StudyDesk Scholarships
About the scholarship
A naming warning first, because stale tracker pages will confuse you: there is no longer a “University of South Australia research scholarship” under that name. The University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide merged in 2026 to form Adelaide University, and the research scholarships moved with it. What trackers still list as “UniSA RTPi” or “UPS” are the old labels — the current awards are the Adelaide University Research Scholarship (AURS, university-funded) and the Research Training Program Scholarship (RTPS, Australian Government–funded). Apply for research admission and you are automatically considered for the scholarship rounds; there is no separate scholarship form.
The headline package is genuinely strong: a living stipend, a complete tuition fee waiver, and additional allowances for overseas health cover and relocation. The catch is competition — these are merit-based awards, and each round also weighs your research experience and, for some awards, how your project fits the university’s strategic research goals.
What the funding covers
- Stipend: A$36,500 per annum (the 2026 full-time rate, indexed annually), for up to 3.5 years on a PhD and up to 2 years on an MPhil. The official listing values the package at about A$127,750 in total over a PhD. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars receive a higher stipend rate — the exact figure is not published on the official page.
- Tuition: a 100% tuition fee waiver for the duration of the award (up to 4 years for a PhD, 2 years for an MPhil, 1.5 years for an MRes).
- Health cover: the official page confirms additional allowances covering Overseas Student Health Cover for international scholars where applicable. The detail of single-versus-family policies is not published on official channels — treat tracker specifics with scepticism.
- Relocation: a relocation allowance is confirmed on the official page, but no official figure is published. Trackers quote figures between A$1,000 and A$2,000; those are unconfirmed.
Ignore outdated tracker figures such as A$32,500 or A$35,200 — those belong to the pre-merger years. A$36,500 is the confirmed 2026 rate.
Eligibility
- Study level: PhD and MPhil (research) across every discipline.
- Nationality: open to domestic and international applicants.
- Merit: awards are competitive — academic record, research experience, and (for some awards) alignment with the university’s strategic research goals decide.
- GRTS Round 1 restriction — important: Round 1 of the Graduate Research Talent Scheme is open only to domestic applicants, plus international applicants who have completed a relevant Australian or New Zealand qualification. International applicants without an Australian or New Zealand qualification cannot use this round — wait for a later round.
- CSC partnership: Chinese nationals applying for a PhD must meet PhD entry and English requirements by the closing date and hold an unconditional offer of admission.
- Out-of-round awards: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander PhD/MPhil candidates are assessed at any time, alongside top-up, internship, travel and externally funded awards.
Documents you will need
The official scholarships page does not publish a single fixed document checklist — so treat aggregator checklists as guidance, not gospel. Across the official page and independent sources, a complete application typically includes:
- Your research degree application through the university’s official portal (this is the scholarship application — there is no separate form).
- Official academic transcripts, including the grading scheme.
- Evidence of English-language proficiency meeting the university’s requirement.
- A CV prepared on the university’s structured CV template.
- A research proposal on the university’s template — you can propose your own project or select one from the “Find a research project” listings.
- Written support from a prospective supervisor.
The exact CV and proposal templates live on the official scholarships page; download those rather than improvising.
How to apply
- Find your project. Browse the university’s “Find a research project” listings, or draft your own proposal on the university’s template.
- Contact a supervisor. Line up written supervisor support — applications without a willing supervisor go nowhere.
- Submit your research degree application through the official scholarships/admissions portal before your round closes. Round 1 is open now with no published close date, so do not leave this late.
- Upload everything the portal asks for (transcripts, English evidence, templated CV and proposal) and verify the submission is complete.
- CSC applicants: secure your unconditional admission offer before 1 February 2027 and apply for the CSC partnership in parallel.
Keep track of the round dates: Round 1 (open now), Round 2 (mid-February to late March 2027), Round 3 (mid-July to mid-August 2027).
Frequently asked questions
No — the University of South Australia merged with the University of Adelaide in 2026 to form Adelaide University. The current equivalents are the Adelaide University Research Scholarship (AURS) and the Research Training Program Scholarship (RTPS). Tracker pages using the old names are stale.
The confirmed 2026 rate is A$36,500 per year, indexed annually. Ignore older tracker figures such as A$32,500 or A$35,200.
No. You apply for admission to a research degree and are automatically considered for the scholarship rounds.
Not GRTS Round 1 — it is restricted to domestic applicants and internationals holding an Australian or New Zealand qualification. Use a later round or an out-of-round award.
The official page confirms OSHC support for international scholars “where applicable”; the single-versus-family detail is not published officially. Confirm with the university before relying on it.
Chinese nationals applying for a PhD: meet PhD entry and English requirements by 1 February 2027 and hold an unconditional offer of admission. The application window is 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027.
Verified 18 Oct 2026 against the official Adelaide University research scholarships page (adelaide.edu.au/graduate-research/scholarships — GRTS Rounds 1–3, CSC partnership 1 Oct 2026–1 Feb 2027, AURS/RTPS naming) and the official RTPS listing page (A$36,500/yr stipend, ~A$127,750 total value, 100% fee waiver, OSHC and relocation allowances). Relocation and OSHC single-policy figures are tracker-sourced and deliberately not repeated as facts; the GRTS document checklist is per trackers and marked as typical, not official. The UniSA-merger framing follows the university’s own pages; old UniSA scholarship labels and stale stipend figures were rejected as outdated.
