Ernie Williams Indigenous Nursing Scholarship

If you are an Indigenous student experiencing financial hardship and enrolling in a course through the School of Nursing and Midwifery, 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.

Important dates

Applications for Trimester/Semester 1 2024 open 15 September 2023.

Applications for Trimester/Semester 1 2024 close 31 January 2024 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 up to $40,000 (dependant on normal course duration).

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible you must be:

  • be an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person
  • be enrolled full time in Trimester/Semester 1 2024 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 Advanced Nursing
  • able to demonstrate financial hardship.

Special conditions

Scholarship recipients will be required to:

  • write an introduction statement about your goals for study and what it means to receive the scholarship
  • complete a yearly impact statement for the duration of the scholarship
  • provide a completion statement at the conclusion of your studies
  • 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.

Read more about supporting documentation

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 through VTAC

If you’ve applied to study at Deakin through VTAC and have completed a VTAC scholarship application, you’ll be considered for this scholarship.

Apply directly to Deakin

All other applicants can apply for this scholarship directly to Deakin through our Scholarship Application Portal.

When applying direct to Deakin for this scholarship, select either the 'Undergraduate Scholarship Application Tri/Sem 1 2024' or the 'Postgraduate Scholarship Application Tri/Sem 1 2024' option and, if eligible, your application will automatically be considered for this scholarship.

This reduces the number of scholarships you have to apply for and increases your chances of receiving a Deakin scholarship.

Apply for this scholarship

The scholarship application process is highly competitive with a limited number of scholarships available. Unfortunately, not all eligible applicants will receive one.

What happens next?

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

If you are successful, you will be contacted by the email address you nominated within your application portal account, unsuccessful applicants will not be contacted.

You'll find out if you were successful usually within six weeks of the application closing date. If you have not received an offer by this time, you have been unsuccessful. You can view the status of your application via your scholarship application portal account.

About the donor

This scholarship is generously supported by the Norman Beischer Medical Research Foundation.

Ernest Daniel (Ernie) Williams 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.

Next offering period

This scholarship is yet to be confirmed for any future offering periods. Please check back at this page at a later date for any updates.