Current Scholarship Opportunities for Undergraduate Students

The following scholarships currently open to undergraduate students are listed in order of closing date. Please note that this does not necessarily include the scholarships offered by Faculties. For more details, select your Faculty from the following list of Faculties.

The Australian Federation of University Women – ACT Inc. Bursary

Beryl Henderson Memorial Grant

Wentworth Medal NEW!

John Elliott Medal NEW!

The Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme

Literary Prizes NEW!

ANU Summer Research Scholarships NEW!

World Nomads Travel Documentary Scholarship

2008 Governor General's Undergraduate Essay Competition - CEFA

Specific Background Scholarships

Commonwealth Scholarships

Note: This scholarship is not a University of Sydney scholarship. The contact details and links will take you to an external site.

The Australian Federation of University Women – ACT Incorporated offers free board and lodging for up to four (4) weeks at a residential college at the Australian National University, Canberra to a woman graduate or final year honours student. Preference may be given to applicants who are members of the International Federation of University Women. Canberra-resident members of AFUW are ineligible to apply.

For full details - including conditions, eligibility, application form, and contact details - please click here and follow the links to the AFUW-ACT Inc Bursary Application Form.

Email for enquiries and general information.

Value: Up to four (4) weeks free board and lodging.
Closing Date: Thursday, 31st July 2008

Note: This scholarship is not a University of Sydney scholarship. The contact details and links will take you to an external site.

The Beryl Henderson Foundation and the Australian Federation of University Women will offer a grant of up to $1250 in 2008 to assist in completion of a research project being undertaken by a female student or researcher in an Australian university.

Applications are invited from women who are enrolled in a postgraduate program or embarked on research work with publication in Australia in view.

For full details - including conditions, eligibility, application form, and contact details - please click here.

Value: up to $1250
Closing Date: Thursday, 31st July 2008

Established in 1854 by a gift of £200 from W.C. Wentworth, the interest to be applied in the shape of a medal as a reward for the best essay in English prose. The medal is now supplemented by a prize of $10,000. The competition for the medal is open to all students enrolled at the University of Sydney in the current year, except for previous winners of the Wentworth Medal. The award of the medal shall be made annually by the Academic Board provided that there is an entry of sufficient merit.

The topic or topics for the essay will be set, and the examiners of the essay will be appointed by a committee consisting of the Chair of the Academic Board, the Deans of the Faculties of Arts, Economics and Law and the Registrar, with the power to co-opt. The committee reserves the right to share the prize if there are two or more entries adjudged to be of equal highest and sufficient merit.

The topic for the 2008 Wentworth Medal is: "Climate change: A way forward"

The authorship of entries submitted for the Wentworth Medal, must be anonymous. For this purpose, please adhere to the following points when preparing your entry for submission:

• The composition must not be in the handwriting of the author
• The name of the author must not appear on the composition
• The composition must be identified by the nom-de-plume (please make sure this appears on each copy of the essay)

Please attach the Wentworth Medal cover sheet to one copy of the essay submitted.

Entries which do not comply with the above requirements will not be accepted.

Entries should be approximately 3,000 words in length

Please submit the original essay, plus 5 copies (6 copies in total) to:

The Scholarships & Prizes Office
Room 140
Mackie Building K01
University of Sydney
NSW 2006

Applications must be received by no later than 4pm on Friday 1st August 2008.

Late submissions will not be accepted

If you have any questions regarding this year's Wentworth Medal, please contact

Value: $10,000 + medal
Closing Date: 4pm, Friday 1st August 2008

Established in 2008 by Mrs Angelika Elliott, this medal is named in memory of Dr John Elliott. After battling cancer of the blood, in January 2007 Dr Elliott travelled to Zurich to make use of the assisted suicide service legally available in Switzerland. Dr Elliot’s most important aim the last days and months of his life was to be “free” as he put it. Free from pain, free in control and self-determination and free from the suffering he felt was being experienced by those around him.

This essay composition prize was established to recognise this important principle of freedom, with the prize awarded for the best essay which embodies the concepts of freedom and choices at the end of life. The entrant may take any stance with relation to the argument. The selection criteria will be the quality of the writing and the level and standard of argument.

The competition for the medal is open to all undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Sydney, except for previous winners of the John Elliott Medal. The award of the medal shall be made annually by the Academic Board provided that there is an entry of sufficient merit. The medal is supplemented by a prize of $9,500.

The University reserves the right to share the prize if there are two or more entries adjudged to be of equal highest and sufficient merit.

The authorship of entries submitted for the John Elliott Medal, must be anonymous. For this purpose, please adhere to the following points when preparing your entry for submission:

• The composition must not be in the handwriting of the author
• The name of the author must not appear on the composition
• The composition must be identified by the nom-de-plume (please ensure this appears on each copy of the essay)

Entries should be approximately 3,000 words in length.

Please attach the John Elliott Medal cover sheet to the original essay submitted.

Please submit the original essay, plus 5 copies (6 copies in total) to:

The Scholarships & Prizes Office
Room 140
Mackie Building K01
University of Sydney
NSW 2006

Entries which do not comply with the above requirements will not be accepted.

If you have any questions regarding this year's John Elliott Medal, please contact .

Value: $9,500 + medal

Closing date: Applications must be received by no later than 4pm, Friday 1 August 2008

Late submissions will not be accepted.

Please note that a copy of the winning entry will be sent to the donors, and also lodged with the Fisher Library Rare Books section.

Note: This scholarship is not a University of Sydney scholarship. The contact details and links will take you to an external site.

The Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, and administered by Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA).

Scholarships will be available for students who wish to study in 2009 at the undergraduate level in the areas of:

• Aboriginal Health Worker
• Allied Health (excluding pharmacy)
• Dentistry/Oral Health
• Health Service Management
• Health Promotion/Education
• Medicine
• Mental Health
• Midwifery
• Nursing

Applicants must identify as and be able to prove their Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status.

Selection will be based on criteria including demonstrated interest and experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, leadership qualities and financial need. This selection is not based on academic achievement.

Application forms can be downloaded here. Please print the application, complete the form in black or blue pen, sign and attach the relevant documents, then post to:

Fund Administrator
Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme
Royal College of Nursing, Australia
PO Box 219
DEAKIN WEST ACT 2600

Further information is available at the RCNA website; or by contacting RCNA on 1800 688 628 (free call); or email at

Value: up to $7,500 pa (part-time study) or up to $15,000 pa (full-time study)

Closing date: Friday 8th August 2008

Literary Prizes (previously named 'Prize Compositions') have a long history at the University of Sydney with many of them dating from bequests left to the University at the beginning of the last century, bringing a sense of tradition to the awards.

The prizes include:

• Adrian Consett Stephen Memorial Prize
• Beauchamp Prizes
• Earle Page Constitutional Prize
• Frederick Lloyd Memorial Prize
• H.M. Moran Prize
• Henry Lawson Prize for Poetry
• Henry Lawson Prize for Prose
• Ignaz Friedman Memorial Prize
• John Elliott Medal
• Nicholson Medal
• Robert A. Dallen Prize
• Venour V. Nathan Prize
• Wentworth Medal

These prizes are generally open to currently enrolled students, however, some are open to graduates who are of not more than two years’ standing from the date of their graduation.

For further information on each prize - including topic, value, and eligibility criteria - please visit our Literary Prizes webpage.

Candidates must use a nom de plume in order to avoid their true identity influencing the decision of the judges who are all members of teaching staff at the University of Sydney.

All entries must include a cover sheet, which can be downloaded from here.

Value: up to $3500

Closing date: 4pm, Friday, 31st August 2008

Note: This scholarship is not a University of Sydney scholarship. The contact details and links will take you to an external site.

A Summer Research Scholarship at The Australian National University is an exceptional research opportunity, providing insight into what studying for an Honours or a graduate research degree is all about. You will have the opportunity to work with leading scholars in your area of interest.

A Summer Research Scholarship includes:

• Full board at Burgmann College
• A weekly allowance (tax-free)
• Return travel to Canberra
• An opportunity to undertake a short research project on an
  approved topic

Duration: 8 to 11 weeks from mid November to early February.

For full details - including an application form, please visit the ANU website by clicking here.

General enquries can be directed to Leanne Harrison via or phone 02 6125 7716.

Closing date: 4pm, Friday, 31st August 2008

Note: This scholarship is not a University of Sydney scholarship. The contact details and links will take you to an external site.

Go on assignment to India and have your video documentary broadcast on Nat Geo Adventure!

Kick start your documentary career by going on assignment to Rajasthan, India with documentary producer Trent O'Donnell, and create your own short video documentary about a World Expeditions community project trek.

The lucky scholarship recipient will have their video documentary considered for broadcast on Nat Geo Adventure! That's right - the holy grail that documentary makers work their whole lives to achieve, could be yours now!

You'll also receive a Lenovo Ideapad Y-510 laptop to help document your adventure and an Osprey backpack from Paddy Pallin.

For full application details go to www.worldnomads.com
Enquiries can be directed to Amanda Byrne (Global Programs Manager) via email:

Closing Date: August 31, 2008 (AEST)

Note: This scholarship is not a University of Sydney scholarship. The contact details and links will take you to an external site.

The 2008 Governor General’s Undergraduate Essay Competition gives university-level students from all faculties the chance to be further rewarded for their academic skill and talent, while also improving their future academic reference.

Every year, the competition is judged by a panel of highly recognized individuals from High Court justices to academics. The final judging panel for this year will include the Hon Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG of the High Court of Australia.

The 2008 questions offer a wide variety of topics current in constitutional and political debate. All relate to the best way forward for the Australian democracy. Each essay contributed will be judged on its individual merit.

Further information, including this year's questions, can be found at the Constitution Education Fund Australia (CEFA) website.

Enquiries can be directed to Phuong Van (Administrator - CEFA) via .

Closing Date: Friday, 24th October 2008

The University of Sydney offers a number of scholarships for students from specific backgrounds. These include:
(click for descriptions)

Council of Education Scholarship
Freemason's Scholarship
Konstantin Gawrilow Scholarship
Martin McIlrath Scholarship
Spero Gravas Scholarship
Universities Credit Union Scholarship
Walter & Eliza Hall Scholarships in Nursing or Social Work
Walter Reid Book Grants

Please submit an application form to the:
Scholarships and Prizes Office
Room 140, Mackie Building K01
The University of Sydney NSW 2006

Value: Various
Closing Date: CLOSED for 2008

For students from low socio-economic backgrounds, particularly indigenous students and students from rural and regional areas.

There are two types of CS:

1. Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarships (CECS) to assist with general education costs, valued at $2,162 in 2008 for up to four years, indexed annually.

2. Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarships (CAS) to assist with accommodation costs, valued at $4,324 in 2008 for up to four years, indexed annually.

Application forms are available to download from the UAC website.

Value: $2,162pa (CECS) or $4,324pa (CAS)
Closing Date: CLOSED for 2008