2024 Maclean’s University Rankings: Scholarships and Bursaries

How will you fund your education? This is a question that is on every student’s mind. If this is one of your main factors when deciding on where you’ll go to school, then you’ll need to check out this list of universities that are committed to funding scholarships and bursaries for their students. Maclean’s recently released their 2024 rankings for Canada’s best universities based on scholarships and bursaries!

The following universities allocate more of their budget towards scholarships, bursaries, and awards for their students. Make sure you check out each school’s website for the latest scholarship information!

The rankings for 2024 are as follows:

Primarily undergraduate universities

Universities in this category are largely focused on undergraduate education, with relatively fewer graduate programs and graduate students.

School Overall Ranking Percentage of Operating Budget Dedicated to Awards
Saint Mary’s University 1 11.9%
Algoma University 2 11.0%
Mount Allison University 3 10.8%
Acadia University 4 10.4%
Trent University 5 9.5%
University of Prince Edward Island 6 8.5%
University of Lethbridge 7 8.0%
Lakehead University 8 7.8%
St. Thomas University 9 7.7%
Bishop’s University 10 7.6%
Université de Moncton 11 7.1%
Mount Saint Vincent University 12* 6.6%*
Ontario Tech University 12* 6.6%*
St. Francis Xavier University 12* 6.6%*
Nipissing University 15 6.5%
Brandon University 16 6.3%
Laurentian University 17 5.5%
University of Winnipeg 18 5.3%
Cape Breton University 19 5.1%
University of Northern British Columbia 20 4.2%

An * indicates a tie.

Comprehensive universities

Universities in this category have a significant amount of research activity and a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs.


School Overall Ranking Percentage of Operating Budget Dedicated to Awards
University of Waterloo 1 14.9%
York University 2 11.5%
University of Victoria 3 11.1%
Carleton University 4* 10.8%*
Wilfrid Laurier University 4* 10.8%*
Brock University 6 10.1%
University of Guelph 7 10.0%
Memorial University 8 8.5%
Simon Fraser University 9 8.4%
Concordia University 10 8.1%
University of Regina 11 8.0%
Toronto Metropolitan University 12 7.8%
University of New Brunswick 13 7.2%
Université du Québec à Montréal 14 6.9%
University of Windsor 15 6.2%

An * indicates a tie.

Medical doctoral universities

Universities in this category have a broad range of PhD programs and research, as well as medical schools.


School Overall Ranking Percentage of Operating Budget Dedicated to Awards
McGill University 1 17.6%
University of Ottawa 2 17.1%
Dalhousie University 3 13.3%
Queen’s University 4 13.2%
University of Alberta 5* 12.4%*
University of Manitoba 5* 12.4%*
University of Calgary 7* 12.3%*
University of Toronto 7* 12.3%*
Université Laval 9 11.2%
Université de Montréal 10* 10.7%*
Western University 10* 10.7%*
University of British Columbia 12 9.2%
University of Saskatchewan 13 8.4%
Université de Sherbrooke 14 7.9%
McMaster University 15 6.6%

An * indicates a tie.

Scholarships are one of the top factors that students use to decide on where they’ll go to university. These rankings can help you get a better idea of which schools value providing funding for their students. Every school’s scholarship and bursary programs are unique. Some offer awards based on academic performance, extracurricular involvement, program choice, and more.


Find the right scholarships for you