Equity Scholarships Scheme University of Newcastle (ESSUN)

Scholarship details

Establishment

The University of Newcastle has a proud history of supporting motivated and talented students in gaining university entry and thriving in their field of study, regardless of their background or individual circumstances.

The Equity Scholarships Scheme University of Newcastle (ESSUN) provides scholarships assistance to students with financial challenges and/or regional and remote disadvantage, and may be experiencing other personal circumstances impacting study, including:

• Carer responsibilities
• Long term medical condition/disability or ongoing effects of abuse
• Regional or remote disadvantage
• Sole parent responsibilities
• Additional attributes such as being an Indigenous Australian, having a Refugee background, or placement with an Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) provider.

Definitions of types of disadvantage and documents required to demonstrate these are available on the UAC ES web page here.

Offers may be made at any time during the application period, as well as a final round following the close date. Apply now as you may receive an early outcome.

For more information on this scholarship, please review the full Terms and Conditions.

Eligibility

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

• Be enrolled in any year of any enabling or undergraduate (including diploma and honours) program with University of Newcastle.
• Be experiencing financial challenges and/or regional and remote disadvantage.
• You may be experiencing other challenges, including carer or sole parent responsibilities, long term medical condition/disability, ongoing effects of abuse, living in remote Australia, or attributes of First Nations Person, Refugee, or Out-of-Home Care.
• Be an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident (including holders of a permanent humanitarian visa and New Zealand citizens with permanent residency). or You must not have previously completed an undergraduate degree award, except in certain scenarios such as partial completion of a combined degree, Honours, and the final year of the Joint Medical Program.

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.

• A personal statement (approx. 1 A4 page) outlining your academic achievements, career aspirations in the relevant area of study, and how this scholarship would assist you. This statement will cover all scholarships you are submitting for.

• You may be required to provide documents to support your educational challenges and personal circumstances. These will be identified when you apply based on your individual application responses.

Benefit

The scholarship provides a benefit of up to $5000 for one year of study.

The scholarship will be paid as:

• An early payment of $500 after acceptance of your scholarship offer and enrolment in Sem 1 2026 (usually in January).
• A payment of $2250 each semester. This will be adjusted to $1000 for part-time enrolment in 20 units or less.

Payments are typically received 2–3 weeks after the semester census date, or 2–3 weeks after you accept your offer if the census date has already passed.

The scholarship benefit and number of scholarships awarded may vary and will be determined by the funding available each year.

The scholarship is tenable for one year of study and must be taken up in the year of award. You are encouraged to reapply each year that you study with the university.

You may receive this scholarship once for Enabling study. For undergraduate study, you can reapply for each year for the standard duration of your program.

Selection

Selection is based on the assessment of information provided in the application, and in accordance with the number of scholarships and funding available in each academic year. Applications are assessed and ranked primarily on the assessment of financial need, with other areas of educational challenge considered if required.

Selection will be made by the Scholarships Officer in accordance with funding available and with consideration to distribution between new and current University of Newcastle students. Your academic progress and number of times you have received this scholarship prior to the current offer year may also be considered.

Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application. Successful notices will include a formal offer of the scholarship and instructions on how to accept the scholarship.

Meeting the scholarship criteria does not guarantee an offer of the scholarship. If you are unsuccessful, it does not mean that you are not in need; rather, it means that other applicants have been assessed as being in greater need. Your application will stay active for future offer rounds during the current scholarship offer year and you are encouraged to reapply in each year you study.

College

• College of Engineering Science and Environment
• College of Health Medicine and Wellbeing
• College of Human and Social Futures

Contact Details

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

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