Dorimène Bursaries

Application period: December 15 to April 1 of each year.

The Dorimène Bursaries are exclusively for women and fall under 2 categories: the Executive Woman bursary and the Back to School bursary, which is offered exclusively to Desjardins Group’s female employees and managers.

Eligibility

Conditions for the Back to School bursary

• Be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status¹ and either reside in Quebec or be a member of a caisse populaire de l'Ontario.
• Reside in an area served by a Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec caisse.
• Enroll as a part- or full-time student in a university program (at least 9 credits per term.)
• Have interrupted your studies for at least 2 years.
• To collect a bursary, the winner must be a Desjardins caisse member or agree to become one.

Conditions for the Executive Woman bursary

• Be active within Desjardins Group:
  
  • as a permanent part-time or full-time employee² in a management position or performing similar functions;
  • as an administrator, executive or officer with at least one year in the position, or as an intern officer with at least 6 months in the position.
• Be currently starting or continuing a master's degree.
• Remain in the employ of Desjardins Group for at least 2 years following the end of the program of study.

Upon accepting the Fondation's bursary, i.e. either at the fall or winter session following the application, the award winner must prove that she is a part- or full-time student (at least 9 credits per term) in a university program.

Disciplines

Bursaries are awarded based on the file quality and the career selection relevance, notwithstanding the university discipline selected by the candidates. For bachelor's level bursaries, financial need will be taken into consideration.

Bursary amounts and renewal

• Three bachelor's level bursaries of $2,500 in the Back to School category, paid at the fall and winter sessions following the application.
• Two master's level bursaries of $3,500 in the Executive Woman category.

Bursaries are renewable once upon presentation of a new application.

Forms and application instructions

Forms (PDF format, 371 KB) must be filled out legibly. Students must include official university transcripts since the beginning of their studies.

For the Executive Woman category (master's level), the application must also include:

• a letter from the candidate's direct superior, or, in the case of an officer, from the president. This letter must contain an assessment of the candidate and discuss the relevance of her academic project and her chances of success;
• a sealed evaluation completed if possible by a professor, who is the research or internship director, if any.

Candidates with permanent resident status must:

• enclose a photocopy of their permanent resident card;
• if they have not yet studied in Canada, provide documents showing equivalent studies in their country of origin;
• attach a page describing their integration objectives in Quebec (academic, economic, family, social and regional) including what they have already done to reach these objectives. Include in the essay the way in which they are experiencing their adaptation to the university (new pedagogical approach), the climate, Quebec culture and what they have already done to facilitate their integration into their new environment.

Forms and documents must be sent by mail in quadruplicate and postmarked no later than April 1. Only applicants who meet the requirements will be considered.

Fondation Desjardins
1 complexe Desjardins
P.O. Box 7, Desjardins Station
Montreal, Quebec H5B 1B2
Tel.: 514-281-7171 or 1-800-443-8611
Fax: 514-281-2391

The Fondation Desjardins will reply to each applicant before July 1st.

1. Students with permanent resident status must fill out the sections to this effect on the application form.

2. A temporary manager who has previously held a permanent position is eligible.