Lorna Stirling Fund Scholarship

Eligibility and selection criteria

Eligibility

Applicants must be enrolled at the University of Melbourne at the time of application and for the period of the proposed project.

Applications must involve international travel for any of the following purposes:

• to assist the exchange of students between the University and universities or like institutions in other countries; or
• for exchange scholarships; or
• travelling scholarships; or
• to support international meetings of students in which students or student organisations and the University have an interest.

The following types of applications are not eligible:

• applications involving coursework, research, or training overseas that will form part of a student’s degree.
• applications from previous winners.
• retrospective applications. The project must be undertaken within the period of award (1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027).

Applications involving academic conference presentations relating to a student’s degree are unlikely to be funded.

Selection criteria

Additional Information

The 2026 scholarships will be awarded for projects undertaken within the period 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.

Where there is strong competition for grants from students wishing to attend international student meetings, preference will be given to official student representatives at this University.

Since the annual income of the Fund is small, only limited support can be given to student organisations to help defray the costs of running student conferences.

Applications must meet the requirements above as well as provide the following:

• The applicant must demonstrate previous and real interest in participating in matters which affect/benefit students’ interests. Hence the application must include a signed letter of support from a relevant student organisation (such as UMSU or faculty/department-based group) indicating the project’s value to the wider student community
• Explain whether the project would be able to go ahead if no grant were available
• Explain how the project is relevant to the interests of the wider student community at the University of Melbourne
• Explain how the project will enable mutual understanding to be established between students at the University of Melbourne and international universities.