Melbourne Principals' Scholarship

Information for schools

What is the Melbourne Principals' Scholarship?

The Melbourne Principals’ Scholarship is a one-off $5,000 allowance awarded to talented students undertaking their final year of Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or International Baccalaureate at a school in Victoria. Students must show contribution to their school or the wider community and be on track to receive a course offer from the University of Melbourne for 2024.

How does selection for this scholarship work?

There will be one scholarship available for every school in Victoria. Schools are invited to nominate up to three students undertaking their final year of VCE or IB. The student who achieves the highest ATAR will receive a formal scholarship offer after the release of ATAR in December.

How does the nomination process work?

We will send an invitation to every Victorian school which includes a link to the online nomination form. In the nomination form you can indicate how many students your school wishes to nominate (up to three students).

The students must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen who intends to study at the University after completing their VCE or IB. For each student, you will need to provide two short statements (50-200 words each) addressing the two areas of achievement.

  1. Engagement
    Students who contribute to their school or the wider community. This can include consistent performance in sport, fine arts or music, or involvement and leadership in services to the community, fundraising projects, or volunteer opportunities.
  2. Academic achievement
    Students with a strong academic record based on their results to date. They are likely on track to achieve an ATAR result that meets the minimum ATAR for a University of Melbourne undergraduate degree (including Access Melbourne).

Schools can use their discretion to assess community contribution and academic merit before nominating up to three students who best meets these criteria.

When does the nomination form open?

Nominations will open on 1 August 2023.

Applications may be submitted on behalf of the school by Senior school staff inclusive of Principal, Vice-Principal, Year level coordinator and/or Career Practitioners.

When do nominations need to be submitted?

Nominations close on 30 November 2023.

When will the students be notified of their nomination?

All nominated students will receive notification within 2 weeks of submission by the school.

When will the successful student receive the scholarship?

The student who achieved the highest ATAR and received an offer for a University of Melbourne course in December, will receive a formal scholarship offer.

The scholarship will be awarded when the student starts their University of Melbourne course. The scholarship can also be deferred to the following academic year.

Nominated students will also be considered for a range of access and merit scholarships, including the Narrm Scholarship and Melbourne Chancellor’s Scholarship. However, students cannot hold both a Melbourne Principals' Scholarship and a Melbourne Chancellor's Scholarship or a Narrm Scholarship. Therefore, if a student is offered the Melbourne Chancellor’s Scholarship, the Principals’ Scholarship will be offered to the next nominee with the highest ranked ATAR.

Further queries

If you have any queries, please contact Melbourne Scholarships via email: uom-scholarships@unimelb.edu.au or visit University of Melbourne Scholarships.