First Nations Graduate Research Scholarship

By offering a competitive and supportive scholarship, Deakin hopes to provide better opportunities for Indigenous graduate researchers. The new scholarship is part of Deakin's broader strategy to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in graduate research and contributes to the commitment in the Deakin Indigenous Strategy 2023 -2028 to 'empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and Communities to understand and undertake research themselves, and recognising their rights and ancestral responsibilities as participants and researchers.

 

This Scholarship offers a stipend of $53,608 per annum tax exempt and $15,000 research bursary to help support the costs associated with the additional complexity that Indigenous researchers experience in fulfilling their obligations and responsibilities to Country, family, kinship relationships, community and the academy, acknowledging the appropriate and respectful relationships that need to be maintained.

This scholarship is for:

Open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students Only

Areas of study:
Any Area of Study
At Institution:
  • Deakin University
Study Level:
  • Doctoral Research
  • Postgraduate Coursework
Study Load:
All Loads
Location:
VIC
Eligibility Criteria:

To be eligible for this Scholarship, you must:

  • be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. This means you are:
    • of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent;
    • identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and;
    • be accepted as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander by the community in which you live or have lived.
  • To demonstrate meeting these requirements, you must include a written statement to address the first two elements and provide one of the following documents to meet the third requirement:
    • confirmation of Aboriginality (CoA);
    • letter of support from a Local Aboriginal Land Council;
    • parents CoA with birth certificate or;
    • letter of support from a local Indigenous cooperative or community organisation (such as medical or legal service).
  • Additionally, you must not be receiving income from another source to support your living costs while undertaking your course of study if that income is greater than 75% if your First Nations RTP Stipend rate. Income unrelated to your course of study or received for your course of study but not for the purposes of supporting general living costs is not considered.
How to Apply

Apply directly via Deakin's portal.

Further Information

Details not available.

Value may vary.
Duration of the Program
Open
Open: 20/01/2026
Close: 13/03/2026