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University of British Columbia · Institutional

UBC Major Entrance Scholarship + Centennial Scholars Programme

Reviewed by G Paul · verified April 30, 2026

Multi-tier; specific dollar values vary per award

Total value

About this award

UBC's umbrella of entrance scholarships for incoming undergraduate students at the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses — including the Centennial Scholars Entrance Scholarship, Major Entrance Scholarship, Presidential Scholars Award, and Beyond Tomorrow Scholars Program. Most are automatic on admission; some require a supplementary application.

The University of British Columbia operates one of the largest entrance scholarship programs at any Canadian university, organized as a multi-tier system across both UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan campuses. The flagship awards include the Centennial Scholars Entrance Scholarship (renewable, awarded based on academic record and Personal Profile responses), the Major Entrance Scholarship (named donor-funded awards across faculties), the Presidential Scholars Award (high-tier merit-based recognition), and the Beyond Tomorrow Scholars Program (entrance scholarships and ongoing support for underrepresented and first-generation students). UBC also operates dedicated Indigenous entrance awards, transfer-student entrance awards, and IB / AP recognition programs. Most entrance awards use your standard UBC admission application as the entry — you do not submit a separate scholarship application — and selection is based on a combination of academic record (BC Grade 12 / equivalent + course-by-course review) and your Personal Profile responses. A subset of named awards require a supplementary application or department nomination, with deadlines distinct from the admission deadline; check the specific award page if a faculty advisor or admissions counsellor flags one for you. UBC publishes annual scholarship value tables; specific dollar amounts vary by award and by year, so this entry intentionally does not assert single-figure values.

Can you get it?

Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident or International — citizenship requirement
Undergraduate — study level
Resident of BC — provincial eligibility

How to apply

Review eligibility and gather your documents~1 hour
Read the official award page end-to-end. Confirm you meet every requirement before you start.
Request your official transcript1–2 weeks
Order through your school registrar: allow 1–2 weeks.
Draft and revise your essays~10 hours
Use the STAR framework. Be specific, show impact, proofread twice.
Submit before the posted deadline~1 hour
Check the official source for the current deadline: save a copy and submit at least 24 hours early.

More details

Strategy

Take the Personal Profile seriously — UBC explicitly uses it as a major factor in entrance scholarship decisions, not just admission.

Strategy

Generic statements about leadership and community service score worse than concrete, specific examples.

Strategy

Check whether the awards in your faculty (Science, Arts, Engineering, Sauder, etc.) have any supplementary applications — most don't, but a few do.

Strategy

If you are an Indigenous student, BC student transferring from a college, or first-generation post-secondary attendee, look specifically at the streams designed for you (Beyond Tomorrow, UBC-Langara Indigenous Transfer Partnership, dedicated Indigenous entrance awards) — these have different eligibility layers.

Strategy

Apply to UBC by the standard January 15 admission deadline (verify the current cycle on UBC's dates-and-deadlines page) so your scholarship review happens automatically; late admission means your file may miss the entrance scholarship review window even if your admission is later granted.

Share this scholarship

Screenshot the card below for Reddit, WhatsApp, or your school's chat — verified, dated, with a one-line citation back to the source.