Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship 2027

The Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship is the University of Toronto’s most prestigious award for international students. It pays for tuition, books, incidental fees and full residence support for four years of a first-entry undergraduate degree, and about 37 students are named Pearson Scholars each year. It is named after the former Canadian prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner, and the university describes it as one of the largest scholarship programmes for international students in Canada.

The award has an unusual entry route: you cannot apply until your secondary school nominates you. For September 2027 entry, school nominations closed on 9 October 2026. Students who were nominated must still apply for admission by 16 October 2026 and complete the scholarship application, with all documents, by 6 November 2026 (dates checked 9 October 2026 on the official Pearson page).

What it pays

Item	Covered for four years (checked 9 October 2026)
Tuition	Yes
Books	Yes
Incidental fees	Yes
Residence	Full residence support

That leaves meals not in a residence plan, flights, a study permit, phone and personal spending for you or your family to cover, as far as the official page sets out. The scholarship is tenable only at the University of Toronto, and only for the programme that was your top choice when the decisions were made. You can list up to three programme areas on your admission application, but the award would attach to the first.

Pearson Scholars also get the Pearson Program Office, based in the university’s Centre for International Experience, which runs enrichment activities and support for scholars during the degree.

Who can be nominated

The university defines an international student as a non-Canadian who needs a study permit. For September 2027 entry you must be in your final year of secondary school in 2026/27, or have graduated no earlier than June 2026, and you must start at the University of Toronto in September 2027. Anyone already in post-secondary study, or starting post-secondary study in January 2027 at Toronto or anywhere else, is not eligible.

There is no list of eligible or excluded countries beyond Canada, and the official page sets no income test and no minimum grade. What it does say is that Pearson Scholars show exceptional academic achievement, creativity and leadership, and the potential to contribute to the global community. With one nominee per school, the practical bar is being the clearest candidate in your year.

If you have Canadian permanent residence or dual citizenship, the page does not address your case directly. Ask through the university’s Pearson Scholarship Inquiry Form before your school spends its nomination on you.

The 2026/27 cycle

1. From 6 July 2026Schools that have nominated before receive a personal, secure nomination form by email. Schools new to the programme apply to join.
2. 9 October 2026School nomination deadline. New schools had until noon EST that day to apply to take part.
3. 16 October 2026Deadline to apply for admission to at least one University of Toronto undergraduate programme through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC).
4. 6 November 2026Deadline for the scholarship application and all supporting documents. Nominees receive a private link to the form once nominated, and can complete it only after submitting the admission application.
5. From late JanuaryIn the last cycle, winners were told from the end of January and every nominee had a decision by April. The university has not yet posted the dates for this cycle.

A school can nominate a student who has not yet applied for admission, but the scholarship application cannot be submitted until the admission application is in. Missing the 16 October admission deadline therefore ends a nomination as surely as missing 6 November.

Getting your school to nominate you

The first decision is your school’s, not the university’s, and most schools will choose quietly unless a student asks. Talk to your guidance counsellor, principal or head of school early in your final year, or in the summer before it. Bring evidence, not adjectives. The example below is illustrative, with an invented student.

If your school has never nominated anyone, it can apply to join the programme, but the deadline for that is the same day as the nomination deadline. A school that decides late cannot catch up.

If you were nominated this round

1. Submit your OUAC application to at least one University of Toronto undergraduate programme by 16 October. Put the programme you most want first, since that is the one the award would fund.
2. Open the private link sent after your nomination and work through the scholarship form well before 6 November.
3. Gather the required documents early. The official page does not list them in public, so read the form as soon as you receive the link.
4. Write every answer yourself. Specific detail about what you have done is the only thing that separates a nominee from the other schools’ best students.
5. Use the Pearson Scholarship Inquiry Form for any question about eligibility or documents.

If you are a year away

For September 2028 entry, the useful work happens now: settle which programme you want, build a record of achievement you can describe in numbers, and make sure your school knows you intend to ask for its nomination when the form arrives in July. The study cost calculator shows what living in Canada costs beyond what the award pays, and our guide to studying in Canada covers study permits. The UBC International Scholars programme is the closest Canadian alternative and also uses school nominations, with a later deadline. Confirm every date on the official Pearson page before you rely on it.