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Student Financial Assistance and Awards

Tuition, Fees, Financial Assistance and Awards

Cost of Attending TMU

Regardless of the educational institution or program of study, post-secondary education can be expensive. Students are advised to prepare a sustainable budget reflecting their own situation, taking into consideration academic expenses, personal expenses, accommodation, and transportation costs.

Please refer to the section Fees, Tuition and Policies for complete details on University fees. Fees are subject to change each year.

Academic Expenses: Books, paper, pens, calculators, drawing equipment, binders, project materials, typing, cameras, dance shoes, etc., are all considered academic expenses. The requirements vary widely depending on the program. New students are encouraged to speak to senior students and academic advisors for guidelines before making any purchases. A list of specific course materials is usually available in each course syllabus during the first week of classes. Unless otherwise directed, we advise you to hold off on making purchases before confirming the required course materials.

The following represents some expenditures that students will also need to consider.

  • Transportation
  • Spending money
  • Entertainment
  • Clothing
  • Rent
  • Food
  • Fixed costs, such as monthly bills or financial obligations

TMU provides many resources to help students plan for these added expenses, including:

Scholarships and Bursaries

There are many awards (opens in new window)  available to both new and returning Toronto Metropolitan University students. Some awards are automatically granted while others require an application via AwardSpring (external link, opens in new window) . All TMU students are encouraged to log onto AwardSpring using their TMU username and password to complete the general application to be matched with all the scholarships and bursaries they are qualified for.

The University greatly appreciates the federal and provincial governments, foundations, industrial and business firms, technical and professional associations, as well as individuals, for their generous contributions to the bursaries, scholarships and other awards that benefit students attending TMU.

Awards are based on a combination of criteria that include but are not limited to two or more of the following: academic achievement, financial need, other donor-specific requirements such as community involvement, disability, extra-curricular activities, travel, etc. Awards may be one-time only or renewable with the student’s continued compliance with the award criteria.

The term “awards” refers generically to all awards, scholarships, and bursaries.

Scholarships are based on overall academic excellence in a specific course or program of study and/or non-academic criteria such as community involvement, extracurricular activities, self-identifying with an equity-deserving group, and more. Scholarships may be one-time-only or renewable with the student’s continued compliance with the award criteria.

Additional details regarding awards and scholarships are published annually on TMU's Scholarships and Awards website (opens in new window) .

Bursaries solely offer assistance to students with financial need. They are offered through the University, faculties, academic programs, and non-academic departments. TMU students demonstrate financial need through the completion of the budget form in AwardSpring.

TMU is pleased to recognize the academic achievements of the first-year class upon admission to the University with more than $10 million designated for scholarship support.

All TMU Entrance Scholarships and Renewed Scholarships are deposited directly into students' tuition fees account, which can be viewed on MyServiceHub (my.torontomu.ca).

For detailed information and eligibility criteria, or to print a copy of an application, please visit TMU's Entrance Scholarships and Awards website (opens in new window) .

 

Financial Assistance and Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP)

The Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) provides government student aid to eligible students enrolled in post-secondary studies. OSAP offers funding through grants (money you typically do not have to pay back) and loans (money that you need to repay). Once you have received government student aid from OSAP, it is your responsibility to understand and respect the terms and conditions of your loan agreement. This agreement is in place even if you opt out of the loan portion of your funding, and only accept the grant portion.

OSAP is intended to supplement a student’s financial resources and contributions toward their education. OSAP can help pay for educational-related costs such as:

  • tuition
  • books
  • compulsory fees
  • transportation and
  • associated living costs


There are two different types of OSAP applications: full-time OSAP (opens in new window)  and part-time OSAP (opens in new window) . Your application type depends on how many courses you are taking, and your program delivery. 

A full-time student is defined as a student enrolled in a minimum of 3 billing units per semester (or a minimum of 2 billing units for students with a disability).

A part-time OSAP student is defined as a student enrolled in 1-2 billing units per semester (or 1 billing unit for students with a disability).

Graduate students follow a different set of guidelines to determine full-time and part-time OSAP status. For details, visit Graduate Students and OSAP at TMU. 

Detailed information on eligibility and important OSAP deadlines are available under the "OSAP" tab on Student Financial Assistance (opens in new window) . If you would like to speak to a financial assistance advisor, please contact us via the ServiceHub (opens in new window) .

Out-Of-Province: If you have residency from another province or territory in Canada (outside Ontario), please visit your Out-Of-Province Government Student Aid (opens in new window) .

U.S.A. citizens/permanent residents:  U.S.A. citizens and permanent residents interested in applying for federal student aid should visit U.S. Student Loans.



International Students: Financial assistance and scholarship opportunities are available for international students via International Student Support (opens in new window) .