Each year, under the guidance of the Education Committee, the OAA provides annual scholarships in the amount of $2500 each to be awarded to students in any year of the undergraduate or graduate architecture program at each of the five Ontario Schools of Architecture. The Association also provides one such scholarship to OCAD University’s Environmental Design program in the amount of $2000.
The Exceptional Leadership Through Design Excellence: Sustainability Scholarship is awarded annually to two students at each school who best demonstrate design excellence and exemplary responses to the need for Climate Action in a project or assignment.
The Exceptional Leadership Through Design Excellence: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) and Truth & Reconciliation Scholarship is also awarded to two students at each school for their work as related to either Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion or Truth and Reconciliation.
The Architectural Guild Prize Fund (which includes a Guild Medal) is also awarded annually to the graduating students from each of the five Schools of Architecture in Ontario who demonstrated exceptional leadership through design excellence combined with innovative approaches to sustainability in an assignment or project.
These scholarships are administered by each school, entirely according to their discretion. To learn more about this year’s recipients, click here.
In addition to these OAA-supported scholarships, many additional sources, including the architecture schools themselves, provide funding opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students. Below, the OAA has assembled a list of some scholarship opportunities available to support those interested in pursuing a career in architecture in Ontario. If you have suggestions for websites or organizations that should be listed here, email oaamail@oaa.on.ca.
Ontario Architecture Schools
For more information and to view the complete list of funding opportunities available to architecture students, visit the Awards and Bursaries page.
The University of Toronto offers a number of awards to students based on merit, financial need, community engagement, leadership, and athletic performance, which can be viewed on their
Student Awards page. In addition to these broader awards, students enrolled in architecture at the University of Toronto are also able to access a number of program-specific awards.
The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design has a large number of admission, in-course, and graduating awards available to undergraduate students. In many cases, students are automatically considered for such awards based on academic performance and/or financial need. To view the complete list of undergraduate awards and more information about each, visit the Daniels
Undergraduate Awards page.
The Daniels faculty also has a number of graduate awards available. Newly admitted students are automatically considered for the majority of Daniels admission awards and information about renewable awards is communicated to recipients throughout their time in the Faculty. To view the complete list of graduate awards and more information about each, visit the Daniels
Graduate Awards page.
In addition to automatic Academic Excellence Scholarships offered to qualified undergraduate students, Laurentian University offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to students across various programs, with a selection of opportunities exclusive to those enrolled at the
McEwen School of Architecture.
For more information and a complete list of Laurentian University funding opportunities, visit their
Scholarships and Bursaries page.
Each year, Toronto Metropolitan University and the
Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science (FEAS) offer numerous
entrance scholarships to incoming undergraduate students who are accepted into their programs. The university and the Department of Architectural Science also offer awards for students that continue studies in their respective programs after first year. For more information and to view the complete list of opportunities, visit the
Undergraduate Scholarships and Awards page.
There are also a number of scholarships and awards available to graduate students on a competitive basis, although these are not limited to architecture students. For more information and complete list of opportunities, visit the Graduate
Scholarships and Awards page.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resources
A number of special funding opportunities also exist for students who may experience systemic barriers within (and beyond) the profession, which are available both within and outside educational institutions. In addition to options found in the links above, here is a growing list of other possibilities:
The Indigenous Bursaries Search Tool is a searchable list of 520 bursaries, scholarships, and incentives across Canada.
Indspire’s Building Brighter Futures: Bursaries, Scholarships, and Awards program offers financial support to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students. The following awards are specific to those pursuing architectural studies:
Leclair Décor Design Education Scholarship is open to any Canadian student who identifies as Black, Indigenous, or as a Person of Colour, who is entering or currently enrolled in an accredited post-secondary Interior Design, or Interior Decorating, or Architecture / Architectural Technology program at a Canadian college or university.
The Houzz Women in Architecture Scholarship is open to female students studying architecture/architectural engineering at the undergraduate or graduate level.
Additional Opportunities
The J.B.C. Watkins Award: Architecture is offered to a Canadian architectural student wishing to pursue postgraduate studies outside Canada—ideally Denmark, Norway, Sweden, or Iceland.
The Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement is given to a practitioner of architecture or an architectural firm. The successful candidate must be in the early stages of a career or practice and must demonstrate both outstanding creative talent and exceptional potential in architectural design.
The North By Society of Architects’ (NBSA) scholarship program consists of two scholarships for prospective post-secondary architecture students. One is designated for one student pursuing a university degree in architecture and the second will be dispersed to a student pursuing a college diploma in an architectural field, such as architectural technology or interior design.