Scholarships

Student Lucia Miles stands on the stairs looking out the window at the Gold Coast campus
Students studying at Gold Coast Campus

Scholarships for every stage of the journey

Scholarships can really make a difference to your studies. Southern Cross University offers a range of scholarships for students at every stage of their university journey, from undergraduate (your first degree) through to Honours, postgraduate studies and research.

There are also scholarships available to help you study overseas for a short period as an international exchange student. Applying is easy — check out our top tips before you begin.

Find a scholarship

Information for applicants

Southern Cross University offers a range of scholarships to support future students commencing their first year of study.

The various categories of scholarships are designed to not only recognise academic excellence but also contribute to and encourage student success.

Main Round Scholarships

  • The main round of applications for 2025 have now opened, please see the Scholarship Finder for more details.

Offer Dates

  • Shortlisting from late February 2025
  • Main Round Scholarship offers made from mid-April 2025
  • Successful applicants will be emailed to the email address supplied with their course application. Recipients will have a week to respond to their scholarship offer before it lapses

 

Scholarships for current students aim to reward outstanding achievement in the first year or beyond and provide valuable financial support for successful students.

Continuing scholarships are available to any continuing students (second year onwards). Applications open on a continuing basis and email broadcasts will be sent to relevant students as new offerings become available. Please make regular checks of this page.

Current undergraduate students who are experiencing a range of financial disadvantages are welcome to apply for Southern Cross University Equity Scholarships.

There are a number of scholarships available to Indigenous Australian students.

Students are encouraged to apply for as many scholarships for which they may be eligible for. 

Find scholarships for Indigenous Australian students

Any student (including Indigenous Australians) are also eligible to apply for the following:

  • Undergraduate scholarships
  • Postgraduate scholarships
  • Honours scholarships
  • Equity scholarships
  • Research scholarships

Browse all scholarships

Indigenous Australian students experiencing financial hardship are encouraged to apply for Commonwealth Indigenous Accommodation and Commonwealth Indigenous Education Costs scholarships. A single application point will see the student considered for both programs. For opening and closing dates and a link to the application form go to Commonwealth Indigenous Scholarships.

If you are unable to find a scholarship that is applicable to your circumstances/course/study, please visit the Indigenous Scholarships Website. This website also contains helpful hints on how to apply for a scholarship.

For more helpful tips on how to make the best scholarship application, visit Applying for a scholarship.

Southern Cross University is taking an innovative step to enhance the educational experience for international students through our new Access25 initiative.

Under Access25, Southern Cross will introduce a clear, unified annual tuition fee for all new and continuing international students, for a range of courses in 2025*. This transition reflects our commitment to delivering excellence with a straightforward tuition model, ensuring every student has equal access to outstanding education and career outcomes.

A range of scholarships are still open to support your academic journey. These scholarships are designed to recognise academic excellence, promote cultural diversity, and encourage International Students to explore the opportunities at our regional NSW campuses.

Find international student scholarships

How to apply

Students’ eligibility for Scholarships will be assessed by the Southern Cross admissions team at the time of application to Southern Cross.  If you are successful, we will advise you in your Letter of Offer, along with the conditions of the Scholarship.  Eligible students will only receive one of the scholarships available.

Opening dates

Applications are open all year and will close one month before the relevant study session.

Apply now

At Southern Cross University, we believe in fostering the next generation of brilliant minds and bold leaders to reach their full potential.

Generous merit scholarships are awarded every year to new students who have performed exceptionally well in their school studies, supporting their academic journey throughout university.

Students do not have to apply for merit-based scholarships. The scholarships will be awarded to school leavers achieving the ATAR or equivalent outlined on the scholarship page and who are enrolled in a Bachelor degree program.

Equity scholarships are awarded to help disadvantaged undergraduate students with costs associated with higher education.

Eligibility for these scholarships require the applicant to be a current (or for future students — expecting to be) recipient of income support through Centrelink — such as Youth Allowance, Abstudy, Disability Support Pension, New Start, etc.

This application can be found at Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) Equity Scholarships.

Applications are currently open and will close in February 2025.

How to Apply

Applications are made through UAC. UAC offers year-round Equity Scholarships. This means you can apply for Equity Scholarships from April until March the following year. Your one application for the year will be considered for SCU Equity Scholarship offers in Terms 1, 2, 3, and 4 and, depending on funding, possibly a final offer round in Term 5.

Priority of offer

Scholarships are assessed based on degree of disadvantage and will be prioritised for offer in this way.

Scholarships for postgraduate students support those students continuing on to study further.

Southern Cross University offers both coursework programs and research opportunities to postgraduate students. International students are also eligible for a range of other scholarship programs.

Use the scholarship finder to see the full list of scholarships available for postgraduate students, or find a research supervisor if you're considering Higher Degree Research.

To apply for postgraduate scholarships, please follow the instructions indicated on the individual scholarship pages within the scholarship finder.

Scholarships for honours students support those students studying honours units in their chosen field of study.

Main Round Scholarships

  • Applications for 2025 have now opened and will close on 16 February 2025.

Offer Dates

  • Shortlisting from late February 2025
  • Main Round Scholarship offers made from mid-March 2025
  • Successful applicants will be emailed to the email address supplied with their course application. Recipients will have a week to respond to their offer before it lapses.

 

Graduate School scholarships form part of Southern Cross University’s overall suite of scholarships thanks to our generous private donors, government and industry groups, other stakeholders, and the university itself.

All students choosing to undertake a research program should refer to the Graduate School’s Scholarships page for full details of available financial support. If you're still considering Higher Degree Research you can also search for a research supervisor for an initial discussion. Australian Indigenous research students should also consider applying through the Commonwealth Indigenous Scholarships.

Explore research scholarships

External scholarships

The following links are included here as a resource to help you find information relating to scholarships and include links to information within the university as well as external organisations.

This is a list of scholarships that specify the applicants will have a disability. Of course, students with disabilities are welcome to apply for any of the general scholarships listed above in addition to these scholarships.