(Montreal) Imitating McGill University, Concordia University announced Friday that it will offer financial support of up to $4,000 next fall for new undergraduate students from other provinces.
The Montreal university says it is launching this new scholarship program to respond to the $3,000 tuition increase imposed by the Quebec government for students from outside the province — an increase that could dissuade them to come study in Montreal, according to Concordia.
The value of the scholarship will depend on the students’ average grade at the time of their admission to Concordia; the amount could range from $1500 for a B- to $4000 for an A+.
The university says students will automatically be considered for the scholarship, which will be renewable for the duration of their undergraduate studies, provided they maintain their academic standing.
Concordia’s announcement follows a similar offer from McGill, announced Tuesday. Montreal’s other English-speaking university will begin next year to award a $3,000 scholarship to undergraduate students from outside the province in most departments.
Concordia also announced Friday a new one-time $2,000 scholarship for undergraduate students who leave a university in another province to study in Montreal.
The government of François Legault announced in October that Canadian students who will begin their studies in English in Quebec in September 2024 will pay the equivalent of what their training costs the government, i.e. $17,000 per year, rather than $9,000. Two months later, the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, however reduced this increase from $17,000 to $12,000.
Minister Déry also demands from McGill and Concordia that, from 2025, 80% of new enrollees in an English study program reach orally, at the end of their first cycle, “level 5” at the Quebec scale of French proficiency levels.
Through these measures, the Legault government wishes to curb the anglicization of downtown Montreal and correct the imbalance in the funding of English- and French-speaking universities. The increase in tuition fees would thus be used to further finance the French-speaking network.