The Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (AGES) can include international students, but it is not an automatic award for anyone applying to Canada. Your institution’s award process is the essential next step.
Provincial rules and funding
Alberta Student Aid’s operational guidance lists an award value of CAD$11,000–$15,000. Eligible students must be living in Alberta while studying at an Alberta post-secondary institution. International students are included among the eligible citizenship categories. The programme requires eligible full-time graduate study, with further course-load conditions. Institutions select recipients under provincial and additional institutional criteria.
This is a stated award amount, not a guarantee of full tuition, accommodation, travel or every living expense. Compare any actual offer with your own costs and conditions. The provincial guidance directs applicants to their institution’s Student Awards Office for deadlines and application details.
Calgary is one example, not the rule for every university
The University of Calgary’s AGES guidance distinguishes several streams. For AGES International, eligible thesis-based international students who apply to the current Graduate Award Competition (GAC) are considered automatically. They must apply for at least one award within that competition; AGES International is not a separate selectable item.
Calgary says the GAC application opens on 1 November each year in the student portal. Programme deadlines vary, and most awards in that competition, including AGES International, begin the following September. As checked on 25 October 2026, this guidance is preparation for the stated annual route—not confirmation that the next portal round is already open. Ask your graduate programme for the applicable cycle and deadline.
Already studying in Alberta
Ask your own awards office which AGES stream applies to your programme, status and study load. One university’s instructions do not establish another’s process.
Still choosing a university
Check admission and realistic funding separately. An award listing is not an offer of admission or proof that your planned course qualifies.
Our preparation checklist
- Write down your exact degree and whether it is thesis-based or course-based.
- Ask which award competition or nomination process applies to you, including any internal programme deadline.
- Use that competition’s current document checklist, not a third-party generic scholarship form.
- Ask how the award interacts with other funding, when it is paid and what continued enrolment conditions apply.
- Keep written confirmation of the relevant cycle, eligibility and submission route before making financial commitments.
Our checklist is editorial planning advice. Neither a Trends search nor meeting minimum eligibility establishes that funding will be awarded. Do not submit documents to a website promising guaranteed AGES placement.
Official sources and next steps
Information checked 25 October 2026. Recheck changing requirements with the responsible organisation before acting.
More source-checked scholarship guides
Article prepared by Swan Study Bridge using the linked original sources.