UBC International Major Entrance Scholarship 2027: $10,000-$25,000 a Year

The International Major Entrance Scholarship (IMES) is the University of British Columbia’s main merit award for international undergraduates, and it is one Indian students can win without writing a separate scholarship application. UBC considers every international applicant who applies by its admission deadline, and for the current cycle the award is worth $10,000 to $25,000 a year, renewable for up to three more years.

That last point is what makes the IMES different from most entrance awards: it is not a one-time cheque. A student who wins it in first year keeps the funding for a full four-year degree, provided they stay in good standing.

This page covers what the IMES pays, who UBC says is eligible, how the automatic consideration works, the decision timeline, and how the IMES differs from UBC’s two other big international entrance awards.

UBC IMES 2027: quick facts

What the International Major Entrance Scholarship pays

• $10,000 to $25,000 per year for the academic year currently on UBC’s site. UBC states the number and level of awards given each year vary, depending on available funding.
• The award is renewable for up to three additional years of study. Students receive their IMES when they enter first year, and it continues through a four-year degree.
• It is applied to the cost of your UBC degree. UBC’s merit awards do not cover the full cost of education – the university explicitly tells recipients to build a financial plan for the rest of their degree, using its cost estimator, because tuition, housing and living costs are far above the award value.
• UBC assesses these awards on merit only: “our OIS and IMES are merit-based awards and we are unable to take financial need into consideration”.

Who is eligible for the IMES

• You must be new to UBC, entering directly from secondary school. Students who have already started university or college elsewhere are not IMES candidates.
• You must be an international student who will study at UBC on a Canadian study permit. UBC adds that changes to your citizenship status affect your IMES eligibility – so an Indian passport holder who becomes a permanent resident before enrolling can lose the award.
• You must demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and intellectual promise, plus impressive extracurricular and community involvement.
• You must not be nominated for a need-and-merit International Scholars award. The two programmes are alternatives, not add-ons.
• You must apply to UBC by the admissions deadline – there is no separate IMES form.

There is no separate minimum percentage, SAT score or IELTS band printed for the IMES. UBC describes the award as highly competitive: all international undergraduate applicants are considered, so the award pool is every international applicant to the university, not a shortlist you can enter separately.

How the automatic consideration works

UBC runs admission decisions and scholarship evaluation as two separate processes. You are considered for merit awards only after you receive an offer of admission, and the evaluation is based on the academic and personal profile in your application. That is why the quality of your personal profile and your extracurricular record matters as much as your marks.

1. Submit the UBC application for the intake you want, choosing your degree and campus.
2. Complete every part of the profile UBC asks for – grades, curriculum, activities, awards and the personal profile questions. This is the material the scholarship committee reads.
3. Apply by the admission deadline. Missing it removes you from automatic consideration entirely.
4. Wait for the admission offer. Merit awards are evaluated after the offer, not before.
5. Watch your email and Applicant Service Centre between mid-February and the end of April – UBC notifies only successful recipients.
6. Accept the award before your admission acceptance deadline. Award offers are final, and most students’ acceptance deadline is 1 May.

Important dates for IMES applicants

• Admission application: by UBC’s published deadline for your intake (UBC lists intakes and deadlines on its Dates and Deadlines page).
• Offers of admission: UBC says offers may start rolling out in December.
• Scholarship decisions: between mid-February and the end of April.
• Award notification: only successful recipients are contacted, before their admission acceptance deadline.
• Acceptance: by your admission offer deadline – most students’ deadline is 1 May.

UBC does not publish a separate IMES closing date, because the scholarship has no application of its own. If you are planning around a date, the admission deadline is the one that controls everything.

IMES vs Outstanding International Student Award vs International Scholars

IMES	Merit-based, renewable for up to three additional years, open to students entering directly from secondary school, $10,000 to $25,000 a year.
Outstanding International Student Award	Merit-based, one-time, open to students entering from secondary school or from another university or college, $10,000 to $25,000.
International Scholars Program	Need-and-merit award for high achievers with significant financial need; you must be nominated, and IMES/OIS recipients cannot hold it at the same time.

Because IMES and OIS are both triggered by the same application, an applicant is normally in the running for both. The difference that decides your outcome is whether you are coming straight from school (IMES renewable, OIS possible) or transferring from another institution (OIS only).

Documents and profile you should prepare

• Academic transcripts and predicted or final board results for your Class 10 and Class 12 years.
• English proficiency evidence if your curriculum does not exempt you – UBC’s English language requirement page lists the accepted tests.
• A record of extracurricular and community work with specifics: what you did, for how long, and what changed because of it. This is the part that separates two applicants with the same marks.
• Any national or state-level awards, olympiad ranks, research or entrepreneurship evidence.

UBC’s scholarship page does not ask for a separate essay, reference letter or income proof for the IMES. Everything is read from the admission application, so there is no second chance to add material after you submit.

Frequently asked questions

Official links

• UBC – Scholarships and awards for international students (IMES, OIS and the Okanagan awards on one page)
• UBC – International Scholars Program (the need-and-merit route)
• UBC – Dates and deadlines (the admission deadline that triggers scholarship consideration)
• UBC – Applying to UBC

Read more on the site: study abroad scholarships, international scholarships and Class 12 scholarships.

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