Awards & Scholarships

The deadline to complete RDP’s General Awards Application has passed. Thank you and best of luck to all applicants! Award winners are selected and notified over the spring, summer and fall months. Be sure to monitor your RDP email to ensure you do not miss out! 

The General Awards Application will reopen in March 2025.

Who said there is no such thing as free money? If you are a current high school student planning to attend a credit program at Red Deer Polytechnic next fall, with an average of 80% or higher in five 5-credit grade 11 or grade 12 subjects, you could get $1,000 awards towards your tuition. It’s easy to apply!  

Fall 2025 Applicants: Beginning October 1, 2024, email your transcript or Detailed Academic Report to the Student Connect Centre and be sure to provide an up-to-date email address and phone number.

There are limited scholarships to be awarded. Be sure to apply early!

Eligibility Criteria:

• Must be continuing in full-time post-secondary studies
• Must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person
• Must be an Alberta resident
• Must have completed 24 credits with a minimum GPA of 3.2 (to meet Jason Lang eligibility) or 30 credits with a minimum GPA of 3.7 (to meet Louise McKinney eligibility) over the previous two terms (not including Spring)
• Students can only receive one of these scholarships per academic year
• A maximum of 3 Jason Lang and/or Louise McKinney scholarships can be acquired in a student's academic lifetime

Current Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) students meeting the above criteria will be notified via email to their Red Deer Polytechnic email addresses over the summer months. Nominees are required to complete the application linked in this email in order to be considered for the awards. 

Students who have transferred to other institutions (including those currently enrolled in collaborative programs at RDP) must contact the Financial Aid Office at their current institution in order to discuss their Jason Lang and Louise McKinney Scholarship process.

If you are an Indigenous student attending full-time studies at Red Deer Polytechnic, you may be eligible for the Indigenous Careers Award. This award provides support to Indigenous Albertans in their pursuit of post-secondary studies in certificate, diploma, and degree programs. The award is valued at $2,000 per term, with a maximum of $4,000 per year.  

Eligibility Criteria: 

• Must be of Indigenous ancestry 
• Must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident 
• Must be a resident of Alberta 
• Must be a Red Deer Polytechnic student (collaborative students must apply through their institution) 
• Must be enrolled in at least 60% of a full-time course load. If you are a student with a documented permanent disability, you are considered full-time if you are enrolled in at least 40% of a full-time course load. 
• Must have attended a post-secondary institution in the most recent major (Fall or Winter) term. If you attended a post-secondary institution other than Red Deer Polytechnic, you must submit a statement of grades or transcript with your application. 
• Must have a minimum GPA of 1.7. Applicants will be selected based on highest GPA. 

There are two application windows for the 2024-2025 Indigenous Careers Awards: 

1. Fall 2024 Award: Apply between September 1 and October 15, 2024. 
2. Winter 2025 Award: Apply between January 1 and February 15, 2025. 

Eligible students enrolled in both terms are able to apply once per term and could receive the award for both terms. 

Complete the Indigenous Carreers Award Application to be considered. 

Students enrolled in and required to travel to practicum placements outside of the City of Red Deer for the Practical Nurse Diploma, Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree or the Occupational and Physical Therapist Assistant Diploma programs may be eligible for the Health Sciences Rural Practicum Bursary! This bursary is intended to offset the financial burden of traveling to a distant practicum location.  

Before applying, you must: 

• Have a confirmed practicum placement at least 100km from Red Deer Polytechnic 
• Know the practicum/clinic dates and location 

Complete the Health Sciences Rural Practicum Bursary Application to be considered. 

Deadline to apply for a Fall 2024 practicum: October 31, 2024 
Deadline to apply for a Winter 2025 practicum: March 1, 2025 

Current and prospective Red Deer Polytechnic student-athletes may be eligible for athletic awards and scholarships. Connect with the Red Deer Polytechnic team’s head coach to discuss your athletic award eligibility.   

Do you reside on campus? Would you like to organize an event, project or initiative for the betterment of your fellow Red Deer Polytechnic students? If so, you need to apply for this scholarship! There are two scholarships to be awarded in the Fall term, and two to be awarded in the Winter term. The selected recipients will receive $200 to make their event, project or initiative a reality. Simply complete the Red Deer Polytechnic Tenants' Association Building Community Scholarship Application in order to be considered. Please note applications will be considered on a first-come, first-serve basis.  

Deadline to apply for a Fall 2024 project/event/initiative: November 15, 2024 
Deadline to apply for a Winter 2025 project/event/initiative: March 15, 2025

Are you a domestic student in a Health Sciences or Education program participating in a work-integrated learning (WIL) placement/practicum this Fall term? You may be eligible to apply for a one-time $1,000 Barrier Reduction bursary as well as a $500 travel subsidy, per placement. Find full bursary details in this document.  Please read over the full bursary details carefully before applying.

Who can apply? Students in the following programs with practicum/field study placements taking Fall term: 

• Early Learning and Child Care 
• Education
• Health Care Aide 
• Medical Laboratory Assistant
• Nursing
• Pharmacy Technician 
• Social Work 
• Unit Clerk 

Please note international students are not eligible for this bursary.  

How and When to Apply: Students should to apply in the month of their practicum/placement. Complete the Accessible Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Bursary Application

• Applications are open from 8 am on September 5th until 11:59 pm on November 15th, 2024. 

Are you a Red Deer Polytechnic Student planning to attend a regional campus in Rocky Mountain House, Stettler, Ponoka, Sundre or Drumheller? If so, you may be eligible to receive the Rural Learner Support Grant. This Grant is intended to offset the financial burdens you may face. Preference will be given to students enrolled in either the Practical Nurse Diploma or Health Care Aide Certificate programs. 

Complete the Rural Learner Support Grant Application to be considered. 

Deadline to apply for Winter term 2025: December 6, 2024

• Alberta Student Aid's Academic Scholarships
  • Alexander Rutherford Scholarship
  • Persons Case Scholarship
  • Women in STEM Scholarship
• Alberta Student Aid's Athletic Scholarships 
• Alberta Student Aid's Citizen/Leadership Scholarships
• Alberta Student Aid's Indigenous Scholarships
• Alberta Student Aid's Language Scholarships
• Alberta Student Aid's Technology Scholarships

• Ron Pfau Memorial Scholarship

• Alberta Society of Artists Scholarships
• Awards for Ukrainian Art, Writing and Music
• Kathleen & Russell Lane Canadian Art Award
• Kirby Morrow Memorial Scholarship
• Red Deer Arts Council Scholarships and Awards 
• Red Deer Players Community Theatre Society Carole Forhan Theatre Arts Scholarship

• Agricultural Service Board Bursary
• Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET)
• Bethany Care Foundations Scholarships
• Health Care Aide Tuition Bursary Program
• Parkland Airshed Management Zone (PAMZ) Dr. Martha Kostuch Environmental Education Fund
• Professional Vegetation Managers Association (PVMA) Student Scholarships, Bursaries and Awards
• Red Deer Regional Health Foundation Scholarships
• Spruce Grove and District Agricultural Heritage Society Student Grant
• Tier 1 Scholarship Program

• 4H Alberta Scholarship Program
• Piper Creek Optimist Young Leader Award
• Rocky Mountain House Agricultural Society Bursary

• Jake Weitz Memorial Scholarship

• Disability Awards - National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
• Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta (LDAA)

• Queen Esther Education Foundation
• The award(s) listed here are specific to newcomers to Canada and international students, however; you are encouraged to review the other opportunities listed on this page as they too may accept applications from international students. 

• Aboriginal Futures
• Indigenous Bursaries Search Tool 
• Indspire 
• Primary Indigenous Student Bursary
• The awards listed here are specifically for Indigenous students, however; you are encouraged to review the other opportunities listed on this page to maximize your scholarship potential. Additionally, you may also be interested in visiting rdpolytech.ca/indigenousfunding for information on Indigenous funding resources.

• FinAid Scholarships
• Indigenous Bursaries Search Tool
• ScholarTree
• Scholarships Canada
• Student Awards