Ethel Swinburne Society Scholarship in Nursing 2026

The Ethel Swinburne Society Scholarship in Nursing is generously funded by members of the Ethel Swinburne Society to support undergraduate nursing students. Ethel Swinburne was a philanthropist and champion for women pursuing an education at a time when they were encouraged to leave school and become homemakers.

Together with her husband George, they founded the Eastern Suburbs Technical College in 1908. The College went on to achieve university status in 1992 and was named Swinburne University of Technology in their honour. Our bequest society is named in Ethel’s memory and the members are generous in their support of Swinburne students.

The scholarship is available to a commencing student undertaking a Bachelor of Nursing degree at Swinburne University of Technology and who is facing educational disadvantage. Preference will be given to Indigenous students.

This scholarship is valued at up to $22,500 with $7,500 paid annually for up to three years.

The Bachelor of Nursing degree offered by Swinburne University of Technology.

To be eligible for the Ethel Swinburne Society Scholarship in Nursing, applicants must:

1. Meet the following criteria:
   • be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident or Australian permanent resident with Humanitarian Visa
2. Meet the following enrolment criteria​​​​:
   • be a commencing first year student at Swinburne in Semester 1, 2026
   • enrolled full-time in an eligible course (see courses eligible in section above)
   • studying on-campus

3. Provide evidence of educational disadvantage, which may fall under the categories listed below. To assist you, we’ve included a link to the VTAC website for further guidance on preparing your evidence.

   Personal information and location
   Financial hardship
   Living with a disability or medical condition
   Difficult family and life circumstances

4. Submit a personal statement of up to 500 words or 2 minute video addressing:
   • your interest and commitment to study
   • how this scholarship will help you achieve your educational goals
      
   • Please upload your video to cloud based storage (google drive/one drive/drop box) and provide the link in a MS Word or PDF document. Ensure the video is downloadable by anyone and not access restricted..
5. Provide a current CV outlining any community participation, extra-curricular activities, service to the community, sporting participation and/or leadership experience
    
6. Provide a written reference from a teacher, community leader, or employer.
   Note: referees cannot be a family member or friend.

The scholarship is valued at $7,500 per annum for up to three years, paid bi-annually.

Applicants should complete an online application form and submit with all supporting documentation by 15 March 2026. 

Incomplete applications will not be considered. For assistance when completing your application, please view the Scholarship Application Help Guide.

Fees and Scholarships Team, Student Administration.
scholarship@swin.edu.au