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UBC Major Entrance Scholarship + Centennial Scholars Programme

Incoming UBC undergrads at Vancouver and Okanagan are considered on admission and Personal Profile. A subset needs a supplementary application.

Reviewed by G Paul · verified August 31, 2026

What you will need

Submit your UBC undergraduate admission application by the standard deadline
Complete the Personal Profile thoughtfully (it directly feeds entrance scholarship decisions)
Submit final transcripts on the UBC-published timeline
For supplementary-application awards (subset only): complete the named-award form by its specific deadline
For Indigenous, first-generation, or transfer streams: declare relevant identifiers in your application

About this award

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.

Who qualifies

You qualify for consideration if you are admitted to UBC (Vancouver or Okanagan) as an incoming undergraduate. Specific awards have specific layers on top of admission: most require Canadian citizen / permanent resident status, some are open to international students, some are restricted to first-generation or underrepresented students (Beyond Tomorrow Scholars), some are faculty-specific, and some are merit-only versus need-aware. Strong academic record (typically Grade 12 average above 90% for the most competitive named awards) and a thoughtful, specific Personal Profile are the two universal levers. Transfer students, Indigenous applicants, and IB / AP candidates have parallel entrance award streams adapted to their academic context.

This is what the award's own page said when we last checked. Rules change, so confirm with the provider before you apply.

Canadian citizen, permanent resident or international student
Open to high school or undergraduate students
Resident of British Columbia

How to apply

Read the award's own page
Check you meet every requirement, and note each document they ask for.
Order your transcript1–2 weeks
Your school's registrar can take a week or two.
Write your essay
Be specific about what you did and what changed because of it. Proofread it twice.
Check this year's deadline
We don't have a confirmed date for this round. The award's own page will have it.

More details

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

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

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

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.

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.

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