Graduate research scholarships

The University of Melbourne offers generous and comprehensive scholarship opportunities to recognise talent and support graduate researchers.

Graduate researchers who have applied for a graduate research degree are automatically considered for a range of scholarships, however some other scholarships require a standalone application.

If you currently hold a research scholarship awarded by another higher education provider, and you wish to commence or resume a graduate research degree at the University of Melbourne, you will need to apply for admission and be considered again for a research scholarship.

Find the right scholarship for you

The University also administers Research Training Program Scholarships on behalf of the Australian Government. For more information, see: Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship policy

Applications for COVID-19 stipend extensions are now open to candidates whose stipend expires up to 30 June 2023. Visit the COVID-19 scholarship extensions page for further information and the application form.

Benefits

Research scholarships may provide a stipend, specific allowance or tuition fee remission or offset.

Scholarship benefits can only be activated if you have accepted your scholarship offer, commenced your course, updated your bank details and met the conditions of your scholarship as specified in your scholarship offer.

For more information, see: Graduate research scholarship terms and conditions

Payments

Scholarships that provide a one-off payment, quarterly payments or a stipend are paid every fortnight via the University’s Payroll, and will appear as a University of Melbourne Salary on your bank statement.

For more information, see scholarship payment dates.

Fee remissions

Domestic graduate researchers who are offered a masters degree by research or doctoral degree will be enrolled in a fee exempt place and receive a Research Training Program Fee Offset Scholarship to acknowledge the contribution from the Australian Government towards the cost of their tuition.

Please note tuition fee remission scholarships do not cover the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF). If the SSAF appears on your Statement of Liability, you are required to pay it.

International graduate researchers who receive a scholarship that provides a partial or full fee remission will have their remission activated after accepting their course and scholarship offer, and before they are due to commence their course. If you do receive an invoice, please contact Stop 1.

Overseas Student Health Cover

Some scholarships for international graduate researchers who require a student visa to study in Australia will provide Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). If the University arranges OSHC on your behalf, the membership cost is automatically covered.

Acknowledging funding

All financial support for your research, including Australian Government stipend and fee remissions, should be acknowledged in your thesis and other publications.

Providing your bank and address details

To receive scholarship payments, you will need to provide us with the details of your Australian bank account and address via my.unimelb. You can update or check your details after you have accepted your scholarship offer, or if you are currently located outside Australia and do not have an Australian bank account, you can wait until you arrive in Melbourne and activated your bank account.

Scholarship payments can only be made to an Australian bank account (BSB code and account number) Most Authorised Deposit-taking Institution registered with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority are banks that require you to confirm your identity in person at one of their branches in Australia before you can transact on your account. Others provide online money transfer services (‘purchased payment facilities’), for example Wise (TransferWise), that allow you to create a currency account with a BSB code and account number online without needing to be present in Australia. Research your options before deciding on setting up a bank account.

To check and update your bank details:

  1. Log on to my.unimelb
  2. Click on Student admin at the top of the page  and go to Financial Support
  3. Select View and update my bank account details
  4. Click Update
  5. Click Enter and save your bank details

If Step 3 sends you to Personal Details,  click on Awards and Achievements at the top of the page, then on Payment on the left side bar to access Payment Details.

Please note:

  • You will need the name and six-digit BSB number of your bank. If you do not know your BSB, contact your bank.
  • The BSB and account number should only contain numbers. Do not include dashes, letters or spaces - this will cause an error which stops us processing your payment.

If you are outside Australia and unable to open and activate an Australian bank account, you may consider deferring the commencement of your course and scholarship until you are able to open and activate an Australian bank account. Otherwise, the University will hold payments until you have arrived in Australia and open an Australian bank account.

For information on how to check or update your address details, see how do I update my contact details?
Make sure the name of your suburb is spelt correctly and your postcode and suburb match. If you are not sure, check the Australia Post Find a Postcode website.

Payments may be delayed if we do not have your bank details or if the details you provided are incorrect.

Most scholarships provided by the University of Melbourne are equity or merit-based scholarships. Payments from these scholarships are exempt from the Centrelink income test as long as they are less than the payment threshold. Any scholarship amounts over the threshold may affect your Centrelink payment rate.

Commonwealth scholarships, or scholarships that provide a tuition fee remission or exemption, are not considered income for Centrelink purposes.

For further information, please refer to the Services Australia website.

Notifying Centrelink about your scholarship

If you have applied for or are receiving Centrelink benefits, you are obliged to notify Centrelink of any scholarships you have received. We will not do this on your behalf.

If you are asked for a scholarship reference number, you can fill the field with your student ID number.

If you are asked for evidence of your scholarship(s), you can request one by submitting an online enquiry. This scholarship statement will include the details of your current (active) scholarships.

Income tax

Scholarship payments are normally exempt from income tax, as long as:

  1. You are enrolled full-time
  2. The scholarship is provided for educational purposes, and not as part of an employment agreement.

If you are enrolled part-time, the University will withhold income tax from your scholarship payments to avoid the accumulation of a tax debt. You will be asked to provide a Tax File Number Declaration with your instructions on the treatment of the tax-free threshold, and at the end of each financial year you will be able to access your income statement via myGov to use for your Tax Return. We recommend you seek independent tax advice to ensure that your individual circumstances are covered.

For more information, see:

Concurrent scholarships or awards

Recipients of a Graduate Research Scholarship are permitted to receive a concurrent award, scholarship or salary in relation to their course of study, provided the concurrent awards, scholarship or salary is less than 75% of the annual value of the living allowance.

For further information, please refer to the Graduate Research Scholarship terms and conditions.

If you wish to accept an award, scholarship or salary that is equivalent to or greater in value than the Graduate Research Scholarship, you can apply for leave from your Graduate Research Scholarship.

To apply for leave from your scholarship:

  1. Log into my.unimelb.
  2. Go to the 'Student admin' tab
  3. Scroll down to the 'Financial support' heading and select the 'Go to financial support' link
  4. Under the 'Scholarships' heading, click on 'Apply for scholarship leave or extension'.

Making changes

Scholarships are usually awarded for the maximum duration and cannot be extended. However, making changes to your enrolment can affect your payments or the duration of your scholarship.

For example:

Your scholarship offer lists the terms and conditions of your scholarship, such as the graduate research scholarship terms and conditions. If you have any questions, contact Stop 1.

Evidence of your scholarship

Your scholarships, bursaries or prizes will be included in your academic transcript and Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS), as well as your Statement of Results.

If you require a more detailed statement of your scholarships or studentship as proof of income or eligibility (e.g. for a visa, loan, or course/ scholarship application), you can purchase an Evidence of Scholarship Statement.

The Evidence of Scholarship Statement includes:

  • Your full name, date of birth and student ID number
  • The name, start and end date, and value of your scholarship(s).

Once you place an order, a digital copy will be sent to your student email address.