Post Secondary Academic Bursary

The Ostomy Halifax Society offers $500 (five hundred dollar) post-secondary school bursaries to assist young people living with an ostomy or other bowel or bladder diversionary surgery, to pursue Post-Secondary Education. This includes university, community college, apprenticeships, and trade schools.

Bursaries will be awarded for an academic year of study or for a complete academic program. These bursaries are not intended for single courses or for short-term courses. The bursaries can be awarded for up to four years of study with submission of the documents proving the successful completion of the previous year’s program.

The aims of the Bursary are:

To provide financial support to a post secondary student living with an ostomy;

To help ensure that education is accessible to ostomates despite the additional costs of purchasing ostomy supplies; and

To encourage the recipients of these awards to remain active volunteers who will “give back” to their ostomy group as well as to the wider community.

Bursary Application

Applications may be submitted from April 1 to July 31 each year. The bursary applications will be assessed and candidates will be informed during the month of August. (This can change in the case of programs that do not follow the regular academic year.)

Awards of bursaries will be presented at an Ostomy Halifax meeting. Applicants are requested to attend the meeting, if possible, to receive their award.

In situations where programs may not follow the standard academic year, applications may still be sent to the committee at any time with an explanation as to why they are outside the April to July normal submission dates.

Bursary funds will be mailed, by cheque, to the recipient or sent by bank transfer directly to the student’s (or parent’s) bank account.

Bursary Qualifications

The Applicant must be in good academic standing with their post-secondary institution and meet the following requirements:

  • Be a Canadian citizen, a Permanent Resident, or a Landed Immigrant and be living in Atlantic Canada.

  • Be a member / or be willing to become a member of an Atlantic Canada Ostomy Chapter or Ostomy Peer Support Group, or be a supporter of the Ostomy Canada Society

  • Be living with an ostomy or other bladder or bowel diversionary surgery

  • Provide their social insurance number (so we can issue a T-4 Form)

  • Provide an up-to-date resume

  • Provide a photo and short background story regarding your ostomy journey, and give permission for this information to be published in the Ostomy Halifax Gazette and/or the Ostomy Canada magazine. The photo is intended to enhance the article.

  • Bursary applicants are required to be young adults/youth under 25 years of age.

Ostomy Halifax encourages diversity and will make decisions based on your application only.

**If there are more eligible applicants than awards available, Ostomy Halifax may choose to grant additional awards, adjust the value of each award, or apply additional selection criteria based on the provided application. Our goal for the program will remain to support all eligible applicants as effectively as possible.

Students must complete the application form and submit it by email to info@ostomyhalifax.ca with “Post-Secondary Bursary” in the subject line.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) Do I need to be enrolled at a school in the Atlantic region?

No – you can be attending any accredited post-secondary institution in Canada.

For example, a student from Nova Scotia who is attending a college in Ontario would be considered eligible.

2) I have a temporary ostomy or am unsure if I will have a reversal in the future, am I eligible?

Recognizing that people’s healthcare situations can change over time, the requirement is only that you have an ostomy now. Whether it is permanent or not, it still needs to be cared for now.

3) I will be attending my program part-time, am I eligible?

Yes, part-time students are eligible for the award.

4) I am a nontraditional student (e.g., delayed enrollment, working full-time while enrolled, completed high school with a GED, etc.), am I eligible?

Yes, non traditional students are eligible for the award.

Click here to access bursary application form