University of Toronto Scholarships for International Students 2026

In the University of Toronto recipient stories published on Global Scholarships, the major awards students described (especially the Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship) were tied to full-time, in-person degrees and not online-only study

From the U of T recipient stories, scholarships supported a wide range of subjects across STEM, engineering, business, and humanities/social sciences. Examples include engineering (Karen in Mechanical Engineering), business (Ngoc Anh Thu Huynh (Tina) in Rotman Commerce and Ahnaf Rahman in a BBA co-op), and STEM fields like Chemistry (Karolina) and Molecular Biology & Genetics (Verona Odhiambo).

Humanities/social-science pathways also show up in the stories, including Economics/related fields (Hassan in Co-op Mathematics and Economics) and interdisciplinary studies (Aisha Adamu with a double major in Psychology and Neuroscience and a minor in Diaspora and Transnational Studies).

The Global Scholarships U of T recipients come from many countries, which is a good sign that major international awards are not limited to just a few nationalities. For instance, the stories include scholars from Indonesia (Karen), Kenya (Verona Odhiambo), Nigeria (Aisha Adamu), Pakistan (Hassan), Poland (Karolina), Mauritius (Hannah Emambocus), Vietnam (Ngoc Anh Thu Huynh), and Bangladesh (Ahnaf Rahman).

It depends on your academic background and U of T’s English-language requirements for your program, and the recipient stories show different paths. Haris Malik shares, “My A* in O-Level English exempted me from TOEFL/IELTS,” while Hannah Emambocus says, “I did not have to take a language test.” On the other hand, some recipients did take IELTS: Karen reports an overall IELTS “8.0,” and Sai Nikam also describes taking IELTS as part of preparation.

U of T admissions are program-specific, but the scholarship recipient stories suggest that competitive grades are the norm for both admission and major scholarships. Examples from recipients include Aisha Adamu reporting a final high-school GPA of “3.98,” Ahnaf Rahman scoring “45/45” in the IB Diploma, and Karen earning “A*s in all” five A-level subjects. For scholarships like Pearson, think “top of your cohort” rather than “bare minimum,” and match your target program’s published requirements.

From the Pearson scholars’ stories, strong academics are necessary but not sufficient. Leadership and community impact matter a lot. Hassan explains that Pearson looks for “exceptional academic achievement and creativity” and students “recognized as leaders within their school,” with “special emphasis” on community impact. Many recipients also emphasize that your essays should sound like you, not a template. Ngoc Anh Thu Huynh stresses that “an authentic essay” can stand out more than something “cliché.”

The exact list depends on your program and whether you’re applying for a major scholarship, but the recipient stories repeatedly mention transcripts, test results (if required), and substantial writing. For example, Hannah Emambocus says she had to compile “academic transcripts from Grade 10 to Grade 12,” cite awards, and write a “personal statement,” and then complete a Pearson form with “short-answer and long-answer questions.” Similarly, Karolina describes the Pearson process starting with a school nomination, then applying to U of T, then receiving a Pearson-specific application with short/long answers.

Many recipients also mention recommendation letters and essay drafting as part of their “document” workload: Aisha Adamu talks about building strong teacher relationships so “recommendation letters” reflected her work ethic, and Karen recommends starting early to “brainstorm, write, and refine” essays.

Yes, there’s typically an application fee, and it can depend on the route you use (for example, applying through Ontario’s centralized application vs. another portal). Check the latest application guideline for the latest information.