Centre for Social Impact Scholarship 2026

Established in 2014, the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) at Swinburne University of Technology is a highly industry-engaged, practice-oriented research and teaching centre, based within Swinburne’s School of Business, Law and Entrepreneurship (SoBLE) and is one of four university-based nodes of the highly respected CSI national network.

CSI Swinburne is focused on people and technology working together for a better world, exploring the intersection between social entrepreneurship and technology, in areas such as social enterprise, social business and social finance; community services innovation; employment access and equity; and impact and evaluation and measurement.

Since 2014, CSI National has awarded more than $1 million in social impact scholarships to changemakers around Australia.  At Swinburne University of Technology, these scholarships provide fee support for individuals who are dedicated to making a positive difference in the world through the completion of CSI Swinburne’s Graduate Certificate of Social Impact course or the Master of Business Administration (Social Impact).

If you’re someone who’s looking to make a positive difference in the world, this scholarship offers an opportunity to take the first step toward realising your potential and creating meaningful social change.

The scholarship is open to students who are commencing or completing Swinburne’s Graduate Certificate of Social Impact or the Master of Business Administration (Social Impact) in 2026.

The following courses offered by Swinburne University of Technology:

• Graduate Certificate of Social Impact 
• Master of Business Administration (Social Impact)

To be eligible for the Centre for Social Impact scholarship applicants must:

1. Meet the following criteria:
   • be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, an Australian permanent resident or holder of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa
2. Meet the following enrolment criteria:
   • be a Swinburne student in 2026 commencing or completing the Graduate Certificate of Social Impact course or Master of Business Administration (Social Impact)
   • enrolled full time or part time in required eligible course
   • studying on campus
3. Submit a written statement (max. 500 words) or short video** (no more than 2 minutes) addressing the following points:
   • Please tell us about the impact you would like to have on the world and how completing a course in Social Impact at Swinburne University of Technology will help you to achieve that impact. You may like to consider providing details of your previous experience as it contributes to your ability to fully leverage the learnings from the course in future
     
     **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..
4. Submit a written reference outlining your suitability for the scholarship
   • Character reference - from a person competent to supply a character reference such as a current or past employer, community leader, sporting or extra curriculator activity coach, a person competent to supply a character reference.  
5. Provide any other supporting evidence demonstrating the commitment to addressing social issues

Six CSI National Scholarships will be available in 2026 and valued as follows:

• Graduate Certificate of Social Impact -  up to $5,000, with $1,250 applied towards tuition fees for each enrolled unit.
• Master of Business Administration (Social Impact) - up to $10,000 applied towards tuition fees 

(Students cannot be in receipt of another scholarship towards the same program of study (ie Graduate Certificate of Social Impact.)

Applicants should complete an online application form and submit with all supporting documentation. Application close 1 February 2026.

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

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