Catherine and Peter Tay High Achiever Engineering Undergraduate Scholarship

Refer to selection details for application information
Amount

$32,000

Number available

1

Scholarship details

Donor

Catherine and Peter Tay Excellence Fund

Establishment

This scholarship was established in 2013 by Catherine and Peter Tay, of Singapore. It is a continuing demonstration of appreciation that in 1968 Peter Tay received his undergraduate education for a double degree in Industrial Engineering and Economics from the University of Newcastle through a Colombo Plan Scholarship from the Australian Government. That scholarship became a stepping stone in Peter's life-long achievements, and helped him to become what he is today. Catherine and Peter Tay hope that an Australian student may likewise benefit from the opportunities and experience that such a scholarship would offer.

Its purpose is to encourage high achieving students in districts served by the University of Newcastle to enrol full-time in a School of Engineering undergraduate degree at the Callaghan Campus. This scholarship is offered to the highest ranked commencing student in a Bachelor degree in the School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle with an ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) score (or equivalent) of 99.0 or above.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, you will need to:

  • Be commencing in a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) undergraduate program within the School of Engineering.
  • Be enrolling in the first year of your first undergraduate degree
  • Be offered admission on the basis of a Year 12 Higher School Certificate ATAR with a minimum rank of 99.0 (not inclusive of adjustment factors).
  • Be enrolling full-time at the Callaghan Campus
  • Be an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident.
  • Not be the recipient of another University of Newcastle donor-funded or sponsored scholarship concurrently.

Required Documentation

Required documents will be listed on the ‘Your Documents’ page of your application. The application portal accepts PDF only. A maximum of 3 PDF smaller than 5 MB can be added per document type upload field.

  • None Required.

Benefit

The scholarship provides $8,000 annually, with payments of $4,000 made each semester after the relevant census date, for a period of up to four (4) years.

One scholarship is awarded each year with a total maximum benefit of $32,000 over the full tenure of the scholarship.

Selection

Applications are not submitted for this scholarship. Scholarships are automatically awarded following Semester 1 Main Round Admissions.

Selection of the scholar will be on the basis of academic merit, namely the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) or International Baccalaureate in Australia. The scholarship will be awarded to the highest ranked commencing undergraduate student in the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment with an ATAR (or equivalent) of 99.0 or above.

Should there be no commencing student in a Bachelor degree within an Engineering program with an ATAR score (or equivalent) of 99.0 or above, then no High Achiever Scholarship will be offered that year.

Selection may consider students with an ATAR of 98.0 or higher taking into account eligible candidates and concurrent scholarships held.

Preference will be given to students who completed their Higher School Certificate in the year prior to entering University at a school that qualifies for the University's Regional and Rural Preference Scheme.

School Postcodes included in the Regional and Rural Preference Scheme:

  • Central Coast 2250-2263
  • Mid-North Coast 2431-2459
  • Hunter Region 2264-2338 and 2413-2430
  • New England 2339-2412
  • Central West 2787-2820 and 2845-2877
  • Western Plains 2821-2844 and 2878
  • Northern Rivers 2460-2483
  • Broken Hill 2879-2880

Recipients of the Catherine and Peter Tay High Achiever Engineering Undergraduate Scholarship are required to write a 400-word Singapore essay in the second and subsequent years of the scholarship. This will be due in the first week of semester one each year.

The essay is to provide an opportunity for scholars to learn more about Singapore and appreciate the country that the scholarship donors were born in and are immensely proud of. They write:

“It is hoped that by reading, reflecting, analysing, and writing on one aspect of Singapore’s people, economy, geography, history, culture, political system, etc, that the scholar can gain insight in to Singapore and what makes it tick. For instance, how did Singapore become successful given its being potentially fragmented society of many races, religions, cultures with four official languages (English and three major Asian languages), possibly pulling in several different directions? At a geopolitical level, how did Singapore become so successful, despite it being a small island, surrounded by big neighbours and maintain its Asian identity, despite English being the lingua franca, and therefore exposed to Western culture. While holding a view or expressing an opinion is encouraged, students should not use the essay to advocate changing Singapore society or how its people conduct itself. While critical thinking is encouraged, scholars are asked to approach the task respectfully and not use the essay as opportunity to advocate changing Singapore society and culture."

College

College of Engineering Science and Environment

Contact Details

Admissions and Scholarships
Student and Academic Services
University of Newcastle
University Drive
CALLAGHAN NSW 2308

Phone: +61 2 4921 5000
Email: scholarships@newcastle.edu.au