McCall MacBain Scholarships

Who can apply

Meet one of: on track to earn a first bachelor's degree by August 2027; earned a first bachelor's degree since January 2021; or earned a first bachelor's degree more than five years ago and was 30 or younger on 1 January 2026
Meet McGill's minimum degree and language requirements for the chosen master's programme
Two reference forms are required: one academic, one community
The scholarship application is separate from, and in addition to, applying for admission to McGill
Current students and recent graduates generally need their university's endorsement to apply; this is waived only for those who graduated in 2023 or earlier from a Canadian university or from one of roughly 90 outreach-partner universities abroad
You may apply at most twice as of the 2022-23 cycle; anyone who previously accepted a Regional Award or was invited to final interviews in a past year cannot re-apply

Two deadlines, and one of them has already passed

The two-deadline structure catches people out, and the gap between the two dates matters even more once one of them has already passed. The international deadline for the 2027 cohort, 19 August 2026, has closed; if you studied or graduated outside Canada or the United States, this cycle is no longer open to you, and the next window will be for the 2028 cohort. Canadian and US applicants, including Canadians abroad, still have until 23 September 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern Time.

This is not a McGill admission scholarship you apply for after being accepted. The scholarship application and the McGill programme application are two separate processes running in parallel, and you need to satisfy McGill’s own minimum degree and language requirements for your chosen programme regardless of how strong your scholarship application is. If McGill isn’t your only Canadian option, the full list of Canada’s other big international scholarships is worth a look before you commit to one application.

What the money actually looks like

The award splits sharply by category. Canadian and US applicants compete for 20 full scholarships, plus 30 Finalist Awards of $10,000 and 30 Regional Awards of $5,000 tenable at any public Canadian university. International applicants compete for 10 full scholarships, plus 25 Finalist Awards of $20,000 a year for up to two years and 15 Regional Awards of $10,000. A full scholarship is not the only outcome worth applying for: the finalist and regional tiers are real money attached to a much larger pool of candidates than the 30 full awards alone.

The selection funnel: two interview stages, not one

Getting to a decision runs through two interview stages, not one. Shortlisted applicants are invited to regional interviews first, held in different cities and countries. Candidates who stand out there but are not advanced further receive a one-time Regional Award instead, usable at any public Canadian university, not only McGill. Those who do advance to final interviews and are not ultimately selected as Scholars receive a Finalist Award instead, which, unlike the Regional Award, can only be used at McGill itself. Across every stage the foundation says it is assessing five things: exceptional character, community engagement, leadership potential, entrepreneurial spirit, and academic strength paired with intellectual curiosity, not grades alone.

Do you need your university’s endorsement?

Whether you can apply directly or need your university’s endorsement depends on both your country and when you graduated. Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons who are current students or graduated between 2024 and 2026 need an endorsement, usually arranged by the university itself rather than something you have to request; those who graduated in 2023 or earlier apply directly. International applicants face a narrower exemption: only those who graduated in 2023 or earlier from a Canadian university or from one of roughly 90 outreach-partner universities abroad, spanning about 30 countries, can apply directly. Every other international applicant, regardless of graduation year, needs endorsement. Check your own status against the current partner list on the McCall MacBain site rather than assume either way.

After you accept: deferral, re-applying, and annual renewal

A scholarship offer here cannot be deferred to a later year, and once accepted, the award is conditional on full-time enrolment at McGill; there is no part-time option. If you are shortlisted as a finalist, you also need to submit your McGill programme application in December, even if that programme’s own admissions deadline falls later in the year, since the scholarship and admissions timelines are no longer independent once you clear the first interview stage. Re-applying is possible but capped: as of the 2022-23 cycle, applicants may apply at most twice, and applications submitted in 2020 or 2021 don’t count toward that limit, but anyone who previously accepted a Regional Award or was invited to final interviews in a past year cannot re-apply at all. Once you are a Scholar, the award renews annually on the condition of satisfactory academic standing and participation in the programme’s service and leadership components, not as a fixed multi-year grant handed out up front. That renewal condition is standard practice for multi-year awards; see what renewing a scholarship actually requires for how it typically works elsewhere too.