University of Canberra scholarship

The University of Canberra offers a scholarship to contribute to the cost of a Graduate Certificate program of study.

You can apply if you are allied health, nursing or midwifery staff working for Health and Community Services Directorate or Canberra Health Services.

Selection

A panel from Health and Community Services Directorate and the University of Canberra selects successful recipients.

Find out more in Graduate Certificate Scholarship Scheme Applicant Guidelines [PDF 503 KB].

Scholarships for 2026

Applications for scholarships to study in 2026 are now closed.

Applications for scholarships to study in 2027 will open in late 2026.

Costs covered

The scholarship pays 50% of your course fees for a graduate certificate. You will be required to cover additional costs, including the remainder of course fees and amenities fees.

How scholarships are paid

You will receive an invoice from the University of Canberra each semester requesting payment of unit fees and other related costs like amenities fees.

The invoice will reflect the amount payable following deduction of the scholarship awarded.

You cannot apply for additional funding through an alternate scholarship program, such as the nurses and midwives or allied health postgraduate scholarship scheme.

Who can apply

You must be permanently employed or have a continuous temporary contract for at least 12 months before the application closing date with either of the following:

• Canberra Health Services (including North Canberra Hospital)
• Health and Community Services Directorate.

You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia.

For practitioners registered through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) you must provide evidence of current registration.

If you are in an allied health profession not registered through AHPRA, you can provide one of the following:

• a certified copy of your allied health qualification
• a certified copy of your membership certificate of the relevant allied health professional association
• evidence of your listing on the public register of professionals for your allied health profession.

You must have a minimum tertiary qualification of a Bachelor's degree, or equivalent graduate status as determined by the university and meet the relevant admission requirements.

A Graduate Certificate or a similar postgraduate program must be in your current professional development planning.

Successful applicants

If you are successful, you will be notified of your scholarship offer in writing and must formally accept or decline the offer in writing. After accepting, you must enrol in the relevant program through the University of Canberra portal.

To keep your scholarship funding, you must continue engagement with the University of Canberra, pass all units and complete the course within 2 years. You must not undertake any other postgraduate study while completing your current program.

Deferring or failing a course

You must notify the Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer or the Office of the Chief Allied Health Officer if you defer or withdraw from the course, fail a unit of study, or are unable to continue for any reason.

Scholarship funding is only used to take a unit once. If you fail a unit in your course, you are responsible for full payment of course fees to re-sit the unit. You can continue to access scholarship funding for any other units you haven't previously attempted.

Balancing work and study

Each unit of study within the degree requires an estimated time commitment of 10 hours per week and you are expected to study in your personal time to meet this commitment. You may be eligible for study leave if you work in the public sector.

You may have to present course outcomes or research project outcomes to members of your work area, team, branch, division, or organisation.

If you stop working for Canberra Health Services or the Health and Community Services Directorate, you will no longer be eligible to receive scholarship funding.

Study leave and assistance

Health and Community Services Directorate and Canberra Health Services applicants must complete the ACT Public Service studies assistance application form for approval as a student and may be eligible for study leave. Contact your manager for more information on study leave and assistance.

Contact

Contact Nursing and Midwifery by emailing N-MScholarships@act.gov.au or phoning 02 5124 4978.

Contact Allied Health by emailing alliedhealthscholarships@act.gov.au or phoning 02 5124 9451.