MSVU offers free tuition to former youth in care
The Halifax institution will be the first university in Atlantic Canada to launch a tuition waiver program for students who were previously in the foster care system.
In January, Halifax’s Mount Saint Vincent University will become the first university in Atlantic Canada to offer tuition waivers for students who were previously in the foster care system.
MSVU’s Post-Care Tuition Waiver Program will cover the full cost of tuition and compulsory fees. The university will also connect participating students to a staff member who can assist them from the application process through to the end of their degrees.
Read also:
- Laurentian relaunches tuition waiver program for former youth in care
- Universities waive tuition for former Crown wards

“Education holds the power to transform lives,” says Julie McMullin, MSVU vice-president, academic. She adds that the program will provide the chance for “immeasurable personal, scholarly and professional growth for eligible students.”
Jane Kovarikova, founder of the Child Welfare Political Action Committee and a doctoral candidate at Western University, has been advocating for tuition waivers for former youth in care. Her organizing has helped lead to similar programs at Laurentian University as well as Western University and its affiliate university colleges, Brescia, King’s and Huron. “As a former youth-in-care, I am grateful to MSVU for making postsecondary more accessible for people like me,” she says. “Their leadership in helping to bring these opportunities coast-to-coast is an inspiration.”
The university is launching the program with a pilot this winter. A full roll-out is planned for September. Taking a cue from MSVU, Memorial University announced that it will pilot a tuition waiver in the spring term.
Share
Most popular
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
- 05
Featured Jobs
- Medicine - Assistant Professor, Grant Tenure Track (Urologic Sciences, Kidney Cancer)The University of British Columbia
- Veterinary Medicine - Lecturer, Term (Large Animal Internal Medicine)University of Saskatchewan
- Engineering - Assistant Teaching Professor (Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering)Ontario Tech University
- Canada Research Chair, Tier 2 in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Director, Maria T. Schneider Social Innovation InstituteMacEwan University
- Occupational Therapy - Assistant or Associate ProfessorDalhousie University
More from News
-
Cuban students and scholars desperately await improvement amid continued blockade
Canada-Cuba relations expert Karen Dubinsky warns mood among Cuban colleagues continues to decline.
-
Red Alert!
Students tackle underground rescue scenarios as Laurentian University hosts the Intercollegiate Mine Emergency Response Competition.
-
Why has the Atlantic region been hit hardest by IRCC’s student visa cuts?
Reduced international student intake threatens local economies, workforce pipelines and long-term growth in less populous regions.
-
Maple: from soil to syrup
Discover the ecology behind Canada’s sweetest treat in this documentary short, featuring Université Laval Professor Guillaume Moreau.
More from Campus news
-
Strike over, but strife remains at Laurentian
Faculty ratify new collective agreement, but say the deal still puts them behind other Ontario universities.
-
Faculty strike at Laurentian
Negotiations fail, picket lines rise at northern Ontario university.
-
Quebec universities weather an unprecedented storm
The province’s institutes of higher learning are navigating immigration restrictions, language policies, budget cuts and challenges to academic freedom.
-
Reflecting the cultural temperature
A look back at some of Spring’s convocation speeches at Canadian universities.
More from Articles
-
Art schools grapple with AI
Creative arts among the first and hardest-hit by powerful new tech.
-
Montreal students, professors, protest Quebec’s Bill 9
Demonstrators to rally against law that restricts the wearing of religious symbols and forbids prayer rooms in higher education institutions.
-
Spring fiscal update boosts colleges, trades training
Universities also ‘want to be a big part’ of educating the new Canadian workforce, says UC president.
-
NL increases funding for post-secondary, confirms tuition freeze
Memorial University still faces “hard decisions” for upcoming operating budget.
Post a comment
University Affairs moderates all comments according to the following guidelines. If approved, comments generally appear within one business day. We may republish particularly insightful remarks in our print edition or elsewhere.