English-speaking students who want to study in French may be eligible for a $3,000 non-renewable bursary courtesy of the Government of Canada.
Administered by the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC), these bursaries encourage English-speaking students attending university to pursue their post-secondary studies in French, their second official language.
The bursaries are part of Canada’s Action Plan for Official Languages, which aims to increase the national bilingualism rate from 17.9% to 20% by 2036, mainly through raising the bilingualism rate of English speakers outside Quebec from 6.8% to 9%.
The bursaries will be awarded yearly between 2020 and 2023.
In 2018 the ACUFC commissioned a study that shows that bilingual Canadians earned more than their unilingual Anglophone counterparts. Bilingual Canadians are also well-placed to enjoy the rich variety of the Francophonie, in Canada and abroad.
Students who wish to apply must:
- Intend to pursue full-time studies in a college or undergraduate university program in Canada, to take at least 50% of their courses and participate in related activities in French;
- be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada;
- speak English as their first language;
- Study full time in a Canadian institution during the current year;
- Have completed their secondary school studies in an English-language institution and graduated from this institution;
- Be enrolled in the first year of a postsecondary study program in French;
- Be at least 17 years old on the first day of class;
- Demonstrate that they have sufficient knowledge of French to be able to study in that language;
Students can apply to any of these 26 participating colleges and universities (also listed on the ACUFC’s webpage).
Catherine Fisher, blogger
