Government Student Loans

Government student loans are available to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Student loan eligibility varies by province and by program.

RRU’s Financial Aid & Awards team provides assistance with your student loan application. This includes providing program information to the provinces, and confirming and monitoring loan eligibility.

Eligibility

COVID announcement

For student loan study periods that start between August 1, 2020 and July 31, 2022, students in programs defined by RRU as full time* may access full time student loans.

*This excludes BA/BSc in Environmental Practice, BA in Interdisciplinary Studies, MA in Climate Action Leadership, MBA program, program extension, and General Studies.

The Province of BC has relaxed eligibility for online programs to maintain access to funding in response to programs shifting to online delivery during the pandemic. Note that this increases eligibility to student loan funding in other provinces as well. Contact Financial Aid & Awards with questions or to discuss your eligibility. Please indicate your student number and province of residency in any inquiries.

Government student loans may be available to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Student loan eligibility varies by province and by program. For student loan purposes, residency is defined as the Canadian province in which you have lived most recently for 12 continuous months, excluding any time spent in full-time post-secondary study.

How to apply

While you can apply for loans up to six weeks before the end of a study period, we advise that you apply well in advance of the program's start so that you can prepare your budget accordingly. Government agencies will request RRU confirm enrollment no earlier than 30 days before the study period start date.

Important

• RRU will remit student loan funding to pay for tuition only if special arrangements have been made, otherwise funding will be directly paid to the borrower.
• Borrowers are responsible for deferring tuition if the payment deadline cannot be met. See Tuition Deferral below.

Province	Eligibility	How to apply
BC	Full-time students in the following programs are eligible to apply for full-time government student loan assistance: BA in Global Tourism Management BA in International Hotel Management BA in Justice Studies BA in Professional Communication BBA in Sustainability & International Business BCom in Entrepreneurial Management BSc in Environmental Science MA in Intercultural and International Communication MA in Tourism Management Master of Global Management The BA and MA in Interdisciplinary Studies programs may be eligible for full-time student loans depending on course load and course selection. Please contact Financial Aid and Awards for more information.	Apply online at StudentAid BC.
	Part-time students enrolled in programs not listed above may qualify for a part-time Canada Student Loan of up to $10,000. Please note that this eligibility is being reviewed by StudentAid BC and may not be available for study periods that start after August 1, 2019.	Contact Financial Aid & Awards for more information.
Alberta & Ontario	Alberta and Ontario follow BC's full time student loan eligibility. If you are an Alberta or Ontario resident taking one of the programs listed above you can apply for a full-time student loan through your provincial student financial assistance website.	Apply online at your provincial student financial assistance website.
Other Provinces & Territories	Residents of all other provinces and territories: Please contact Financial Aid & Awards for more information about student loan eligibility.	Apply online at your provincial student financial assistance website.