Great medicine scholarships for postgrads

To help offset some of the postgraduate study costs, we’ve come up with a list of excellent scholarships you can apply for in medicine, including but not limited to:

• Anaesthesiology
• General practice
• Internal medicine
• Obstetrics and gynaecology
• Paediatrics
• Psychiatry
• Radiology
• Surgery

If you’re intimidated by the prospect of scholarship applications, fear not! We’ve written a free, comprehensive guide to postgraduate scholarships and getting selected that you can reference throughout this article. If you’d rather not go elsewhere for now, here are just a couple tidbits from it that’ll help you understand some of the common terminology in relation to scholarship applications:

• There are three main types of scholarships.
  • Merit-based scholarships rely on some combination of grades, professional or extra-curricular achievements to succeed.
  • Need-based scholarships adopt their namesake in only being given to those of greatest need. This is commonly in the form of financial hardship, but can be in reference to coming from a disadvantaged background or having a disability.
  • Research-based scholarships are often discipline-specific endeavours that requires applicants to undergo research in a particular area.
• Written statements require a short blurb about yourself, with your achievements as supporting evidence rather than being centre stage.
• CVs or resumes put your achievements first in fairly terse language.
• Professional references are former bosses or professors.
• Personal references are family members, friends or community leaders, the latter being preferable.
• Academic transcripts are official or unofficial documents provided by your university. When an application asks for these if you haven’t yet finished undergrad, an unofficial transcript will normally do just fine.

Without further adieu, here are some great funding opportunities in medicine.

Peter and Suzanne Davidson Scholarship - $7,000 + GP Placement

This is a merit-based scholarship for third-year students studying a Doctor of Medicine at the University of Sydney. There are three things you need to do to apply:

• Write a 1,000 word statement demonstrating your interest in community primary care and general care
• Submit your academic transcript
• Take part in an interview

You can boost your chances of obtaining this scholarship by having prior involvement in any general practice organisation, but this isn’t strictly necessary.

Leukemia Foundation Scholarships - Honours, PhD and Postdoctoral - $40,000 pa

This collection of eight merit-based scholarships are valued at up to $120,000 each for a total of $960,000 up for grabs. As such, they require significant input beyond the norm to apply and subsequently maintain the scholarship. Some of the tasks you have to complete include:

• Starting a Doctor of Medicine
• Submitting a report to HSANZ during or after your doctorate
• Provide annual progress reports to HSANZ
• Cooperate in present and future Leukemia Foundation promotion
• Become a member of the HSANZ

Although the amount of funding you stand to gain is tremendous, just applying is a serious commitment. Think carefully about your career ambitions and what you plan on doing with your degree before you apply.

John Clauscen Murray Postgraduate Scholarship in Bowel Cancer Research - $8,000

This is a research-based scholarship in the eponymous field, with just about any medical specialisation being eligible to apply. This is to be used strictly in conjunction with the Department of Education and Training’s Research Training Program (RTP), so applying for that first is a prerequisite to this. Applicants must also be studying at the University of Western Australia. To apply, students must use their iAthena login and fill out the online application, the details of which are only visible to UWA students.

Abbie Basson Sarcoma Research Scholarship - $20,000

This is another top-up scholarship to be used in conjunction with the RTP, but that doesn’t make it any less valuable. Applicants are assessed on merit, but this is primarily a research scholarship into the cellular and molecular biology of sarcoma, a type of tumour group. It’s required to therefore make this the topic of your PhD.

To apply, you must:

• Fill out the online iAthena form here
• Send five (5) copies of this printed application form with a 250 word statement on why you’re interested in sarcoma to Dr Simon Carroll

Sir John Loewenthal Scholarship - $20,000

This merit-based scholarship is for students in a Master of Surgery by coursework or research, as well as a Master of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy majoring in Surgery. Applicants must be either citizens or permanent residents of the following countries to apply:

• Australia
• Hong Kong
• New Zealand

To apply, you need to provide a compelling research topic that the selection committee approves of, an academic transcript, two confidential academic references and the more intangible quality of “displaying an aptitude for surgery”.

The PostgradAustralia Scholarship - $2,750

Our very own scholarship is a great way to top up an existing scholarship or work independently to offset some expenses. We don’t look at GPA or residency status. All we want is for you to show us your passion for your line of study through two means:

• A written statement of about 500 words.
• A creative social media post at your discretion. This can be a poem, picture, video or anything else.

The comparative ease of applying makes this a great opportunity.

Bob and Nancy Edwards Scholarship - $30,000

This is a research-based scholarship for commencing masters by research or PhD students at the University of Sydney. Unlike other scholarships associated with the Research Training Program, this one merely requires that you apply rather than already be in it.

The focus of this scholarship is cancer, paediatrics or some combination of the two. As such, applicants must already be planning to undergo research into these. You’ll be evaluated on previous research experience and the strength of your research proposal.

As you can see, there are several medicine scholarships that require you to already have access to the RTP stipend, which we recommend looking at and applying for to open up a lot more doors. That said, students of medicine still have ready access to the wealth of general scholarships that are available across all disciplines. You can browse these here, which we recommend you do alongside our guide to postgraduate scholarships. No matter what you choose to apply for, good luck!