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Laurier Scholars Award Program
The prestigious Laurier Scholars Award offers high-achieving students the opportunity to participate in a dynamic learning environment that will foster innovative thinking and ethical, visionary leadership.
In fall 2022, Laurier will welcome its second cohort of scholars, each of whom will receive a $40,000 scholarship over a four-year period. Award recipients join a community of scholars from across the disciplines and receive mentorship, networking, research and experiential learning opportunities throughout their degree. Laurier’s commitment to academic excellence and community engagement, including social innovation and sustainability efforts, provides Laurier Scholars with a strong foundation to create new ideas and make meaningful change.
Laurier Scholars are required to meet all conditions to receive and renew their scholarship on an annual basis over a four-year period.
Laurier Scholars Award Conditions
The total value of the scholarship is $40,000. Laurier Scholars are eligible for $7,500 annually for a maximum of four years. Funding will be applied in two equal installments to your student account during your full-time terms of study. An experiential award of $10,000 is available in your senior years of study and will be applied towards an education enhancing experience, which may include studying abroad or research assistantship.
If you were selected as Laurier Scholar beginning in Fall 2022, you must meet all of the conditions outlined below to receive your award:
- You must accept your Offer of Admission by the deadline outlined on your offer.
- You must have a final admission average of 90% as of July 7, 2022 for Ontario high school students and July 15, 2022 for all other applicants and you must meet all conditions listed on your offer of admission letter.
- Participation in the Laurier Scholars program is required. This is inclusive but not limited to the Scholars’ Colloquium, leadership development projects, and annual Scholars’ conference. Your involvement will be reviewed annually.
- You must be applying direct to Laurier from high school or as an international student entering first year. Transfer students or applicants who have attended post-secondary education at another institution are not eligible.
- The Laurier Scholars Award cannot be deferred. If you are seeking to defer your offer of admission, you can reapply for the Laurier Scholars Award and will be considered amongst all other applications. Applicants deferring their offer will automatically be considered for the Entrance Grid Scholarship.
- To receive the Laurier Scholars Award each year you must be registered for full-time studies (a minimum of 2.0 credits in a term is considered full-time) in two terms in an academic year (September through August), completing a total of 5.0 credits in this same period.
- To maintain your Laurier Scholars Award each year you must have completed at least 5.0 credits over at least two full-time terms (minimum 2.0 credits or more per term) and achieved a minimum grade point average of 10.5 in the immediately preceding academic year.
- If you withdraw or register to study part-time for more than one academic term in the academic year, you will no longer be eligible to receive the Laurier Scholars Award.
- Recipients of Laurier Scholars Award are not eligible for Laurier’s entrance grid scholarship or in-course scholarship.
- By applying for the Laurier Scholars Award, you agree to allow your name and program of study to be used by the University to create and maintain a public record and feature recipients on Laurier websites for the purposes of promoting and celebrating the Award program.
- If you do not meet renewal requirements, you will automatically be considered for Laurier’s in-course scholarship for the remainder of your academic studies.
If you are a current Laurier Scholar, you must meet all of the conditions outlined below to renew your award:
- You must achieve a minimum of a 10.5 GPA in courses taken in the previous academic year (September through August).
- GPA is calculated using all courses taken during the fall, winter and spring terms of the previous academic year (September through August).
- You must have completed a minimum of 5.0 credits (or 10 half credits) in the previous academic year at Laurier (September through August).
- If more than 5.0 credits are taken in an academic year, the GPA from all courses completed in an academic year will be used to determine renewal eligibility.
- To be eligible for renewal, recipients of the Laurier Scholars Award must be registered full time in two of the three terms from September through August (therefore a minimum of 2.0 credits per term, in at least 2 of the 3 terms in the prior academic year).
- You must be registered with Laurier as your home institution.
- To receive the funds in the current year, you must be registered in a full-time course load over two full time academic terms in the current academic year.
- Participation in the Laurier Scholars program is required. This is inclusive but not limited to the Scholars’ Colloquium, leadership development projects, and annual Scholars’ conference. Your involvement will be reviewed annually.
- If the renewal requirements are not met in each academic year, the Laurier Scholars Award will not be renewed and cannot be renewed in a subsequent academic year.
- If you do not meet renewal requirements, you will automatically be considered for Laurier’s in-course scholarship for the remainder of your academic studies.
- If you withdraw or register to study part-time for more than one academic term in the academic year, you will no longer be eligible to receive the Laurier Scholars Award.
The Laurier Scholar Experience
Over the course of their undergraduate studies, Laurier Scholars will build networks with their cohort through formal and informal gatherings. They will engage in both independent and collaborative projects, choosing from different experiential learning offerings that focus on three key areas:
- Academic development
- Career and leadership development
- Community engagement
Fall 2022 Scholars
In the late summer and early fall of 2022, you will have opportunities to meet the program leader, Dr. James Southworth, as well as your fellow award holders.
Given that this is a multi-campus program, we will deliver the 2022/23 program remotely.
We are continuously developing our new Laurier Scholars Program and are eager to hear the goals and ideas of you, our incoming scholars, who will help shape the program through your contributions.
Some modifications to the program are expected, but throughout the 2022/23 academic year scholars will participate in the following initiatives:
When you begin in fall 2022, you will be paired with a designated professor from your faculty or program area. Your faculty mentor will provide ongoing academic and professional guidance to help you excel throughout your university career.
The second cohort of scholars will be mentored by their upper-year peers holding the Laurier Scholars Award. You can expect to connect with your peer mentor at the beginning of the fall 2022 term.
These monthly meetings of the Laurier Scholars, which will begin in September 2022, focus on academic skills development and enrichment, customized to you and your fellow scholars. Through visits from guest moderators within and beyond the university, including faculty, librarians, academic support staff and community members, the colloquium will specifically help you build the skills you’ll need to undertake leadership development projects, including the experiential learning opportunity. The colloquium will also connect you to resources that will help you develop career, teaching, research and wellness skills.
Program Leader
In his professional staff role at Writing Services, James Southworth advances the development of students’ academic writing skills across all disciplines and all levels at the Waterloo campus.
In addition to working with faculty to teach writing in their classrooms and conducting academic research, he leads a team of high-achieving student writing tutors. This includes creating and facilitating regular professional development workshops to help tutors thrive in their student employee roles.
As program leader for the Laurier Scholars Award, he will work closely with award holders as scholars develop holistic skills in leadership and creativity. He is excited to develop rich and innovative programming that can help Laurier Scholars achieve their academic and professional goals.
For any inquiries relating to the administration of the award, you can contact studentawards@wlu.ca.