken alongside your other commitments. Of course, we recognize that some programs offer more opportunity for breadth than others.

ELIGIBLE ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

The McCall MacBain Scholarship covers over 150 different master’s programs and 3 second-entry professional undergraduate programs at McGill’s downtown and Macdonald campuses. The program must be pursued full-time and consist of 45 credits or more. 

Eligible postgraduate degrees are in the following fields of study: MA (Arts), MArch (Architecture), MATL (Arts in Teaching and Learning), MBA (Business Administration), MEd (Education), MEng (Engineering), MISt (Information Studies), MM (Management Analytics, Finance, Retail), MMus (Music), MPP (Public Policy), MSc (Science), MScA (Science, Applied), MScAPT (Science, Applied in Physical Therapy), MScAOT (Science, Applied in Occupational Therapy), MSW (Social Work), MUP (Urban Planning), LLM (Law), STM (Sacred Theology).

Graduate certificates, executive master’s programs (EMBA, IMHL, IMPM), PhDs, part-time programs (e.g. GMSCM) and joint degree programs are examples of programs not covered by the McCall MacBain 

McCall MacBain Scholarship applicants must apply separately and be admitted to their desired graduate program(s) at McGill. Visit the McGill Graduate Admissions website to review program requirements.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

You must attend an information session before applying: https://apply.mccallmacbainscholars.org/portal/events 

The McCall MacBain Scholarship deadline is 12-15 months before the start of your program at McGill. Most people will therefore apply for the scholarship before they apply to a graduate program at McGill.

After you apply for the McCall MacBain Scholarship, you will need to apply to your intended McGill programs by their stated deadlines. If you are selected as a finalist for McCall MacBain Scholarships, you will need to apply to McGill in December even if the program’s deadline is later in the academic year.

Current students and recent graduates (those who graduated in 2023, 2024, or 2025) must be endorsed by their university.

Canadian universities, American universities, and the participating universities abroad are invited to endorse multiple candidates for this scholarship. Otherwise, you may be required to seek an endorsement from a fellowship advisor or a senior member of the university administration (president, vice-chancellor, rector, provost). For more details, please attend an information session.

Alumni who graduated in 2022 or earlier do not require a university endorsement.

As part of your scholarship application, you will need to ask two people to submit reference forms. These reference forms must be completed by your reference writers before the application deadline:

1. One academic reference from someone who knows your academic work

2. One community reference from someone who knows your community involvement