Education Support Fund Scholarship

The Education Support Fund was established through the Australian Communities Foundation with a focus on providing support to students from refugee background, enabling them to pursue education and further training.

Important dates

Applications for Trimester/Semester 1 2025 open 5 September 2024.

Applications for Trimester/Semester 1 2025 close 7 January 2025 at 5pm.

Round 1: To be considered for these Round 1 scholarship offers you will need to submit your application and all supporting documentation by 7 January 2025 at 5pm.

We will be aiming for full allocation at this round.

Re-offer Round: To be considered for any remaining scholarships, not taken up in previous offer rounds, you will need to submit your application and all supporting documentation by 31 January 2025 at 5pm.

All scholarships will be offered within six weeks of the Re-offer round closing date.

Benefits

This scholarship offers cash payments up to $7500 per year for three years.

The total maximum value of this scholarship is $22,500.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible you must:

  • be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or hold an Australian permanent humanitarian visa
  • be commencing an undergraduate bachelor degree in Trimester/Semester 1 2025 at Deakin University and enrolled full time
  • have arrived in Australia as a refugee
  • not have completed a previous bachelor degree.

Special conditions

As a scholarship recipient you must:

  • provide an introductory statement about your goals for study and what it means to receive the scholarship
  • be open to meeting/engaging with the donor
  • provide a completion statement at the conclusion of your studies.

Your application

Application tips

Applying for a scholarship isn't just about meeting the eligibility criteria.

It's a good idea to think about why you want a scholarship, it’s your opportunity to stand out from the crowd and be recognised for where you’ve come from and where you need to go.

Read more about our top tips for applying for a scholarship

How to apply

Apply through VTAC

If you’ve applied to study at Deakin through VTAC and have completed a VTAC scholarship application, you’ll be considered for this scholarship.

Apply directly to Deakin

If you didn't complete a VTAC scholarship application, are applying directly to Deakin for a course or already have your 2025 course offer, you can apply for this scholarship directly to Deakin through our Scholarship Application Portal.

When applying direct to Deakin for this scholarship, select the 'Undergraduate Scholarship Application Tri/Sem 1 2025' option and, if eligible, your application will automatically be considered for this scholarship.

This reduces the number of scholarships you have to apply for and increases your chances of receiving a Deakin scholarship.

Apply for this scholarship

The scholarship application process is highly competitive with a limited number of scholarships available. Unfortunately, not all eligible applicants will receive one.

What happens next?

Your application will be assessed and ranked based on the details you provide and your supporting documentation.

We will commence offering scholarships progressively from mid-January 2025. To give your application the best chance possible of being considered in all offer rounds, you should submit your application and supporting documentation by 7 January 2025 at 5pm.

If you are successful, you will be contacted by the email address you nominated in your application portal account, unsuccessful applicants will not be contacted. You'll find out if you are successful usually within six weeks of the Re-offer round closing date. If you have not received an offer by this time, you have been unsuccessful. You can view the status of your application via your scholarship application portal account.

Next offering period

This scholarship is yet to be confirmed for any future offering periods. Please check back at this page at a later date for any updates.