Ernie Williams Indigenous Scholarship

If you are an Indigenous student experiencing financial hardship and enrolling in a course through the Faculty of Health, consider applying for this scholarship.

The Norman Beischer Medical Research Foundation wishes to encourage participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in higher education at Deakin University. This scholarship program looks to honour the intentions of Ernest Daniel (Ernie) Williams.

Ernie had a strong sense of care and support for family and the wider community and enormous empathy for those disadvantaged beyond their control, particularly children. He also appreciated the impact education had on creating opportunities for individuals. The scholarship program has been developed with the purpose of supporting the education of Aboriginal students and to encourage any academic study that would benefit the long-term health and well-being of the Aboriginal Community.

Important dates

Applications for Trimester 1 2021 open 8 October 2020.

Applications for Trimester 1 2021 close 25 January 2021 5pm.

Benefits

This scholarship offers cash payments up to $10,000 per year, for a maximum of four years (dependant on normal course duration).

The maximum value of this scholarship is $40,000.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible you must:

be an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person
be enrolled full time in Trimester 1 2021 at Deakin University in one of the following courses:
- H326 Bachelor of Nursing
- H329 Bachelor of Nursing (Clinical Leadership)
- H421 Bachelor of Nursing (Honours)
- D355 Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Midwifery
- D387 Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Psychological Science
- D381 Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Public Health and Health Promotion
- H676 Graduate Diploma of Midwifery
- H771 Master of Nursing Practice
be receiving a means-tested Centrelink benefit or can demonstrate personal or family taxable income below $56 000 depending on independence status.

Special conditions

Scholarship recipients will be required to:

write an introduction statement about their goals for study and what it means to receive the scholarship
complete a yearly impact statement for the duration of the scholarship
maintain a minimum Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 60 for the duration of the scholarship
be open to meeting with the scholarship donor.

Your application

Supporting documents

As part of the application process, you will also be required to upload current supporting documentation.

When you apply for this scholarship, you'll need to supply evidence of your financial hardship.

Make sure you choose the correct document type when you upload your documents as it will make a difference. If your documents are uploaded into the incorrect type they will not be considered when assessing your application. Remember it is quality, not quantity, which you need to provide. Aim to provide documents which are current, relevant and concise.

Application tips

Applying for a scholarship isn’t just about meeting the eligibility criteria.

It’s a good idea to think about why you want a scholarship, how it will help you and what you have to offer the Deakin community.

Read our 5 top tips on applying for a scholarship

How to apply

Apply directly to Deakin

You can apply for this scholarship directly through our Deakin Scholarship Application Portal.

Visit our application portal

What happens next?

Your application will be assessed and ranked based on the details you provide and your supporting documentation.

You'll find out if you were successful usually within six weeks of the application closing date. You can view the status of your application via your Deakin Scholarship Application Portal account.