Ontario eSports Scholarship Continued for 2025/26 – University of Waterloo
In follow up to the 2022 program in which the University of Waterloo Games Institute secured $50,000 of funding for student scholarships, the Ministry of Colleges and Universities has allocated additional funding to eligible post-secondary institutions in support of scholarships for high-achieving students with financial need enrolled in programs related to the video-gaming industry that may lead to a career in the videogaming or esports fields.
Several scholarships valued at $2,500 – $5,000 each will be awarded in 2025/26 for a total of $25,000.
Candidates must be enrolled full-time in an undergraduate or graduate program in the 2025/26 academic year and be in a funding-eligible video-gaming, game development, game design, or a similar program that may lead to a career in video-gaming and/or esports. Programs include, but not limited to:
In support of equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, and supporting Indigenous initiatives (EDII), preference will be given to equity-deserving candidates or to applicants who are addressing underrepresentation issues in the gaming and esports industry.
The application deadline is October 20, 2025. Learn more about the eligibility criteria on the application form.
The Games Institute acknowledges that we are living and working on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.
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The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.
