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Early Childhood Educator Bursary Program

A bursary program, administered by NorQuest College, to support post-secondary training for early childhood educators in Alberta.

The current intake period is open until January 15. Successful candidates will be contacted by NorQuest College.

Overview

The Early Childhood Educator Bursary will help cover post-secondary costs for up to 300 aspiring and advancing early childhood educators in Alberta over a 3-year period.

Alberta’s government is investing more than $3.3 million from the Canada-Alberta Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement to make it easier to study close to home.

Qualified recipients will receive $10,000 to cover tuition, textbooks and living expenses.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are:

  • aspiring or advancing early childhood educators who have been accepted into an approved early learning and child care (ELCC) certificate program

Funding

Each successful recipient will receive $10,000 disbursed in 2 installments:

  • $5,000 after application approval and signing a return of services agreement
  • $5,000 upon completing the ELCC certificate at an approved Alberta ELCC certification program

Recipients must repay the bursary if they fail to:

  • complete an approved ELCC certificate within 18 months
  • begin work as a Level 2 early childhood educator within 3 months of graduation or complete 2,000 hours of work within 2 years

Approved institutions

There are 12 public post-secondary institutions offering approved ELCC certificate programs:

  • Bow Valley College
  • Centre collégial de l'Alberta (French)
  • Keyano College
  • Lakeland College
  • Lethbridge Polytechnic
  • Medicine Hat College
  • NorQuest College
  • Northern Lakes College
  • Northwestern Polytechnic
  • Portage College
  • Red Deer Polytechnic
  • Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

Two independent academic institutions:

  • Burman University
  • MaKami College

Six private career colleges:

  • Bredin College (Edmonton)
  • CDI College (Edmonton/Calgary)
  • Maskwacis Cultural College
  • MCG Careers Inc. O/A Train Alberta Inc. (Red Deer)
  • Robertson College (Edmonton/Calgary)
  • University Blue Quills (St. Paul)

For more information, review Appendix D in the Certification guide for early childhood educators.

How to apply

Important: The current intake period is open until January 15.

This bursary program is administered through NorQuest College. Visit their early childhood educator bursary page for details on how to apply. Application statuses will be updated through NorQuest College. 

Contact

Connect with the Early Childhood Educators Bursary:
Email: [email protected]