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Full-time course load

Student Aid considers you a full-time student if you:

  • are enrolled in at least 60% of what your school considers a full-time course load, or
  • have a disability and are enrolled in at least 40% of a full-time course load
  • are attending a licensed private career college in a program that is 12 weeks or longer and has 20+ instruction/practicum hours per week

For example, in a standard undergraduate program, one to two courses per semester is usually considered part-time. Three to five courses is usually considered full-time.

If you drop below the minimum course load for full-time studies, you’ll become a part-time student. This will affect your eligibility and Student Aid will reassess your account. You may be required to pay back some grant money.

Student Aid doesn’t determine course loads. Contact an advisor at your school to determine how many courses you need to take to be a full-time student.

Academic Progress

A student who withdraws from two study periods after having received student funding is not eligible for further funding for 12-months from the date of their second withdrawal.

Students who change to part-time status are exempt from this rule.

Learn more about academic progress.

Citizenship and residency

To receive student aid for full-time studies, you must:

You must also be a resident of Alberta.

Residency is determined differently for independent and dependent students:

Independent Dependent

You are independent if you:

  • are married or common law
  • are divorced, separated, or widowed
  • have at least one dependent child
  • are 23 years old or older
  • have been out of high school for at least 4 years
  • have been available for full-time work for at least 2 years since leaving high school

Note: Students who are granted Special Independent Status will be considered independent for eligibility purposes for all available provincial and federal funding, including Canada Student Grants.
For more information, see Special Independent Status

All other students are considered dependent on their parents or guardians.

You are an Alberta resident if:

  • Alberta is the province in which you have most recently lived for 12 consecutive months while not a full-time post-secondary student, or
  • you have never lived in any other Canadian province for 12 consecutive months and are attending a post-secondary school in Alberta

You are an Alberta resident if:

  • at least one of your parents lives in Alberta

Financial need

You must have financial need to receive student aid.

We calculate your financial need using this formula: Costs – Resources = Financial need

Costs Resources Financial need

How much you expect to pay toward living and education

How much you already have or expect to receive

How much you’ll get in loans and/or grants

Includes tuition, fees, living expenses, child care costs, etc.

Includes parent contribution, AISH payments, EI payments, etc.

Students must contribute some of their own money. 

You can receive your calculated financial need as long as it doesn’t exceed your loan limits.

See a complete list of what Student Aid counts as allowable costs and student resources.

School and program eligibility

Your school and program must be eligible for student aid.

To see if your school and program are eligible, use the school and program eligibility search tool.

Special circumstances

You may be eligible to apply for student aid as a full-time student if you fall into any of the following categories:

Multiple schools at once

If you’re enrolled part-time at multiple schools so that your total course load adds up to full-time, this is known as concurrent enrollment. You can apply for student aid as a full-time student.

In this case, you choose one of your schools to be your 'primary educational institution', and you complete your Student Aid application with their information. Once you’ve submitted your application online, upload a Schedule 3 for concurrent enrollment with the rest of your school information.

Integrated internship

If you’re participating in an integrated internship, co-op, or practicum as part of your program of study, you may be eligible for student aid. An internship is integrated if:

  • you must complete the internship to receive your degree, diploma, or certificate, and
  • your school considers you to be a full-time student during the internship

Exchange or field study

If you’re participating in an exchange or field study program, you can apply for student aid as a full-time student.

Studying outside of Canada

If you’re enrolled in and paying tuition to a school outside Canada, you can still receive student aid for full-time students, as long as your school and program are eligible.  

When you apply for student aid online, you must enter your costs and resources in Canadian dollars, factoring in exchange rates.