Scholarship FAQ

The scholarship deadline is Tuesday, July 15, 2025 at 5pm (EDT).

Click here to apply.

General eligibility requirements

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

  1. You must be a child or grandchild (including a foster child 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.

Most NUPGE scholarships have additional requirements. See details on each scholarship below.

* Please note, the Young Workers Scholarship is also open to members of NUPGE Components or a Component’s affiliates. Applicants for this scholarship do not have to be first year, but must be under the age of 35.

Each scholarship winner will be determined based on a 750-to-1,000-word essay on this year’s topics. Marks are allocated for content, presentation and adherence to the topic.

Details about each NUPGE scholarship

Other frequently asked questions

Brian Fudge Memorial Scholarship

Brian Fudge, the son of Derek Fudge and Jill Broadbent, and the brother of Steve, graduated from John McRae Secondary School in Ottawa in June 2001 and from the Police Foundations program at Humber College in Toronto in May 2004. On January 2, 2005, Brian passed away after just having celebrated his 22nd birthday.

This scholarship honours Brian’s memory and assists those studying one or more of the following: policing, criminal justice, community services, or health care.

You may apply for this scholarship if:

  • you meet the General Eligibility Requirements listed above and
  • are entering a field of study in policing, criminal justice, community services, or health care (see examples below).

Applicants are required to identify their field of study on the application form.

Examples of applicable programs are:

  • Personal Support Worker
  • Youth Worker
  • Social Worker
  • Nursing
  • Pre-med
  • Correctional Officer
  • Bio-medical Engineering
  • Biochemistry
  • Criminology
  • Sociology
  • Nutrition Sciences
  • Blood Work Technician
  • X-ray Technician

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 your field of study in either policing, criminal justice, community services, or health care in delivering public services to Canadians.

Scholarship for 2SLGBTQIA+ Students

You may apply for this scholarship if:

  • you meet the General Eligibility Requirements listed above and
  • are an 2SLGBTQIA+ student planning to enter the 1st year of a Canadian public, post-secondary education institution, full-time or part-time, in the coming year.

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 unions in supporting the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

Scholarship for Black Students

You may apply for this scholarship if:

  • you meet the General Eligibility Requirements listed above and
  • are a Black student planning to enter the 1st year of a Canadian public, post-secondary education institution, full-time or part-time, in the coming year.

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:

  • Describe the contributions of 2 Black trailblazers (past or contemporary) and how these have inspired you as a person.

Scholarship for Indigenous Students

You may apply for this scholarship if:

  • you meet the General Eligibility Requirements listed above,
  • are an Indigenous person in Canada, and
  • 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:

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).

Students of Colour Scholarship

You may apply for this scholarship if:

  • you meet the General Eligibility Requirements listed above and
  • you self-identify as a Person of Colour.

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 people of colour.

Terry Fox Memorial Scholarship

You may apply for this scholarship if:

  • you meet the General Eligibility Requirements listed above and
  • are a person with a disability.

You are considered a person with a disability if your disability been identified by your school, your doctor, your psychiatrist or psychologist, or social worker. Applicants will be asked to self-identify as having a disability.

Some of the applicants have identified physical disabilities such as blindness, deafness, and mobility issues. Others have identified learning disabilities such as dyslexia, or mental health issues such as generalized anxiety disorder.

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 people with disabilities.

Tommy Douglas Scholarship

There are no extra criteria to apply for this scholarship. As long as you meet the General Eligibility Requirements (above) you can apply.

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:

  • How Tommy Douglas’s life contributed to making Canada a more just and equitable nation.

Young Worker Scholarship

This scholarship is for those who are under the age of 35 as of the scholarship’s deadline. It is the only NUPGE scholarship where you can apply if you already have post-secondary credits.

To enter you must meet the following requrements:

  1. You must be a young worker under the age of 35 as of the scholarship’s deadline.
  2. You must be planning to enter a Canadian public, post-secondary education institution, full-time or part-time, in the coming year.
  3. You must be a member, or child or grandchild (including a foster child or foster grandchild) or a legal ward of a current or retired member of a NUPGE Component or a Component’s affiliate
  4. You must agree to the publicity conditions. Namely, the contest results will be publicized on the social media and websites of NUPGE, its Components, and Component’s affiliates.
  5. You must submit a 750-to-1,000-word essay based on this year’s topic along with your online application.

You do not have to be entering your first year of post-secondary education to apply for this scholarship.

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:

  • In what ways are unions still important in the contemporary workplace?

Other frequently asked questions

Can I apply for a scholarship if I already have post-secondary credits from a university or college?

No — for all of our scholarships, except the Young Worker Scholarship, you must be entering the first year of post-secondary education. Those scholarships are limited to those who have no post-secondary credits.

Can I apply if I am attending or have attended a private high school?

Yes — provided that the college or university you are entering is public.

Do private universities or colleges or other private diploma services qualify?

No — only attendance at a public university or college located in Canada qualifies. Winners will be asked to provide proof of enrollment.

How can I tell if the university/college I am applying to is public and not private?

This information should be available on the university/college’s website or you can ask their registrar.

Do universities or colleges outside of Canada qualify?

No — the university or college that you are planning on attending must be located in Canada. Winners will be asked to provide proof of enrollment.

Which unions qualify as belonging to NUPGE?

See NUPGE’s list of Components.

Can I apply as a member of one of the affiliated unions?

Yes. See NUPGE’s list of Components.

Do any of the following unions qualify as belonging to NUPGE: CUPE, LIUNA, PSAC, Teamsters, UFCW, teachers’ unions, or Unifor.?

None of the above unions belong to or are affiliated with NUPGE. For a list of NUPGE Components and Components’ affiliates, see NUPGE’s list of Components. Only unions on that list qualify. No application will be considered for any unions not on that list.

We do not have access to the membership lists of our Components or affiliated unions.

Ask your family member to provide a copy of their membership card or proof of membership. Failing that, you can call the main number of the union they belong to and they will help you.

Ask your family member to approach their shop steward or union representative for their contact information. Failing that, you can contact the office of the affiliated union. 

Please remember that this person must be an official of the affiliated union.  This can be a staff member, elected official (ie steward, local president etc.). This cannot be yourself, a relative or the manager at your parent’s workplace.

Can I enter/win more that one NUPGE scholarship?

You can enter as many scholarships as long as you meet their eligibility requirements. However, you can only win one NUPGE scholarship in any one year. If you win a NUPGE scholarship, you might still be eligible to enter the Young Worker Scholarship in subsequent years.

What is the award for each scholarship winner?

Each scholarship has the same award amount of $2,500.

Are scholarships taxable?

Yes — all scholarships are taxable as income. Upon receiving one of our scholarships, we will require your Social Insurance Number and an address to mail you a T4A slip. One will also be mailed to the Canada Revenue Agency. You must declare the $2,500.

Will the winner be publicized?

The winners will be widely publicized across Canada on the internet through the websites and social media of NUPGE and its affiliates.

How are the essays marked?

All essays are marked by an external party who uses a marking guide for

  • content
  • relevance to the question asked
  • presentation