FAQs

Application closing time

If applying for a University of Sydney scholarship, you must apply on the day of closing before 11.59pm.

Study overseas scholarships

There are a number of scholarships available to students studying overseas on exchange.

If you're a domestic student, visit the study overseas scholarships page for bachelor's and honours students, or the research overseas page for postgraduate research students.

Other students can check the faculty and general scholarships pages to see if there are any travel scholarships that you may be eligible for.

If you want to know about opportunities to study outside of Australia as part of your degree at the University of Sydney, then visit the study overseas with student exchange page. 

Residential colleges scholarships

The University of Sydney residential colleges offer scholarships for on-campus living. Visit the relevant college's website for more information, found on our residential colleges page.

There is other accommodation available on or near campuses of the University, and the prices of this accommodation can vary greatly. Financial assistance may be available. For more information visit the accommodation page.

Citizens of New Zealand

As a citizen of New Zealand, you are considered as a domestic student for the purposes of many University of Sydney scholarships. However, there are some scholarships with very specific eligibility criteria (including ones that may be open to Australian citizens only) so please read the eligibility criteria closely before applying.

University Medal

A faculty may recommend the award of a University Medal to a student qualified for the award of an undergraduate honours degree (or some master’s degrees), whose academic performance is judged to be outstanding.

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General

What is advanced standing?

Advanced standing refers to periods of enrolment in the degree prior to receiving a scholarship, or periods of enrolment in the degree while the scholarship is suspended.

Example 1: if you have already been enrolled full-time in a PhD for one year before commencing a scholarship, your advanced standing is one year.

Example 2: if you are enrolled as a part-time student for six months while your scholarship is suspended, you will incur three months (full-time equivalent) of advanced standing.

Can I continue to receive my scholarship if I change my enrolment from full-time to part-time?

The University applies the RTP (formerly APA) rule to all postgraduate research stipends. This rule states that a part-time scholarship can only be approved in exceptional circumstances if the student has an ongoing medical condition or disability which prevents full-time enrolment, or has heavy carer commitments which prevent full-time enrolment.

If you are changing to part-time enrolment for one of the above reasons, you must apply for approval to the Scholarships Office prior to changing your enrolment. Changing to part-time status without first applying to the Scholarships Office will result in the scholarship payments being suspended. Please contact the Scholarships Office for details of the documents you need to provide.

If you are changing to part-time enrolment for a different reason, you will need to contact the Scholarships Office to organise the suspension or termination of your scholarship.

My stipend payments have stopped suddenly. What's happened?

1. Have you made a change to your candidature? If you have suspended, taken a leave of absence, changed to part-time, or downgraded your candidature, your scholarship payments may have been stopped. Please contact the Scholarships Office.
2. Do you hold a scholarship from an external funding body, and was a temporary end date put on your scholarship due to pending ethics approvals? If the temporary end date has passed and you have not yet supplied the ethics approval to the Scholarships Office, your payments will have stopped.

I submitted my thesis early. Can I keep receiving my scholarship?

Once you have submitted your thesis your scholarship will cease. The only exception is in the case of Sydney College of the Arts students who submit a thesis and then have their work examined in an exhibition. In their case the scholarship will cease on the examination date.

My supervisor wants to set up a top-up scholarship for me. How do they organise this?

Please refer to the conditions of award of your primary scholarship to make sure that you are allowed to receive a top-up scholarship, and to check the limit on the value of any top-up scholarship (normally capped at 75% of the primary scholarship). 

Your supervisor should then complete the request to set up a top-up scholarship form available from the For Staff - Create an award page and send it to the Scholarships and Financial Support Service.

I'm transferring my candidature to another university/I'm transferring into the University of Sydney. Can I take my scholarship with me?

This depends on the type of scholarship you receive. Contact the Scholarships Office.

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Extensions

How do I apply for an extension to my PhD scholarship?

Check the conditions of award for your scholarship to see if an extension is possible. If so, read through the Research Scholarship Extension Application (pdf, 257KB).

Can I get a second extension to my RTP (formerly APA) if my first six month extension is about to end?

No. You can only request one six month extension to your RTP. You should check with your supervisor to see if they have any funds available to provide you with a short completion scholarship. Your supervisor will need to fill in the Request to set up a PhD Completion Scholarship form available from the For Staff - Create an award page if they have the funds available to set up this type of scholarship.

My scholarship payments have stopped even though my supervisor/department told me they had been extended. What's happened?

Your department/supervisor may not have advised the Scholarships Office that they have agreed to extend your scholarship. The Scholarships Office manages the scholarships payroll, so if our office is not advised of the extension, your payments will still cease on the original end date.

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Income advice

Where can I find payment information for postgraduate research scholarships?

You should refer to postgraduate research scholarship payments information, which is available as part of the HDR scholarship commencement form (pdf, 228KB).

How is the fortnightly amount for my stipend calculated?

The payroll office uses a formula to calculate your fortnightly payment based on your annual rate.

How do I get a copy of my scholarship payslip?

You need to log in to myHRonline using your unikey and password. The system can be accessed from the staff intranet. 

I'm applying for a loan/rental property and my bank/real estate agent wants confirmation of my scholarships payment. How can I organise this?

The Scholarships Office can provide you with a Statement of Income letter, showing the details of your scholarship and the amount that you receive each fortnight. Please email scholarships.office@sydney.edu.au, state your contact details and student number, the reason for your request, and whether you would like to collect the letter, or have it posted or emailed to you. 

If the bank/real estate agent wants to telephone the Scholarships Office to obtain these details, you must email scholarships.office@sydney.edu.au, state your contact details and student number, the details of who will be calling, and what information you are giving us permission to release over the phone.

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Leave

Do I need to tell the Scholarships Office if I'm taking annual leave?

You are entitled to take up to four weeks of annual leave per year. The Scholarships Office doesn’t need to be advised when you take the annual leave. You and your supervisor must keep a record of the annual leave taken. 

My scholarship conditions entitle me to additional paid sick leave/parental leave. How do I claim this?

You need to complete the appropriate form on the forms page and submit this to the Scholarships Office along with your supporting documentation.

Overpayment

I've received a much larger scholarships payment than normal. Have I been overpaid?

If you were not expecting the larger payment you should contact the Scholarships Office immediately. If an overpayment has occurred, you will need to return the funds to the University straight away.

Why have I received an overpayment?

Overpayments can occur if you vary candidature at the faculty without directly informing the Scholarships Office, or if a candidature variation has been backdated by the faculty. Examples of candidature variations include (but are not limited to) leave of absence, suspension, changing attendance to part-time, and thesis submission. Overpayments can also occur if the candidature variation occurs on or a few days prior to a University pay day, as it may not be possible to halt payment in the payroll system. If you are unsure about how a candidature variation will affect your payment, please contact the Scholarships Office immediately. 

I've received overpayment advice. How do I respond?

If your scholarship is overpaid, you are required to return the overpaid amount to the University as soon as possible. It is important that you respond to overpayment advice. If you wish to discuss the overpayment please contact the Scholarships Office.

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Overseas

Do I need to inform HDRAC if I plan to travel overseas to conduct my research?

If you will be conducting your research overseas you need to apply for count time away on Sydney Student. If you have questions about count time away or whether overseas research is permitted on your sitpend, please contact HDRAC.

I plan to travel overseas to present my research at a conference. Is there any University funding that can assist me with the costs of the trip?

See information on the Postgraduate Research Support Scheme. If you will also be conducting a period of research overseas, you may be eligible to apply for a Grant-in-Aid or a research overseas scholarship.

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Taxes

Why do I see tax on my payslip?

If you are also employed by the University you will also see your employment income, and the tax being deducted from this income on your payslip.

I'm completing my tax return. Should I receive a payment summary (group certificate) for my scholarship at the end of the financial year?

If you are a full-time student your stipend payments are tax-exempt, so the University does not deduct tax from your fortnightly payment, and you will not receive a payment summary for your scholarship. If you are receiving the scholarship as a part-time student the University does deduct tax, so you will receive a payment summary for your scholarship. This should be accessed electronically through myHRonline via the staff intranet.

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Degree Transfer

Does my scholarship tenure increase if I transfer from a master's degree to a doctorate?

This depends on the type of scholarship you receive. If your stipend is permitted to continue in a doctoral degree, HDRAC will adjust the length accordingly. 

Does my scholarship tenure decrease if I transfer my candidature from a doctorate to a master's degree?

Yes, your tenure will typically decrease. Please note: if you receive a scholarship which can only be held by a doctoral student or you have already received the maximum window of payment for a masters student, your scholarship will cease if you transfer to a masters. 

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International students

How do I reclaim the relocation allowance I'm entitled to with my RTP Fee Offset (formerly IPRS)/UsydIS?

The relocation allowance claim should be submitted to the International Fees Team using the International Research Scholarship reimbursement form (pdf, 99KB).

Please direct any relocation claim queries to the International Fees Team at international.fees@sydney.edu.au. 

How do I submit a request to extend my scholarship?

To apply for extension, download the research scholarship extension application form (pdf, 272KB) and follow the submission instructions in the document.

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Scholarship recipients

Terms and conditions

Every University of Sydney scholarship will have a set of terms and conditions. This information is vital to how your scholarship will work and it is important that you keep a copy of your acceptance of these terms and conditions for your reference.

What do I need to know about my scholarship payments?

The scholarship value and schedule of payments will vary from scholarship to scholarship, details will be outlined in your scholarship terms and conditions.

Most scholarships will be paid as money after the relevant census date of each semester, and you will receive the payment by direct deposit to your nominated Australian bank account. Please ensure your bank account details are correct and up to date in Sydney Student, go to ‘My finance’, ‘Your finances’, ‘Bank Details’. Due to a large volume of payments being processed, your payment may take up to four weeks from census date to appear in your bank account.

If you are receiving an academic tuition fee scholarship, the payment will automatically be credited towards your tuition fees prior to the census date.

What are my requirements as a scholarship recipient?

Most scholarships require you to maintain certain ongoing requirements we refer to this as 'ongoing eligibility'.

Whether you need to maintain a minimum Semester Average Mark (SAM) or stay enrolled in a specific unit of study or number of credit points, it is best to refer to the ‘ongoing eligibility’ and ‘termination’ sections of your scholarship terms and conditions for the specific details.

You must meet these requirements so that you can continue to receive the scholarship.

What happens if I need to apply for a continuation?

Prior to the census date of each semester, the Scholarships Office will review your academic results of the previous semester and your enrolment in the next one to ensure you have maintained your scholarship ‘ongoing eligibility’ requirements.

If you have not met any of these requirements, we may contact you through Sydney Student to check if a circumstance has affected your academic performance or enrolment. We refer to this process as ‘show cause’.

During this process, you will have the opportunity to explain to the University the reasons for not meeting your scholarship requirements. Reasons may include, for example, personal or medical issues. In such cases, you may need to provide documents in support of your case. The notification you receive will explain your scholarship situation and outline what action you may need to take.

Assessment of your ‘show cause’ case may take up to six weeks and the final decision is made by the relevant School/Faculty. During this time, you will not receive any scholarship payments.

Once the assessment of your case has been completed, you will receive communication from the Scholarships Office about the continuation of your scholarship.

What happens if I change my enrolment?

Certain scholarships are awarded to study a particular course or subject to a full-time study load.

If you are considering changing your course or looking to drop a unit of study don’t forget to review your scholarship conditions and contact the Scholarships Office before making these changes as these might have an impact on your scholarship.

It is a good idea to contact the Scholarships Office as soon as you are considering these changes and preferably before the census date of the relevant semester.

What happens if I need to suspend my studies?

If you would like to take a break, you need to let us know. Suspension of your studies and suspension of your scholarship are managed separately.

Your scholarship conditions might or might not allow a suspension. Contact the Scholarships Office to discuss your plans and request approval prior suspending your studies.

Failing to request approval might lead to a termination of your scholarship.

If your scholarship suspension is approved, you will need to notify the Scholarships Office once you re-enrol in your course to have your payments reinstated.

Where do I find additional help and support?

Learning in a University environment is different for everyone, but our academic and personal support services are always available to help you succeed in your studies.

The University’s Learning Centre helps you to develop your academic communication, research and study skills.

Professional and confidential psychological and mental health services are free and available through our counselling and mental health support.

Will my scholarship be in my academic transcript?

Your scholarship will be listed in your academic transcript and your Sydney Student Portal. Go to ‘My Finance’, ‘Scholarships, prizes, bursaries and loans’.

As a scholarship recipient, it’s important to understand the conditions of your scholarship. Don’t be afraid to reach out to the Scholarships Office if you have any questions relating to your scholarship, we are here to support you.