Peter Coloe Scholarship

This scholarship provides $5,000 paid over one year. 

One scholarship available.

To be eligible for this scholarship you must:

• be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a permanent humanitarian visa holder
• be enrolling full-time in Semester 1 and 2 2027 in your final year of a biotechnology, biomedical or engineering diploma or undergraduate degree
• be able to demonstrate you are experiencing financial hardship, for example if you:
  • receive a Centrelink/Department of Veterans’ Affairs low-income support payment, or
  • hold a low-income Centrelink Health Care Card
• be able to demonstrate circumstance(s) that impact your ability your ability to study, or be from an RMIT priority group, including:
  • living with a disability, long-term medical condition, or identify as neurodivergent
  • have experienced or currently experiencing significant personal or life difficulties
  • have relocated/will be relocating from interstate or a rural or regional area to Melbourne to study at RMIT (check eligibility using the Regional Adjustment Calculator)
  • are an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
  • are an early school leaver, mature-age student, or you entered university via a TAFE pathway
  • are a current or former refugee
  • are from a low socioeconomic (low SES) background
  • have recently completed secondary schooling at a SNAP (School Network Access Program) school

Note: students in programs with a duration of one year or less are ineligible.

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.

Please visit Supporting Your Application for more information.

Find out more about applying for scholarships.

Applications for Semester 1 2027 open 1 August 2026.

Timely applications: If you submit your Access and Equity Scholarship Application by 31 August 2026, we’ll let you know if we need any additional documentation.

Applications for Semester 1 2027 close 2:00pm Tuesday 20 October 2026. No late applications will be accepted.

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

Professor Peter Coloe is a long serving senior staff member, with more than 25 years service to RMIT University. He was appointed as the Pro Vice-Chancellor Science, Engineering and Health and Vice President in 2008. He has made a prolific and significant contribution to understanding, detecting and controlling infectious diseases, with over 160 publications and three worldwide patents to his name.

This scholarship’s aim is to assist final year students to graduate who are in particular hindered by financial circumstances which are impeding their ability to study.

Quotes from past recipients:

"This scholarship has lightened my financial burden and allowed me to focus more on my study. Being a university student and a primary carer for one family member is not an easy matter and require so much commitment. I found it extremely hard to find a job that could works in my busy timetable." - Bachelor of Biomedical Science student

Find out how to contact the Coursework Scholarships Office.