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Students at Concordia who wish to stay and work in Quebec after they graduate need to have good French-language skills. Now, international and out-of-province students who register for a French as a second language course at the university may qualify for financial help.

The new bursary program is part of Oui Can Help!, a larger French-language initiative spearheaded by Concordia’s Counselling and Development Department to support students who want to improve their French language skills.

As well as providing bursaries, the program will connect Concordia students with French-language resources both within Concordia, as well as throughout the city, so that they may increase their chances of securing part-time and full-time employment in Quebec.

“The goal of these incentives is to encourage students to remain in the province and contribute in a positive manner to Quebec society,” says Ollivier Dyens, Concordia’s Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning. “It speaks to the university’s strategic commitment to ensuring our students’ experience is as rich and rewarding as possible academically and in other dimensions of their lives.”

The French-language bursary program for international students was established through a financial contribution from the Quebec provincial government’s Secrétariat à la politique linguistique. Quebec’s Ministry of Education is responsible for financing the bursaries destined to out-of-province students through contributions from the Canada-Quebec Agreement for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction.

To qualify for a bursary, students must register for one of two French as a second language courses offered by Concordia’s Département d’études françaises. “Initially, only students for whom French is not their mother tongue or the language they use at home may  apply for a bursary,” says Chanel Bourdon, project coordinator for the Oui Can Help! program.

The Oui Can Help! program will connect Concordia students with French-language resources within the university and throughout the city through a web presence. “The Oui Can Help! web page will serve as a central online repository of internal and external resources for Concordia students willing to learn and improve their French language skills,” says Bourdon.

Open to Question
Find out more about Concordia’s initiative at an Open to Question to be held on Tuesday, November 1. The session is open to all faculty, staff and students.

When: Tuesday, November 1, from noon to 1 p.m.
Where: Room EV 3.309, Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (1515 Ste-Catherine St. W.)

Related links:
•  Oui Can Help!
•  Études françaises