Increasing student opportunities

Learn about some of the scholarships and grants available to students from equity groups at Macquarie University.

Equity scholarships and bridging grants

Equity scholarships and bridging grants are available to students from low socioeconomic backgrounds who are either commencing or continuing their studies at Macquarie University.

These financial initiatives are designed to enable students to effectively participate in their higher education learning. In a survey conducted in 2019, recipients of the equity scholarship identified the following benefits of the program.

The scholarships not only enabled students to participate in higher education, but also improved their:

  • financial security and stability
  • sense of belonging and social engagement
  • academic engagement and motivation to study
  • overall wellbeing.

Equity scholarships are a key way in which the University actions its commitment toward inclusive education, and the wider participation of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Each year, close to 600 students are offered scholarships that support their study journey.

Learn more about our scholarships and grants.

Other scholarships

Find out more about our scholarships and grants which have been tailored to helping the following groups:

Partnership with The Smith Family

Macquarie University has had a long partnership with The Smith Family, co-funding scholarships for students studying at the University via the Learning for Life program.

In addition to this, the Widening Participation Unit regularly partners with The Smith Family to deliver educational programs and initiatives with Learning for Life students. These programs and initiatives seek to encourage student confidence in their capacity to pursue educational goals and participate in higher education.

Learn more about The Smith Family.

Summer Internship Accommodation Sponsorship

An initiative open to all domestic undergraduate students from eligible equity cohorts who have an arranged internship placement over summer, to access a summer accommodation sponsorship at Macquarie University’s Student Accommodation.

Applications close 29 October 2021.

Summer Unit Accommodation Sponsorship

An initiative open to all domestic undergraduate students from eligible equity cohorts to access a summer accommodation sponsorship placement at Dunmore Lang College. The Accommodation Sponsorship is designed to enable students to complete Session 3 units as well as Session 2 (2021) mandatory on-campus units that will run past the typical end date of the session.

Download our flyer for more information.

Applications close 19 November 2021. Apply now.

Macquarie University Country Education Foundation Scholarship

The co-support scholarship is a formal partnership between Macquarie University and the Country Education Foundation of Australia (CEF) and is designed to engage students from regional and remote backgrounds to participate in higher education learning at Macquarie University.

Learn more about Country Education Foundation of Australia.

As well as our Asylum Seeker Scholarship and the following grant, other services are available for students on humanitarian visas. Learn about our Refugee Transition Program.

Financial Needs Grant

Financial hardship is a major barrier for students from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds to access education. This is especially true for those students who do not have work rights in Australia. The Widening Participation Unit (WPU) established the Financial Needs Grant in order to alleviate some of this financial stress.

Through fundraising projects such as The Sweetest Memory Cookbook, we can offer students from humanitarian backgrounds one-off grants to the value of $1000 to assist with study costs.

My scholarship gave me a sense of confidence I could live comfortably, something that had worried me a lot before moving. The benefit I did not expect was being able to live comfortably and still do the hobbies I loved to do, which I had not thought was possible at this time.

Scholarship recipient
Page owner

E: Widening Participation Unit