McCall MacBain International Fellowships

A study abroad program to develop globally minded young Canadians

Our world is increasingly interconnected and that means young Canadians need to be increasingly interconnected too. International experiences are a wonderful way for students to build a range of intercultural competencies that will help them tackle global challenges and advance Canada’s global leadership.

The Fellowship enables young people to:

• Develop global acumen through new language, inter-cultural, inter-personal, critical-thinking, and behavioural skills
• Expand their knowledge base through diverse experiences and bring those learnings to Canada
• Foster an understanding of different cultures to advance inclusivity within an increasingly diverse Canadian society
• Create enriching personal experiences, professional connections, and memories

An Environics survey from 2018 suggests that over 80% of Canadians aged 18-24 are very or somewhat interested in living in another country for at least three months to learn about its language and culture, while over 70% want to study abroad. Yet only an estimated 11% pursue opportunities to study abroad, and an even lesser percentage explore culturally unfamiliar countries, resulting in Canada having one of the lowest study-abroad rates among Western countries.

We launched the fellowship program in 2018 to help young Canadians live and learn in a wide range of countries. With this Fellowship, we also hope to build and share learnings to encourage others – institutions, governments, and philanthropy – to create and scale more such opportunities. 

Fellowship Details

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, you must:

• Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident upon application
• Be aged 19-24 on January 1st of the year of application
• Be enrolled at McGill, McMaster, Dalhousie, or the University of Manitoba; or be a recipient of a MacBain Niagara Falls or McCall Huron County scholarship
• Be enrolled full-time in a first-entry undergraduate program
• Have a minimum CGPA of 3.0 (8.0 if at McMaster University) at the time of the application deadline
• For degree programs of 4 or more years, have completed at least 3 academic terms prior to departure
• For degree programs of less than 4 years (e.g. CEGEP students in 90-credit programs), have completed at least 2 academic terms prior to departure
• Have not yet met the requirements to graduate prior to departure
• Be in good standing with your university, academically and otherwise
• Have not left Canada to participate in a travel, work, volunteer, or study abroad experience independently (i.e. without parents) in a new language or culture for 8 or more months during the last 3 years