SponsorMoveFully funded scholarships in Australia 2026
Australia Awards, the Research Training Program, and university graduate scholarships — what each covers, who qualifies, and when to apply.
Australia Awards, the Research Training Program, and university graduate scholarships — what each covers, who qualifies, and when to apply.
Australia is one of the few destinations where the government itself runs a flagship fully funded scholarship for international students. Add the Research Training Program — which funds research degrees through universities — plus generous graduate research scholarships at individual universities, and Australia offers one of the clearest funding paths in the world. The catch: the money sits in very different tracks — government awards for partner-country citizens, research funding for master's-by-research and PhD applicants, and far fewer full rides for coursework master's degrees. Knowing which track you belong in is half the application.
This guide covers the four fully funded Australian programs in our verified directory, explains the research-vs-coursework split that decides your strategy, and lays out the timeline for the 2026–2027 cycle. Browse all of them with filters on the scholarships directory.
The Australia Awards Scholarships, administered by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, are the country's premier government scholarship. They are fully funded: tuition, a living allowance, establishment costs, return air travel, and health cover are built into the award, which makes it one of the most complete packages anywhere.
Eligibility is citizenship-based: you must be a citizen of a participating partner country, and the country lists, priority fields, and dates are set each year — so check your country's page on the official site first. Applications typically open on 1 February and close on 30 April each year for study commencing the following year; confirm your country office's exact dates on the official Australia Awards page. Selection rewards leadership potential and a clear post-study plan: your statement should read like a development plan — what problem will you solve, and how does this degree make you the person to solve it?
If you want a research degree — a master's by research or a PhD — Australia's funding system is built for you. The Research Training Program (RTP) is Australian government funding that universities allocate to domestic and international research students through their own scholarship rounds — there is no central application. Most universities run their main rounds with closing dates in September and October each year.
The University of Melbourne Graduate Research Scholarships cover full tuition plus a living stipend, and new students are automatically considered when they apply for a graduate research course by the course closing date — Round 1 for a January 2027 start closes 31 October 2026. The University of Sydney International Scholarship runs on research-period rounds: the Research Periods 3–4 2027 round closes 18 December 2026 — you are assessed when you apply for admission by the relevant research-period deadline.
The practical move: shortlist two or three universities with strong groups in your field, contact a potential supervisor early, and align your admission application with the scholarship round — a late application can mean missing the funding round entirely.
This is the decision that shapes everything. Research degrees (master's by research, PhD) are where Australia's funding is deepest: RTP money and university graduate research scholarships are designed for these students. If you have a research proposal, a supervisor, and ideally a publication or strong thesis, this is your lane.
Coursework master's degrees — the one-to-two-year taught programs most international students take — have far fewer fully funded options. Australia Awards is the main government route, and university-level full scholarships for coursework internationals are limited and fiercely competitive. If you are set on a coursework master's without an Australia Award, compare with countries where taught master's funding is deeper, like the UK's Chevening and Commonwealth programs or the near-zero tuition route in Germany.
Even fully funded, Australia is expensive — which is why the living-allowance component matters so much. These awards are designed to cover genuine living costs, not just tuition, so a full award means you can study without working. Studying outside Sydney and Melbourne stretches the stipend further: Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, and Hobart run noticeably cheaper, and some regional universities add top-up scholarships.
One honest warning: do not confuse a tuition scholarship with fully funded. A tuition-only award still leaves you facing one of the world's highest costs of living — check that any package includes a living stipend and health cover. The four programs in this guide all do, which is precisely why they qualify.
Australian funding runs on an annual cycle with clustered deadlines — work backwards from them:
Because the cycles are annual, a missed deadline usually means waiting a full year. Compare timelines on our scholarship deadlines calendar and fully funded masters guide.
Yes. India participates in the Australia Awards Scholarships, and Indian research students can also compete for RTP funding and graduate research scholarships at Melbourne, Sydney, and other research universities. Check your country's Australia Awards page for the exact window, and meet each university's scholarship-round deadline.
Yes — universities allocate RTP places to international research students too. You apply through the university, not a central portal, and most main rounds close in September and October each year.
The programs in this guide do: Australia Awards include a living allowance, establishment allowance, travel, and health cover, and the major university research scholarships pair a tuition offset with a living stipend. Confirm exact inclusions on the official page — partial awards are often marketed with similar names.
Applications typically open 1 February and close 30 April each year for commencement the following year, but dates vary by country office — confirm on the official Australia Awards page.
Filter 70 verified scholarships by country, degree level and funding — every card links to the official page.