Inder Kaur Resilience Scholarship

For students who identify as a woman and can demonstrate circumstances which impact their study; worth up to $5,000 per year.

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Applications now closed

This scholarship provides:

  • up to $5,000 per annum for full-time students for up to five years
  • up to $2,500 per annum for part-time students for up to ten years

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must:

  • identify as a woman 
  • be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a permanent humanitarian visa holder
  • be enrolling/enrolled full-time or part-time in a certificate IV, diploma or degree program at RMIT in semester 2 2024
  • have at least one year of your program left to complete
  • be able to demonstrate circumstance/s which impact your ability to study such as:
    • having a past or current experience of family violence
    • receiving a government tested low income benefit or having a Centrelink Health Care Card
    • living with a disability, long-term medical condition or identify as neurodiverse
    • experiencing personal/family/social difficulties
    • be from an interstate or rural/regional area and moving/moved to Melbourne to study at RMIT
    • have previously/are currently living in foster/kinship care or are a ward of the state
    • be from an under-represented background such as
      • Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
      • were born overseas, are from a non-English background and recently migrated to Australia
      • current or former refugee
      • completed secondary school at a School Network Access Program school
  • not have previously completed the same level of program or higher, e.g. if you plan to study a Bachelor of Architectural Design, you should not have previously completed another Bachelor degree.

Preference will be given to women who have a past or current experience of family violence and/or migrant women.

The online application form will be made available here when applications open. 

Supporting documentation

Depending on your circumstances, you will need to provide different types of evidence and material to support your scholarship application. Applications without supporting documents will not be considered.

If you have experienced family violence, you must complete this Statutory Declaration (PDF, 58KB) and attach it as evidence. Please note, you do not need to provide details of your experience of family violence in the application form or the statutory declaration. 

Please visit Supporting Your Application for more information.

Application questions

It is expected that the online application will take approximately thirty minutes to complete. The main application questions are listed below to allow you time to prepare your answers prior to starting the online application.

  • What motivated you to choose your RMIT program? Include the steps you have taken to achieve your educational goals.
  • What are you future plans and career aspirations?
  • What current challenges do you face in your studies and how will a scholarship help you overcome this?

Find out more about applying for scholarships.

Applications are now closed.

Applications are now closed.

View the Coursework Scholarships Office’s terms and conditions (PDF, 698KB).

Education was a passion for Inder Kaur. She was taken out of school in Rawalpindi after the 8th grade because she was a girl. After the partition of India in 1947, the family including her husband and three daughters left their ancestral home in Rawalpindi and became refugees. She began studying again, while helping to support her family.

Inder Kaur graduated with a Masters degree in Punjabi from the University of Delhi in 1958 when she was 47 years old. This was a rare accomplishment. She became the Founding Principal of three women's colleges in Punjab, India.

Scholarships in the name of Inder Kaur have been established to assist women in pursuing their dream of education. 

Quotes from past recipients:

"Before receiving this scholarship I had major doubt in being able to continue in this course due to the financial pressure I was under. This has allowed me to focus more on getting the most out of my studies and less on trying to juggle a very hectic work/study balance." - Diploma of Nursing student

Notice to applicants

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

Only successful candidates will be notified via email to their RMIT student account.

For information about other financial assistance available to RMIT students, please speak to one of our Student Welfare Advisors.

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.