Scholarships for International Students in Australia

The Australian Government, top Australian Universities and some public and private bodies offer bursaries, grants and scholarships to excellent international students to fund their studies, training and research in Australia.

It is very competitive to get an Australian scholarship. The country receives hundreds of scholarship applications from international students worldwide.

However, only the best students get these scholarships.

1. Students Can Get Some These Benefits:

• 10% - 50% reduction in tuition fees

• 100% reduction in tuition fees

• One-off payment for financial support

• Annual stipend

• Fieldwork allowance

• Establishment allowance

• Supplementary academic support

• Contribution to living expenses (CLE)

• Overseas students health cover (OSHC)

• Return air travel

Mostly, Australian scholarships cover a percentage of the tuition fees for coursework programs and full tuition fees for research programs; however, some scholarships also give a one-off payment to the student for financial support.

2. Australian Government Scholarships

These are the major Australian Government Scholarships available to international students:

Australia Awards

Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade administers the Australia Awards Scholarship program to support their partner countries in the Indo-Pacific region. International students, who are awarded these scholarships, can pursue full-time undergraduate or postgraduate studies at a participating Australian University or Technical and Further Education Institute (TAFE).

It’s important to note that awardees of this scholarship must leave Australia for at least 2 years after completing their studies. Failure to meet the conditions of the scholarship can incur a debt on the student making him/her liable to pay back the entire cost of the scholarship to the Commonwealth of Australia.

Research Training Program (RTP)

The Australian Department of Education and Training lets individual Australian universities manage the Research Training Program. Students can apply directly to the participating Australian universities and obtain the scholarship based on their specific selection criteria.

The RTP provides block grants annually to domestic as well as international students who are pursuing a research masters degree or a research doctorate.

The RTP aims to provide financial support to students studying higher degrees by research (HDRs) from high education providers (HEPs) in Australia to build needed careers in academia and other important markets. Awardees of RTP can expect tuition fee offset, contribution to living expenses, or financial help to cope with the high costs of research degrees.

Endeavour Leadership Program (ELP)

The Australian Government launched the Endeavour Leadership Program to promote research and professional development between partner countries that are prioritized by Australia. ELP aims to set Australia as a global leader in education, research and training.

This program helps established and emerging leaders to obtain a global experience through their field of study and area of expertise.

Through ELP, the Australian Government provides the funding required by high-performing students to increase their knowledge and experience in their specialization.

Australia APEC Women in Research Fellowship

This fellowship provides financial help to highly-accomplished female researchers, who come from developing economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

The Australia APEC Women in Research Fellowship allows females to go after the research opportunities with the Australian education institutions and research training centres. In this fellowship, the female researchers are hosted for 4 months by the Australian research and training institutes.

The fellowship is administered by APEC study centre at RMIT University with the plan of granting 10 fellowships annually for 5 years between the years 2015 – 2019.

Australian Centre For International Agricultural Research (ACIAR):

The ACIAR supports developing countries with their agriculture research projects through structural training and informal networking.

Following ACIAR fellowships are offered to individuals and institutions that are associated with ACIAR supported agricultural research:

• John Allwright Fellowship: Through this fellowship, ACIAR helps individuals from partner countries in obtaining postgraduate qualifications while being involved in the ACIAR funded collaborative research projects. ACIAR supports their studies to allow them to continue their research while completing their studies.

• John Dillon Fellowship: This program provides career growth to exceptional agricultural scientists from ACIAR partner countries. Scientists and economists who are currently undertaking an ACIAR funded research, or have completed one such research receive up to 10 fellowships every year for career development.

3. Australian University Scholarships

On this page here, you will find an explicit list of international student scholarships offered by Australian Universities. Universities have been grouped together as per their location, so if you’re interested in studying at a specific Australian city, you can look at the universities within that city.

Some universities have a wide range of scholarships available to international students, so it was impossible to list all those scholarship programs on the list. However, if you want more information, you can easily find it through the ‘more info’ section. The Australian univeristies scholarship table can be found here. 

4. Can Any International Student Apply For Australian Scholarships?

The eligibility criteria for Australian scholarships can vary, so if you’re interested in obtaining a scholarship, you should check your eligibility. Although most scholarships are awarded to academically brilliant students, some scholarships are also granted for community participation.

Bursaries are given to financially challenged students to help them with their tuition fees. So, as an international student, you should learn about as many scholarship programs as you can and check whether you qualify.

5. Improve Your Chances of Getting an Australian Scholarship

For an international student, getting a scholarship to study in Australia isn’t easy. To improve your chances of obtaining an Australian scholarship, here are ten tips to consider:

• Apply for scholarships with lower award values: Most of the students go after scholarship programs that provide high award values. Although such scholarships are the best, they are also highly competitive. So, take some time out to apply for scholarships that provide lower award values.

• Consider scholarships that are difficult to obtain: Some scholarships are difficult to obtain simply because of the eligibility criteria and the rigorous selection procedure. These scholarships also require various documents that students must produce in order to obtain the scholarship. Many students simply do not push themselves hard enough to get these scholarships.

• Keep applying for scholarships: Don’t quit if you fail to win a scholarship. Students should keep looking for scholarships even if they do not get quick results. Apply to as many scholarships as possible, and remember that you have to be in it to win it.

• Join a community: You don’t always have to have exceptional academic qualities in order to get a scholarship. Australian scholarships are also awarded to students for their participation in the community.

• Check the eligibility criteria and apply on time: Do not rush your scholarship application. Check the eligibility criteria carefully, so that you are only applying for scholarships that you qualify for and not wasting your time unnecessarily. Also be sure to apply before the closing date and submit all your documents.

• Use search engines to find more scholarships: If you already know about many scholarships, that’s great; however, do not underestimate the search engines, as they can easily show you hundreds of more scholarships. You can also search for scholarships on OzStudies here

• Explore universities that you don’t know about: Be flexible with your choice of university. Even if you are not getting a scholarship at your favourite university, you may be eligible to get a scholarship at another university.

• Take help with your scholarship application: You can write the best scholarship application yourself if you are confident about it. However, it will be a good idea to take professional help to improve your odds.

• Improve your English language skills: Students with good English language skills have a higher chance of winning a scholarship.

• Follow the conditions of your scholarship program:  All international students, who obtain scholarships to study in Australia, must abide by the terms and conditions of their individual scholarship programs. Students failing to do so may incur a debt and become liable to pay back the entire scholarship award value to the administering body. If you want to read more about how to get an Australian scholarship then you can also check out this blog here

6. Conclusion

Grants, bursaries and scholarships help extraordinary students and researchers in continuing their education and research without worrying about the money.

Scholarships allow students to study in a stress-free environment which results in better academic results and a bright future for everyone.

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