Graduate research scholarships

New applicants to Macquarie University must:

• complete the combined course and scholarship application via the Online Application System
• arrange for two academic referee reports to be submitted to the Graduate Research Academy
• indicate the scholarship reference number under the scholarship details question.

Applicants who are already enrolled (commenced the Macquarie PhD program in session 2 2024 only) or have received a valid Macquarie University letter of offer for a graduate research program within the last six months, must:

• download our guidelines on how to submit a Scholarship Only application
• submit an online Graduate Research Scholarship Only application form with supporting documents
• indicate the scholarship reference number under the scholarship details question.

Macquarie University will advise the successful applicant of entitlements at the time of scholarship offer.

• Commonwealth funded Research Training Program (RTP) for domestic students and International Research Training Program (iRTP) for international students
• Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship (MQRES) for domestic students and International Macquarie University Research Excellence (iMQRES) for international students
• Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarships (MQRES) for Indigenous Australians
• Project-specific scholarships advertised for a specific project with a specific supervisor
• Externally funded or co-funded scholarships.

Use the scholarship search tool to search for all Macquarie University scholarships. You can also search our external scholarship opportunities that are funded or co-funded by external partners.

Note: Official Macquarie University research scholarships are only listed on the Macquarie University web pages.

Graduate Diploma of Research scholarship

The Graduate Diploma of Research scholarship, valued at $5000 per session, is awarded to high-performing domestic and international students who meet the eligibility criteria below.

Commencing session

The eligible student:

• enters the program with a Macquarie University WAM ≥ 80 (or equivalent GPA of ≥ 6/7)
• is enrolled full-time as at the census date in their commencing session.

Subsequent session

The eligible student:

• receives a minimum overall WAM ≥ 80 in their commencing session
• is enrolled full-time at the census date in their subsequent session.

Note: Eligibility for the scholarship in each session is confirmed 1–2 weeks after the session census date. Successful students are notified by the Graduate Research Academy via email.

Graduate Diploma of Research progressing to MRes

Eligible domestic and international students progressing from the Graduate Diploma of Research to the Master of Research will be considered for a tuition fee offset and stipend scholarship to the value of $38,500 per annum in 2025, indexed annually.

Eligibility

Students are:

• assessed and awarded on academic merit
• competitively ranked based on the overall WAM of their Graduate Diploma of Research units
• the top ranked students (with the highest WAMs).

Note:

• exempt units will not be counted for calculation of the WAM
• the total number of scholarships awarded each year is dependent upon the scholarship budget approved by the University.

MRes students progressing to a PhD

The MRes to PhD scholarships will be awarded through a competitive ranking process.

The three-year scholarship includes:

• a tuition fee offset
• a stipend valued at $38,500 per annum in 2025, indexed annually.

See more information about MRes progression to PhD.

Indigenous Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship provides support to Indigenous Australians to enrol in a postgraduate degree including Master of Research, Master of Philosophy, or Doctor of Philosophy, in any field of research. Learn more about the Indigenous research excellence scholarship.

The Research Training Program (RTP) fees offset scholarship is funded by the Australian Government. Theses scholarships are awarded in the form of a fee waiver for the maximum period allowed for you to complete your research program, rather than as a lump sum in your bank account. For details of the RTP, please visit the Department of Education.

If you’re unable to start your research degree in the session your scholarship has been offered, you may be able to defer your scholarship funding to the following session, subject to your scholarship Conditions of Award. Requests for deferral beyond one year are not normally approved. To request a deferral, please contact the Graduate Research Academy.