Grants

The nurses education bursary program

This provincial program awards up to $2 million in bursary funding a year to qualified applicants in the following order of priority:

1. Registered nurses (RNs), registered psychiatric nurses (RPNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) who are upgrading or who need more education to work in B.C.'s health-care system.
2. Former nurses and foreign-trained nurses needing refresher or educational upgrading.
3. Students in LPN, LPN Access, RN or RPN study programs; awards in this category are distributed in relation to the number of available positions and student spaces in British Columbia.

Within each category, bursaries are awarded to the applicants who demonstrate the greatest financial need. Family size is also taken into consideration.

Applicants in the first two categories receive priority funding. In the third category, some priority is given to nursing students who have student loans but whose financial needs are still unmet.

Bursary awards range from $500 to $3,500. You can only receive one nurses education bursary in a 12-month period.

Eligibility

You can apply for a nurses education bursary if you meet all these criteria:

• You are enrolled in an eligible nursing program in British Columbia, at least four months long, that leads to a certificate, diploma or degree recognized for practice in B.C.
• You can show financial need.
• You are not delinquent or in default of a B.C. student loan.

See appendix A of the application form [1.24mb] for a list of eligible study programs and post-secondary institutions.

Bursary award periods and application deadlines

There are three award periods each year for the nurses education bursary. Your application must be received at StudentAid BC (address below) by the application deadline date for each award period:

How to apply

Application forms [1.24mb] and tips on how to complete the application form are available electronically on this website. They are also available in hard copy from B.C. public post-secondary institutions, health-care union offices and StudentAid BC. Contact information is at the bottom of this webpage.

Complete your application form and mail it to:

Nurses Education Bursary
StudentAid BC
PO Box 9173 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9H7

Courier address only:

Nurses Education Bursary
StudentAid BC
1st Floor – 835 Humboldt St.
Victoria BC V8W 9H2

We must receive your application by 4:30 p.m. on the deadline date.

You will be notified of the results by mail about six weeks after the deadline date. You cannot check the status of this application online.

Due to budget limitations, not all applicants can be awarded a nurses education bursary. We send a list of alternative funding sources to those who are not awarded bursaries.

For more information call 250 356-8380 (in Victoria)
or ask Service BC to transfer you to the Victoria number by calling
604 660-2421 (in the Lower Mainland) or
1-800-663-7867 (toll-free in Canada).

E-mail inquiries to AVED.SpecialPrograms4@gov.bc.ca