The information on this page is designed to give you information about the available scholarships, the eligibility criteria, and the selection criteria.
Expected 2026 Scholarships
| Name of Scholarship | # available | Awarding Entity | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Stipend Scholarship and Research Fee Scholarship | 1 | University of Divinity | Tuition fees for up to 4 years and a stipend for up to 3 years |
| Research Fee Scholarship | 4 | University of Divinity | Tuition fees for up to 4 years |
| Janette Gray PhD Scholarship | 1 | University of Divinity | Tuition fees for up to 4 years and a stipend for up to 3 years |
| Ivor Church Bursary | 1 | St Francis College | Tuition fees for up to 3 years |
| Robert James Brown Scholarship | 1 | Pilgrim Theological College | Tuition fees for up to 2 years |
Update August 2026: Five additional Research Fee Scholarships have been announced for 2026. Available to all new students commencing on or after 1st August 2026. Applications close 11 September 2026.
University of Divinity Scholarships
The University of Divinity offers government-funded research scholarships on a competitive basis to eligible Research students (future and current).
Allocation of scholarships is based on ranking. Providing a complete application that addresses the selection criteria is essential for your application to be considered.
The Commonwealth Government funds Research Scholarships through the Research Training Program. At the University of Divinity, two scholarships are available under the new funding scheme: Research Fee Scholarships (RFS) and Research Stipend Scholarships (RSS).
Research Fee Scholarships (RFS)
Research Fee Scholarships cover tuition fees for eligible doctoral students for a maximum of four years of full-time study (or part-time equivalent). RFS places are awarded competitively in late November each year by the Research Committee. Students who are admitted to HDR candidature but who are not given an RFS place may pay their fees up-front or through FEE-HELP and may be eligible to apply for an RFS place in future years. The RFS is available to both domestic, overseas, and offshore students.
Research Stipend Scholarships (RSS)
Research Stipend Scholarships provide a living allowance of approximately $34,315 per annum (in 2025, as determined each year by the Commonwealth). RSS places are awarded competitively in late November each year at the admissions meeting of the School of Graduate Research Committee. Applicants are usually awarded both an RFS and RSS. Recipients of the RSS must be enrolled full-time in a doctoral award. The RSS is available to both domestic and overseas/offshore students.
Eligibility for RFS and RSS scholarships
- Applicants approved for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) as a domestic or overseas student.
- Currently enrolled in a PhD or at the University of Divinity and having made satisfactory progress for a period of at least six months’ full-time candidature (or part-time equivalent) and having passed any requirements of the course during that time.
- Not in receipt of an equivalent award or scholarship from the Commonwealth designed to offset HDR fees (for RFS), or to offer a stipend (for RFS and RSS).
- (for RSS) not in receipt of income from another source to support general living costs if that income is greater than 75% of the RSS rate (income unrelated to the candidate’s course of study or income received for the candidate’s course of study but not for the purposes of supporting general living costs is not to be taken into account).
- Only complete applications that include all relevant forms with supporting documentation will be considered.
The Research Scholarship Application Form can be found below.
RFS and RSS Scholarship and SGR closing dates
SGR Key dates
Selection Criteria
Undergraduate degree
What is being assessed?
- Discipline of study
- Academic history
What is the purpose?
- To determine academic history and relevance of previous study to research topic.
What supporting documentation should be provided?
- Official academic transcripts (must include a key to the grading system).
Other information
- Overseas qualifications will be assessed by the Dean of the School of Graduate Research for Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) equivalence.
- If more than one undergraduate degree has been completed, applicants should clearly identify which degree should be assessed in their written response to the selection criteria.
- Double degrees (i.e., undergraduate degrees completed at the same time) are assessed as one degree.
- If an Honours year can be clearly identified, this is excluded and assessed as part of research training degree.
Research training degree
What is being assessed?
- Results of Research training degree. Only applicants who have met the admission requirement of a significant essay/thesis will be considered. Applicants with less than 85% are unlikely to be successful.
- Bachelor Honours degree – final grade and class
- Masters degree (Research)
- Equivalent level of study
- Discipline of study
What is the purpose?
- To determine the level of formal research training completed by the applicant.
What supporting documentation should be provided?
- Official academic transcripts
- Completion certificates
What information should be included in the written response?
- Class of Honours (if applicable)
- Length of research essay/dissertation
- Discipline of study
- Research topic
- Highlight any comments made by examiners that support the quality of your work
Other information
- Overseas qualifications will be assessed by the Dean of the School of Graduate Research for AQF equivalence.
- An AQF masters degree (research) is comprised of supervised study and research of which two thirds will be devoted to research, research training and independent study. Supporting documentation for equivalent degrees should clearly show how much of the degree was comprised of research.
- Priority will be given for previous research dissertations of 16,000 words or over.
- Applicants in their final semester of a course work qualification (eg., coursework masters or Graduate Certificate in Research Methodologies) equivalent may apply. A conditional offer may initially be made with an unconditional offer being made once evidence is received of the successful completion of the degree to the required standard.
Research publications within the past 5 years
What is being assessed?
- Number of publications
- Authorship of publications
- Relevance of publications
- Quality of publications
What is the purpose?
- To determine the applicant’s experience in publishing research outputs.
What supporting documentation should be provided?
- First page of the publication (for journals).
- Front matter for books.
- Include only peer reviewed journal publications.
What information should be included in the written response?
- Full citation and a link to the article/publication if available.
Other information
- Forthcoming publications must have been accepted prior to the scholarship application submission.
- If enough information is not provided the publication will not be considered.
- Do not include self-published works.
- See the information below for types of publications which will be considered.
Publications
| A1 Book – Authored Research in field relevant to the proposed research |
| A4 Book – Revision/New Edition with substantial new research in field relevant to the proposed research |
| B1 Chapter in Edited Book – in field relevant to the proposed research |
| C1 Journal Article – Refereed Article in a scholarly Journal in field relevant to the proposed research |
| E1 Conference Publication – Full Paper – Refereed in field relevant to the proposed research |
| Q1, Q4 Creative works, textual and other (must contain research component) in field relevant to the proposed research |
Quality and feasibility of the proposal
What is being assessed?
- For new admissions: the applicant’s ability to articulate a research problem and associated question, a proposed methodology, the working thesis, and the originality of the project.
- For existing candidates: as above as well as evidence of the development of the project in the time since admission.
- Evidence of planning and a realistic estimation that the project can be completed in the available time.
What information should be included in the written response?
- For new admissions: a maximum of 2,000 words outlining the nature and significance of the project.
- For existing students: a statement of no more than 2,000 words justifying why you should be considered for a scholarship place. The statement should outline progress on the research project to-date, and clearly address the criteria.
Alignment with the University’s research strategy
What is being assessed?
- The potential impact of the project.
What supporting documentation should be provided?
- Evidence of any external industry funding for the project.
- A statement of potential community engagement.
Supervisory expertise
What is being assessed?
- The strength of the supervisory arrangements (proposed or existing).
What is the purpose?
- Research indicates that students are more likely to complete their research degree if the supervisors are active researchers and have successfully supervised other students to completion.
What supporting documentation should be provided?
- A list of all publications of supervisors in the previous 5-year period.
- An indication of how many successful HDR supervisions each supervisor has completed.
Referee reports
What is being assessed?
- Your academic strengths as indicated by an experienced academic.
What is the purpose?
- The references provide a wider perspective of skills and whether a supervisor supports the scholarship application.
What supporting documentation should be provided?
- Two reports to be submitted by the referees to skashyap@divinity.edu.au.
College and privately-funded research scholarships
Full information about College and other privately-funded research scholarships can be found on the Vox website.