Scholarship for Asylum Seeker Program (SASP)

Supporting those from Asylum Seeker Backgrounds to access higher education

The prospect of getting an education is challenging for those from Asylum Seeker backgrounds. Here’s why:

• Many people seeking asylum are on temporary visas which means they are classified as international students.
• This results in people seeking asylum needing to pay international fees upfront to attend university.
• The costs of these fees can be in the thousands of dollars, sadly preventing them from attending University.
• The hardships of studying when seeking asylum can be daunting: a new language, a new environment, integrating into a new society. All of these can impact a student’s self-confidence, finances, mental health and academic achievement.

The University of Newcastle is committed to supporting those seeking asylum by covering the course costs for those on the Scholarship for Asylum Seeker Program (SASP) to allow them to attend University. However, to enable these students to study, we need to ensure they are able to meet basic needs of housing, food, transport, health care and mentoring. 

The SASP supports people seeking asylum in Australia to access higher education by providing financial support while they study. Further to this, individual support is provided to navigate academic, social, psychological and financial challenges through a SASP Coordinator.

We are seeking to raise $48,000 annually to change the lives of asylum seekers who wish to pursue higher education. The $48,000 will provide a scholarship of $4,000 annually to each scholar for the term of their degree.