The UBC Okanagan Global Elevation Award is the simplest international scholarship in Canada: every new international undergraduate who enrols at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus receives $8,000 against tuition, and it renews for three more years. There is no scholarship form, no essay and no competition – you are enrolled, so you are paid.
That makes it unusual. Most entrance awards Indian students chase are competitive and decided months after the offer letter. This one is a guaranteed tuition credit attached to the campus you pick, and it stacks with the merit awards UBC assesses automatically (the International Major Entrance Scholarship and the Outstanding International Student Award), provided you are not nominated for the need-based International Scholars Program.
This page sets out exactly what the award pays, who qualifies, when the credit lands on your account, how it compares with UBC’s two other Okanagan awards, and the deadline that actually matters – UBC’s admission deadline, because that application is the only one you file.
UBC Okanagan Global Elevation Award 2027: quick facts
Quick facts2026-27
| Scholarship from | University of British Columbia (UBC), Okanagan campus, Kelowna, Canada |
| Last date to apply | None for the award itself – it is applied automatically once you accept an offer and enrol at UBC Okanagan. The date that matters is UBC’s admission deadline for your intake (published on UBC’s Dates and deadlines page); scholarship and admission decisions run separately, with offers rolling out from December and most acceptance deadlines falling on 1 May. |
| Official website | you.ubc.ca – Scholarships and awards for international students |
What the Global Elevation Award pays
- $8,000 applied to international students’ tuition at UBC Okanagan.
- The credit is paid in two equal instalments of $4,000 – Winter Term 1 and Winter Term 2.
- It is renewable for an additional three years: up to four years of study or until degree completion, whichever comes first. A four-year degree therefore carries up to $32,000 in credits.
- It is a tuition credit, not cash – the amount sits on your student account against fees.
- UBC states the award exists to reward international undergraduates who choose UBC Okanagan and help grow the campus’s international community.
Who is eligible
- You must be a new international student who enrols at UBC Okanagan. That is the entire eligibility test printed on UBC’s page – there is no minimum percentage, no interview and no separate selection round for this award.
- You must be studying on a Canadian study permit as an international student. UBC warns that a change in your citizenship status affects scholarship eligibility.
- You must actually enrol, not just be admitted. The credit is applied after you accept UBC’s offer of admission and register.
- Because the award is automatic for the campus, it does not replace the merit awards: UBC’s automatic assessment for the International Major Entrance Scholarship ($10,000 to $25,000 a year) and the Outstanding International Student Award still runs on the same application, as long as you are not nominated for a need-based International Scholars award.
How to get it: the application you actually file
- Apply to UBC through the standard undergraduate application and name a UBC Okanagan degree as your choice – the award only follows enrolment on the Okanagan campus.
- Submit by UBC’s admission deadline for your intake. UBC publishes the dates on its Dates and deadlines page; applying by that date is also what puts you in front of the automatic merit awards.
- Accept the offer of admission. The Global Elevation Award is applied automatically as a credit on your student account after you accept.
- Register for both Winter Terms. The credit is split $4,000 / $4,000 across the two terms, so a term you do not register for does not produce the second instalment.
UBC Okanagan’s other two international awards
UBC lists three Okanagan-specific awards for international undergraduates. They are separate credits with separate conditions, so read all three before you decide which campus and programme to name.
| UBC Okanagan International Welcome Award | $5,000 against first-year tuition, paid 50% in Term 1 and 50% in Term 2. You need a UBC Okanagan degree listed as your first choice, acceptance and enrolment into that first-choice programme, and a full-time load of 24 credits in the Winter Session. |
| UBC Okanagan Bachelor of Commerce International Launch Award | $6,000 against tuition for new international students entering the Bachelor of Commerce at UBC Okanagan for the September 2027 intake, paid $3,000 per Winter Term and renewable for three more years or until degree completion. |
| Global Elevation Award (this page) | $8,000 a year, renewable to four years, automatic for every new international undergraduate who enrols at UBC Okanagan – no first-choice or programme condition beyond enrolling on the campus. |
Important dates to plan around
- UBC admission deadline for your intake – the only deadline you control. Check UBC’s Dates and deadlines page, because the date differs by intake and by whether you are applying from school or after post-secondary study.
- December onwards – admission offers begin rolling out. Scholarship evaluation is a separate process and starts only after you hold an offer.
- Mid-February to end of April – UBC’s merit scholarship decisions for international entrants are made in this window.
- 1 May – the acceptance deadline for most students, and the point at which the Global Elevation credit is triggered once you accept and enrol.
- September – the credit appears on your Applicant Service Centre account once classes start, split across the two Winter Terms.
Is $8,000 enough? A realistic look
No. UBC is explicit that its merit awards do not cover the full cost of a degree, and the same caution applies here: $8,000 a year offsets tuition but leaves international tuition, housing, food, insurance and flights to fund. UBC gives applicants a cost estimator to build the rest of the plan. Treat the Global Elevation Award as a guaranteed discount on the degree, pair it with the automatic merit awards if your academics are strong, and budget the gap before you accept.
The value of this award is certainty. A student who enrols at UBC Okanagan knows on day one that roughly a third of a typical first-year international tuition bill is already covered, without waiting for a scholarship result in April.
Frequently asked questions
No. UBC applies it automatically to every new international undergraduate who enrols at UBC Okanagan. The only application you file is the UBC admission application.
$8,000 a year, renewable for an additional three years – up to $32,000 across a four-year degree, paid as $4,000 tuition credits in each Winter Term.
No. It is a credit applied against your tuition fees on your student account, split into two equal instalments across Winter Term 1 and Winter Term 2.
UBC assesses every international applicant automatically for the IMES and the Outstanding International Student Award; the only stated bar is being nominated for a need-and-merit International Scholars award. The Okanagan campus awards are separate campus credits, so confirm the combination with UBC admissions before you budget on both.
There is no scholarship deadline. You must apply to UBC by its admission deadline for your intake, accept the offer and enrol at UBC Okanagan; the credit is applied after you accept.
No. It is specific to UBC Okanagan. Vancouver applicants are considered for the IMES, the Outstanding International Student Award and the need-based International Scholars Program instead.
UBC’s page states no academic cut-off for the Global Elevation Award itself – it follows enrolment. Admission requirements, including English proficiency for your programme, still apply in full.
Official links
- UBC – Scholarships and awards for international students (award values, eligibility and the Okanagan campus awards)
- UBC – Dates and deadlines (the admission deadline that governs your application)
- UBC – How to apply
Read more on the site: study abroad scholarships, international scholarships and Class 12 scholarships.
Related scholarship posts: UBC International Major Entrance Scholarship 2027, UBC Outstanding International Student Award 2027, UBC International Scholars Program.