University of Melbourne Scholarships for International Students 2026

Yes. The University of Melbourne offers a range of scholarships for international students. In fact, there is a scholarship opportunity available that covers 100% of tuition fees and provides financial support for graduate students, namely the Graduate Research Scholarships. No separate application is needed for this scholarship. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be considered.

Often yes, because graduate degrees are taught and assessed in English, you may need to meet an English language standard (commonly via IELTS/TOEFL/PTE), unless you qualify through prior approved study in English or another accepted pathway.

Recipient experiences vary: Trang Anh “Annie” said, “I sat the IELTS in 2021 and received a score of 8.0.” Dr. Maxine Chan shared, “I actually only took the Pearson Test of English (PTE).” Meanwhile Enya noted, “I was not required to take any language tests,” based on her pathway background, and Shahzad Khalil described IELTS as “the only key requirement at the application stage” for Australia Awards, later adding he was exempted from IELTS due to having a prior Melbourne degree.

Yes, some University of Melbourne courses are delivered fully online (for example, the Master of Education (MC-EDMO) is “delivered and assessed wholly online”), and scholarship eligibility depends on the specific scholarship’s terms (some are open to all enrolled students; others can be campus-, course-, or residency-specific).

The University of Melbourne offers scholarships across a wide range of fields—commonly including medicine/health, engineering, business, STEM (science/biotech/computing), humanities and social sciences, plus areas like design, law, education, environment, and the arts.

In recipient stories, you can see that range in real examples: Dr. Maxine Chan pursued a PhD in Engineering and IT; Irene completed Finance; Gurjas Singh studied Commerce; Nathasya Christiana Suryo said, “Recently, I completed my Master of Biotechnology degree at the University of Melbourne”; and Enya studied Media/Politics in the BA.

Medicine/health: some medicine-related scholarships are explicitly open to international students (for example, the MD/MPH scholarship listing includes “Domestic and international students”), but eligibility can differ by program, so always check the scholarship page for your exact medicine/health course.

The University of Melbourne has scholarships for both domestic and international students, and some opportunities can be open globally while others are targeted to specific cohorts or regions.

Global Scholarships recipient stories show a wide mix of nationalities studying at Melbourne, including Irene (China), Enya and Crystal Tang (Singapore), Trang Anh “Annie” (Vietnam/Thailand), Arum Dyah Rinjani and Nathasya (Indonesia), Gurjas (India), Dr. Maxine (Philippines), and Farwa Abbas plus Shahzad Khalil (Pakistan).

Program requirements vary by course and level, but strong academics help a lot, especially for merit-based scholarships and competitive programs.

In Global Scholarships stories, you can see the kind of academic profiles that led to offers and awards: Trang Anh “Annie” entered with an IB score of 43/45 and said her scholarship was awarded for that achievement; Crystal Tang shared, “I obtained straight As in my A-level subjects”; Arum Dyah Rinjani graduated with a 3.81/4.00 GPA at Melbourne; and Irene completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s with First-Class Honours.

Many University of Melbourne scholarships focus on eligibility factors like academic merit, financial need, leadership, or course level rather than age, but some external/government scholarships may have their own rules or “target applicant” profiles (for example, schemes aimed at emerging leaders or mid-career professionals).

Recipient stories show scholarships going to students at very different life stages: Farwa Abbas wrote, “I am a Civil Servant with 12 years of Experience in the Public Sector,” while Enya and Crystal received undergraduate scholarships earlier in their academic journeys.

“Minimum eligibility” depends on the scholarship type, but common patterns include: (1) strong academic performance for merit scholarships, (2) clear fit with the course/field, and (3) evidence of leadership, impact, or research readiness for major awards.

For merit-based international undergraduate awards, recipients often highlight academic excellence and automatic consideration: Trang said the Melbourne International Undergraduate Scholarships were “automatically awarded based on academic merit,” and Crystal explained, “This scholarship was automatically considered with the application.”

For research scholarships, strong preparation and a credible research plan matter: Dr. Maxine emphasized research fit and supervision, and described Melbourne’s process as needing research material plus “standard documents.” For government/external schemes, leadership and development goals can be central. Farwa connected her scholarship plan to a “Development Impact Linkages Plan” and personal statements focused on impact.

Exact documents depend on your level (undergrad/graduate/research) and scholarship type, but commonly include academic transcripts and completion certificates, proof of English proficiency (or evidence you’re exempt), and sometimes a CV/resume, personal statements, and referee reports/letters.

In recipient stories, the document set changes by pathway: Dr. Maxine said, “For Unimelb, I just needed a 600-word abstract for a research proposal apart from standard documents such as previous diplomas and transcripts.” For Australia Awards, Farwa wrote, “I was required to give a Development Impact Linkages Plan,” plus personal statements. For Chevening-style processes, Shahzad described working on a “Letter of Intent/Statement of Purpose” and “recommendation letters.” And for facilitated applications, Arum noted, “I was only required to submit the necessary documents for the university application; the rest was handled” by the scholarship office.

Yes in many cases: the University of Melbourne states that “All new direct international applicants are required to pay a non-refundable application fee of AUD$154 for each application,” while “There is no fee if you are a domestic applicant.” Some applicants are exempt (for example, research higher degree applicants are listed as not being prompted to pay).