NUPGE Scholarship for Indigeneous Students 2025 for Bachelor

Eligibility Criteria

To apply for a scholarship you must meet all of the following requirements:

1. You must be a child or grandchild (including a stepchild, foster child, step-grandchild, or foster grandchild) or a legal ward of a current or retired member of a NUPGE Component or a Component’s affiliate. *
2. You must be planning to enter the 1st year of a public, post-secondary education institution, full-time or part-time, in the coming year. *
3. The university or college that you are planning on attending must be located in Canada.
4. You must write and submit an original 750-to-1,000-word essay on this year’s essay topic for your scholarship.
5. You must use the online application form to submit your essay.
6. The contest results will be publicized on the social media and websites of NUPGE, its Components, and Component’s affiliates. So, you must agree to the publicity conditions.
7. Are an Indigenous person in Canada, and
8. confirm your Indigenous identity when you apply for the scholarship. (See the options for this below)

The winner will be determined based on a 750-to-1,000-word essay on this year’s topic. The 2025 essay for this scholarship is:

• The importance of public services in enhancing the quality of life of Indigenous students.

Confirming your Indigenous identity for this scholarship

For the purpose of this scholarship, an Indigenous person (the legal term is Aboriginal person) in Canada, as recognized in the Constitution Act, 1982, is a person who identifies as First Nations (Status/Non-Status), Métis, or Inuit.

Indigenous identity data is collected solely to determine scholarship eligibility. Indigenous identity data will be stored on a secure server and retained for a period of 5 years, after which time it will be destroyed. Indigenous identity data will not be sold or distributed.

Please note that scholarship winners will have their names and the name of the scholarship they won published online, but details about status, membership, etc. will not be shared.

There are 2 options to confirm your Indigenous identity for this scholarship.

Option 1 — Legal documentation. You must provide one of the following:

For First Nations applicants

You must provide one of the following:

• a copy of your Secure Certificate of Indian Status, or
• a copy of your Certificate of Indian Status, or
• a copy of proof of citizenship from a First Nation or band in the  list maintained by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

For Métis applicants

You must provide one of the following:

• a copy of a Métis Nation Citizenship card from one of the 4 regional/provincial affiliates of the Métis National Council (Métis Nation British Columbia, Métis Nation of Alberta, Métis Nation Saskatchewan, and Métis Nation of Ontario); or
• a copy of a valid Métis Citizenship and Harvester Identification Card from the Manitoba Métis Federation; or
• a copy of a valid Citizenship card from the Métis Settlements of Alberta; or
• a copy of a valid Citizenship card from the Northwest Territory Métis Nation.

For Inuit applicants

You must provide a copy of an Inuit membership card issued by any one of the 4 Inuit Treaty Organizations or Governments that are covered by the Inuit Nunangat Policy:

• Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated,
• The Nunatsiavut Government,
• Makivik Corporation, or
• The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation.

For all applicants (voluntary)

In addition to any one of the types of legal documentation listed above, all applicants are welcome to submit an alternative identity term (e.g., Kanien’kehá:ka, Anishinaabe, Treaty #3, etc.) with their application.

Please note that membership to pan-Indigenous organizations will not be recognized.

Option 2 — Candidate self-declaration

If a candidate does not possess proof of the documentation listed in Option 1, they must submit a statement (minimum 200 words) about their lived experiences and ongoing relationship to a legally recognized Indigenous community, Nation, or people. This includes specific information about their First Nation, Inuit, or Métis community and can include copies of historical documents or oral testimony.

The statement must be signed by 2 guarantors who are part of the community, Nation, etc. that the applicant describes their ties to. Guarantors must be over the age of 18 and cannot be members of the applicant’s immediate family (i.e., no siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, children, grandchildren, or any step variations).

Offered Benefits

Successful applicants will receive $2,500 towards tuition.

Application Process

For more details, visit NUPGE scholarship webpage.