Scholarships

Sancta’s community-minded culture is led first and foremost by the students that live here – undergraduates and postgraduates from all over Australia and the world with different cultural, economic, and academic backgrounds

2024 Postgraduate Scholarship Applications closed on 1 November 2023.

2024 Undergraduate Scholarship Applications closed on 20 September 2023. 

Scholarships and bursaries help us to maintain diversity at Sancta by enabling access for students who may otherwise struggle to afford college, and by attracting those with talents, skills and leadership potential who will positively influence culture and participation at Sancta.  

Most scholarships at Sancta are funded by private donors and are awarded by the College Scholarship Panel in consultation with donors. There are also several Sancta-funded scholarships and bursaries that are allocated to students directly by the Scholarship Panel.

Go to:
Scholarship Categories
Merit-based Scholarships Explained
Financial Need Scholarships Explained
How to Apply

 

Scholarship Categories

Merit-based scholarships

These are awarded based on merit and do not require students to demonstrate financial need. Some scholarships may prioritise students who are from regional or rural areas, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or undertaking study in particular fields.

Go to Merit-based Scholarships Explained

Financial need bursaries and scholarships

These may consider financial need only, or a combination of financial-need and merit. Some scholarships have additional criteria such as regional, rural or remote domestic student status, international student status, or enrolment in particular areas of study.

Go to Financial Need Scholarships Explained


Merit-based Scholarships Explained

There are private donor and Sancta-funded merit scholarships available in 2024. The criteria for merit-based scholarships varies. There are scholarships available for:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
  • Domestic students from regional, rural and remote areas.
  • Students studying in particular fields (including STEM, Arts and Social Sciences, Sustainability, Medicine, Nursing and Health, Veterinary Science and Law).
  • Postgraduate students (international and domestic).
  • Students who demonstrate leadership capacity with respect to general participation at Sancta with respect to spiritual life, academic life, and activities such as social and political activism.
  • Students who demonstrate passion, skill and talent with respect to activities such as Sports, Creative and Performing Arts and cultural activities such as debating and public speaking.
  • Students who display strong academic abilities.
  • Students who are identified as high-performing athletes. For example, Sancta automatically provides residential scholarships to all athletes on Sydney University Sport and Fitness (SUSF) scholarships.

 

Go to How to Apply


Financial need Scholarships Explained

Many financial need scholarships and bursaries require only that the student has demonstrated financial need, irrespective of where they are from or what they are studying. Others may have additional criteria, such as:

  • Identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
  • Being from a regional, rural or remote area within Australia
  • Being an international student
  • Studying in particular fields (including STEM, Arts and Social Sciences, Sustainability, Medicine, Nursing and Health, Veterinary Science and Law)
  • Demonstrating leadership capacity with respect to general participation and community-mindedness at Sancta, activities such as social and political activism, and College sporting, cultural, creative, spiritual and academic life
  • Displaying strong academic abilities

 

Students who demonstrate financial need may be eligible for one of our:

  • Private donor scholarships (approximately 10 available per year, ranging in value from $2,500 per annum to 100% fee remission);
  • Sancta-funded scholarships based on financial need and/or merit and ranging in value from $2,500 to $10,000 per annum;
  • or Sancta-funded financial-need bursaries (approximately $200,000 in funds available each year, with discrete values determined by the individual levels of financial-need of applicants)

 

Financial Need Definition – Filling the Gap

Sancta makes decisions regarding financial need scholarships and bursaries with the goal of helping eligible students to fill the gap in fees that is unlikely to be met by a combination of:

  • contributions from their caregiver/s;
  • student income from part-time employment;
  • other expected income such as university-based scholarships or sponsorships;
  • and/or government financial assistance such as Centrelink Youth Allowance, AUSTUDY or overseas student loans.

 

In determining financial need and the level of support likely to be required, we ask applicants to provide information regarding:

  • Parent/caregiver income (and any legal or business matters related to income)
  • Student expected income from other scholarships or sponsorships
  • Expected government financial assistance (if any)
  • Expected weekly part-time work hours/income
  • Expected weekly university contact hours (we estimate this by referring to guides on expected full-time contact and study hours for your enrolled degree)
  • Additional siblings in the family aged under 22 years
  • Regional, rural or remote student status

 

Determining Financial Need

Where the Scholarship Panel believes that a student will struggle to pay their Sancta fees by relying solely on one or more of the above forms of income, and/or struggle to fully experience the benefits of living at College in their efforts to pay the Sancta fees, we may determine them to have demonstrated financial need.

 

Determining the Level of Financial Need

The Scholarship Panel will use the information provided by financial need applicants to estimate the ‘gap’ in fees that they require support to meet. It is important to note that our ability to meet that gap through scholarship and bursary support will be dependent on our ability to give in each intake year. Our ability to give is based on the number of financial-need applicants, and the amount of scholarship and bursary funds available. 

 

Essential Criteria for Financial Need

  • Must be intending to study full-time (that is, undertaking at least 75% of the full-time study load for the course of enrolment)
  • Must be intending to reside at Sancta
  • Must provide copies of parent/caregivers’ most recent government-issued income tax assessments (or your personal income tax assessment if you are independent and intend to be the indemnifier on your Sancta fee account)

 


How to apply

2024 Undergraduate scholarship applications closed on Wednesday 20 September 2023

2024 Postgraduate scholarship applications closed on Wednesday 1 November 2023

To learn more about applying, or to start an application, click here. As you progress through your residency application, you will have the option to complete the scholarship application section (if applications are open).