Discover how rural and regional scholarships could pave your pathway to higher education at The University of Queensland.
When you grow up in a small town or rural area, going to university can feel like a pipedream. Sure, moving away from home and adjusting to city life can be just as exciting as it is intimidating. But it’s often the expenses that make coming to uni seem impossible for students in regional and remote areas.
At UQ, we know some of the country’s brightest young minds live in, well, the country. And we believe a world-class education should be available to everyone – not just city kids.
This is why we encourage relevant students to apply for rural and regional scholarships. These can help cover the costs of moving a long distance, finding a home in Brisbane and studying at one of Australia’s best universities. A scholarship can alleviate your financial stress, so you can truly focus on your studies and live your best uni life.
Whether you want to pursue a professional or academic career in the city, or take your learnings back home, UQ gives you the support to soar.
Our Gatton campus in particular prepares students to return to their rural communities and make a positive impact.
University scholarships for rural students
Tertiary Access Payments
Tertiary Access Payments are available via the Australian Government to help regional and remote students who have just finished Year 12, cover the costs of moving to Brisbane for study ($3,000 for inner regional, $5,000 for outer regional and remote, undergraduate only). These payments can also go towards your living and study costs, such as groceries and textbooks.
Rural scholarships at UQ
Some areas of study at UQ offer specific scholarships for students coming from rural and remote locations. To discover what's available, visit our scholarships website and use the filter menu on the left-hand side to tick the 'rural and remote' checkbox under 'scholarship focus'.
You may be eligible to apply for scholarships such as:
- The Destination Australia Scholarship (Domestic Students), which helps rural students study agriculture and the environment at our Gatton campus ($15,000 per year, all study levels).*
- The Elevate Scholarship: Boosting women in STEM, which helps women and non-binary people study STEM degrees ($30,000 to $82,000 depending on study level, people from regional, rural or remote areas are encouraged to apply). *
- The TC Beirne School of Law Leadership, Excellence and Diversity (LEAD) Scholarship, which helps students from disadvantaged backgrounds study the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) at UQ ($8,000 per year, undergraduate only).*
- The Macoun Family Scholarship in Finance is awarded to female students intending to enrol in a Bachelor of Advanced Finance and Economics (Honours) program. Applicants must complete year 12 in a public high school outside of the Brisbane metropolitan area ($12,500 per year, for duration of program, undergraduate only).*
*These scholarships are subject to change depending on the time of year and opening and closing dates.
Sam and Lucas from Biloela were recipients of UQ's LEAD Law scholarship, which helped them get into UQ to study law after experiencing unforeseen setbacks in their final year of high school.
All UQ scholarships
You might be eligible for more than one scholarship. We offer a diverse range of scholarships for prospective and existing students who:
- identify as LGBTQIA+
- identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
- identify as female and wish to study a STEM program
- are living with a disability
- are experiencing financial hardship
- are citizens of another country, wishing to study at UQ
- are non-school leavers/mature-aged
- come from refugee or asylum seeker backgrounds
- come from non-English speaking backgrounds.
Don’t let distance or expenses stop you from soaring. Get inspired by discovering how Nathan Sagigi’s scholarship helped him make the move from boarding school in Cairns to studying at UQ in Brisbane.
