Indigenous Scholarships
The Veterans’ Fund Indigenous Scholarships support Native American, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander post 9/11 military veterans, to undertake a minimum of one-year full-time study in the Australia to USA direction or the USA to Australia direction. These scholarships will provide support of up to US $40,000 to use toward travel, living, tuition and other associated educational costs and may be used in conjunction with other veteran support such as the GI Bill.
The following scholarships are available each year to Indigenous Veterans:
- Veterans’ Fund Undergraduate Scholarships (multiple offered in either direction): Supports American and Australian indigenous veterans pursuing or planning to pursue undergraduate study in any disciplinary field, in the country of the other.
- Veterans’ Fund Graduate Scholarships (multiple offered in either direction): Supports American and Australian indigenous veterans pursuing or planning to pursue to Graduate-level (Masters, Ph.D. or Postdoctoral Research) study or research in any disciplinary field, in the country of the other.
Applicants do not have to be accepted into an accredited educational institution at the time of application, though should be actively looking for placement. Successful applicants will have up to two years to find a placement at an institution in the country of the other and begin their studies.
Submission Period
Australia to USA: Open for application on January 1 to March 31.
USA to Australia: Open for application on August 1 to October 13.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to apply for the Undergraduate or Graduate Veterans’ Scholarship in the Australia to USA direction, applicants must:
- Be an honorably discharged post 9/11 military veteran from Australia;
- Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident (dual citizens are not eligible);
- Be a recognized member of an Indigenous Australian or Torres Strait Islander community;
- Be undertaking or planning to undertake Undergraduate or Graduate level study (Masters, Ph.D. or Postdoctoral Research) at an accredited educational institution in the US;
- Be studying or planning to study for a minimum of one-year full-time in the US.
To be eligible to apply for the Undergraduate or Graduate Veterans’ Scholarships in the USA to Australia direction, applicants must:
- Be an honorably discharged post 9/11 military veteran from the US;
- Be a US citizen or permanent resident (dual citizens are not eligible);
- Be a recognized member of a Native American, Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian community;
- Be undertaking or planning to undertake Undergraduate or Graduate level study (Masters, Ph.D. or Postdoctoral Research) at an accredited educational institution in the Australia;
- Be studying or planning to study for a minimum of one year full-time in Australia.
Application links to apply online will be made available on this page when each application round is open (as per the dates listed above). Once you have started your application you can save, leave and go back any time before submitting by the due date. Please ensure to save your application each time you exit the browser in case of unforeseen technical difficulties. You will be notified of the results of your application roughly eight weeks after the application deadline, at which shortlisted applicants will receive further instruction. Applicants who are unsuccessful at any point during the reviewing process will also be notified.
The following documents will be required when applying for the Veterans’ scholarship in either direction. All documents that are not images/video should be saved and uploaded as a PDF:
- High resolution colored headshot with a plain white background (minimum 1MB/300 DPI);
- Video presentation (1-2 minutes) introducing yourself and your study/anticipated study in the country of the other;
- Passport biographic page;
- Confirmation of Identity from Indigenous community;
- Military discharge papers;
- 1-page resume;
- Academic transcripts from your previous Graduate and/or Undergraduate study, if applicable;
- Detailed budget outlining expenses and income throughout the year of supported study – please download and use the Veterans’ Scholarships Budget Template as a guide. This is available to download in the application portal;
- Please note: Once the portal is open for application, applicants are also required to request 2 to 3 Letter of Recommendation (LORs) requests to their chosen referee. Referee’s will have until 1 week after the portal officially closes, to submit their LORs. We encourage applicants to submit their referee requests from the portal, as soon as they start their application, to allow the referee’s ample time.
An example of each application can be downloaded here:
NB: Applicants will be required to provide proof of indigeneity when applying for the Veteran Scholarships as an Indigenous Australian or Native American.
For further information please visit the FAQs page.
Please read our Frequently Asked Questions prior to starting an application.
Inquiries
To make inquiries about these scholarships please contact our Education Manager at [email protected] | +1 212 338 6860 x 205.