Scholarships
Rural Allied Health Undergraduate Scholarship
The Rural Allied Health Undergraduate Scholarship (RAHUS) Scheme is an Australian Government initiative to support rural-origin individuals to undertake allied health and oral health degrees so they may pursue a clinical career in rural and remote Australia. The RAHUS Scheme is open to individuals with a rural background to study an allied health or oral health degree.
Eligible disciplines for allied health are: audiology, chiropractic, dietetics, exercise physiology, Indigenous health, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathy, medical radiation science (medical imaging, radiation therapy and nuclear medicine technology), physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology (postgraduate), social work and speech pathology; and for oral health are: dentistry and oral health.
The scholarship provides $10,000 a year to assist students with accommodation, living and travel expenses during their studies. Eligible applicants will have lived in a rural or remote region of Australia for at least five consecutive or eight cumulative years and must be Australian citizens or permanent residents. Applicants must be entering or currently enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited or approved undergraduate or graduate entry level Australian allied health or oral health degree. For further information, please contact the RAHUS Administrator, Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health (SARRAH), on 1800 338 061 or by email on rahus@sarrah.org.au, or view the SARRAH website at www.sarrah.org.au.
Medical Rural Bonded ScholarshipsThe Australian Government’s Rural Health Strategy includes an integrated package of initiatives to deliver more doctors and better services to rural and regional communities. The MRB Scholarship Scheme is one of these initiatives with 100 MRB Scholarships offered annually. The Scholarships are attached to 100 new places in medical schools.
The conditions of the MRB Scholarships are as follows:
- Students must be Australian citizens or permanent residents.
- The Scholarship amount for 2007 is $22,744 (indexed annually). The Scholarship is tax free and is not subject to a means test.
- Students agree to practice in rural areas of Australia for six continuous years upon completion of basic medical and postgraduate training as a specialist (including General Practice).
- The Scholarship is formalised in a contract between successful scholarship applicants and the Commonwealth. There are penalties for breaking the bond.
- To receive the MRB Scholarship students first need to apply to study medicine through the usual medical schools admissions process. Universities then manage the application and selection process of the MRB Scholarships.
- The usual deadlines for university selection to medical school also apply to those interested in an MRB Scholarship.
More information on MRB scholarships can be found at www.health.gov.au/mrbscholarships.
Rural Education Scholarship Scheme
The Department of Human Services offers applications for the Rural Education Scholarships. To be eligible you must:
- Have resided in rural SA
- Have a career plan which demonstrates a strong committment to future or continued rural human service delivery
- Understand the needs of the rural community
- Studying allied health, medicine, nursing, dentistry or business management
The successful applicants will be awarded $5000 pa for up to three years and will be required to live and work in a rural area of SA on completion of all necessary training, for the period of the scholarship. More information can be found at http://www.countryhealthsa.sa.gov.au/rural-scholarship.asp.
Wyatt Benevolent Institution University Scholarship
Wyatt provides a number of Scholarships to students living in regional South Australia who have to move to Adelaide to undertake full-time University studies. Students must meet Wyatt eligibility criteria to receive the Scholarship of up to $3000 per annum for the duration of their degree. Wyatt has 2 types of Scholarships:
- General Scholarship
- Accommodation Costs Scholarship
For more information, please visit http://www.wyatt.org.au/education_university.php.
John Flynn Placement Program (JFPP)
The John Flynn Placement Program was established in 1997 by the Federal Government to provide medical students with an opportunity to spend part of their holidays working in the bush, and consequently, to attract more doctors to country medicine and improve the quality of rural health. The scheme was named after the founder of the world’s first flying doctor service which serviced remote Australian communities for more than 70 years. These scholarships are available to Australian citizens or permanent residents who are enrolled in accredited medical courses (Yes, this does include Adelaide Uni Med!).These scholarships are mutually beneficial for both the medical students and the communities they go to. The scholarship provides medical students with a career experience in the bush, who hopefully in return will commit time and effort by contributing to the health outcomes for rural and remote Australia. It consists of a grant given to medical students of all year levels, enthusiastic about rural health, to spend two weeks of their annual holidays out on a rural practice placement, with a country general practitioner. You, as a student, get to experience the diverse challenges of rural practice, sample the rewards of country life, participate in social activities and other local events, and appreciate the local community.This is an excellent scholarship that is praised by it’s recipients. If you are interested, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine website at http://www.acrrm.org.au is the best place for obtaining the most up to date information.
Below is a document written by a student with advice for the written application. This is in no way guaranteeing an interview or a placement. It hasn’t been read by ACRRM nor endorsed by them. It’s just some friendly advice.
“John Flynn Placement Programs”
Rural Australia Medical Undergraduate Scholarships (RAMUS)
The RAMUS scholarship scheme is about giving rural students who gain entrance to medicine access to the same opportunities for pursuing a university education as their urban peers. The scheme was actually set up after research showed that students from rural backgrounds are far more likely to practise in rural areas once their studies are complete compared with their urban counterparts.The RAMUS scholarship is worth around $10,000 p.a. for Australian citizens or permanent residents living in a rural area for at least 5 of the past 12 years. For more information visit the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) website at www.ruralhealth.org.au.
AMSA Rural & Indigenous Bursaries
The Australian Medical Students Association recognises and encourages students who choose to undertake their elective in a rural, remote or Indigenous community and provide three annual Rural and Indigenous elective Bursaries to the value of $1000 each to help with the costs, planning and activities of the elective. For further information visit the AMSA website (www.amsa.org.au) or email rural@amsa.org.au.