Rural Grant

This grant provides a one-off payment of up to $5,000.

12 scholarships were awarded in 2026.

To be eligible for this grant, you must:

• be an Australian citizen
• be enrolling full-time in Semester 1 and 2 in a RMIT diploma, advanced diploma or undergraduate degree program in 2027
• have a farming background (i.e., your family’s primary income comes from farming)
• 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
• have at least one year of your program left to complete
• 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)

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.

You will also need:

• A letter from your family’s solicitor or accountant that clearly states that your family’s primary income comes from farming, dated no more than three months ago

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. When you answer these questions, please use your own words, ideas and experiences — we want to hear your voice, not something written by AI or copied from another source.

• What program are you currently studying (or about to start) at RMIT, and why did you choose this program?
• What are your career plans after you finish your studies at RMIT?
• Discuss your farming background, including the type of farm and the rural/regional area you grew up in.
• If you travel home throughout the academic year, how frequently do you return? Do you work on the farm and is this work paid or unpaid?

Find out more about applying for scholarships.

Applications for Semester 1 2027 open 17 August 2026.

Applications close 11:59pm Sunday 14 February 2027. No late applications will be accepted.

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

Since 1994, an anonymous donor has provided funding to assist students with a farming background to complete their program at RMIT. This support fund recognises the difficulties that students face when coming from a farming family to study in Melbourne.

Quotes from past recipients:

"The scholarship received made me feel relieved and proud. I was relieved from financial stress which allowed me to increase my potential at university. An increased focus and mentality to work harder was the leading source of this relief as I believed in myself that I can do better. Secondly I felt proud to receive this scholarship because the generosity of receiving this scholarship. It allowed myself and others from rural areas to relocate for university, which can be troubling for a lot of students. Scholarships such as the one I received brings a positive future for students who are struggling and allows them to achieve great potential. " - Bachelor of Economics and Finance student

Find out how to contact the Coursework Scholarships Office.