Australia guide · Scholarships
Scholarships in Australia for Nepali students
There are two kinds, and they're very different. Australia Awards is the Australian Government's fully funded master's scholarship for Nepali citizens living in Nepal; the next round opens in early 2027. Everything else is mostly university scholarships, which usually take 10% to 30% off tuition. Full scholarships for a bachelor's are close to non-existent.
Written bySushma Karki, Senior counsellorHandles Australia and Finland files, from offer letter to visa.
Checked byRabindra Joshi, Head of complianceChecks every money and visa page against the official source.
Published · 5 min read
Australian scholarships at a glance
- Australia Awards
- Full funding for a master's; next round opens early 2027
- University scholarships
- Usually 10% to 30% off tuition, some 50% for top marks
- Research degrees
- Research Training Program: tuition and often a living stipend
- For a bachelor's
- Tuition discounts only, almost never full funding
- Effect on the visa
- You show less money for tuition, not for living costs
Checked 19 October 2026 on the Australia Awards Nepal site, Study Australia and university scholarship pages.
Australia Awards, the fully funded one
Australia Awards Scholarships are funded by the Australian Government for development, not to fill university places. In Nepal they're for a master's degree in priority sectors, and they pay for nearly everything.
| Point | What it means |
|---|---|
| Who can apply | Nepali citizens over 18, living in Nepal and applying from Nepal |
| Level | Master's degree |
| Subjects | Priority development sectors, such as climate change, disaster risk reduction, economic development, education, governance, and gender equality, disability and social inclusion |
| English | IELTS Academic 6.5 with no band below 6.0, PTE Academic 58 with 50 in each skill, or TOEFL iBT 84 with 21 in each section |
| What it covers | Full tuition, return air travel, an establishment allowance, a contribution to living expenses and health cover |
| After the course | You must leave Australia and return home for at least 2 years |
| When to apply | The 2027 round ran from 1 February to 30 April 2026. The next round opens in early 2027 |
It's competitive, and it's for people building a career in Nepal. Selection looks at your work, the sector you serve and what you'll do when you come back. If your plan is to settle in Australia, the 2-year return rule makes this the wrong scholarship.
University scholarships, the common kind
Most Australian universities have scholarships for international students, and these are what most Nepali students actually get. They're usually a percentage off tuition, and many are given automatically with the offer letter.
- Size: usually 10% to 30% off tuition. A few universities offer 50% for very high marks.
- How to get one: many are assessed with your application; some need a short separate form. Ask for it in the same email as your application.
- Keeping it: most need you to pass every subject or keep a credit average. Fail a semester and it can stop.
- Regional campuses: some regional universities have run Destination Australia scholarships worth up to AUD 15,000 a year. Check whether your university still offers one for 2027, because the funding rounds have changed.
A scholarship given to every international applicant is a discount, not a reward. That's fine, but compare the fee after the discount, not the size of the percentage.
Research master's and PhD scholarships
For a research master's or a PhD, the Research Training Program (RTP) is funded by the Australian Government and run by each university. International students can apply. An RTP scholarship covers tuition and often pays a living stipend.
Places are competitive. Most go to applicants with a strong master's, a research record and a supervisor who has agreed to take them. Write to supervisors before you apply.
What a scholarship actually saves you
A 20% scholarship sounds large. Here's what it does to a typical first year.
| Item | No scholarship | 20% scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition, first year | AUD 36,000 | AUD 28,800 |
| Living costs to show for the visa | AUD 29,710 | AUD 29,710 |
| Total to show for tuition and living | AUD 65,710 | AUD 58,510 |
| In rupees | About Rs 69.6 lakh | About Rs 62 lakh |
The scholarship saves about Rs 7.6 lakh, but you still need about Rs 62 lakh. It lowers the tuition you must show for the visa, because you show the fee after the scholarship, with the scholarship letter. It doesn't lower the AUD 29,710 for living costs. See bank balance for an Australian student visa for how the money file works.
When a scholarship won't make Australia work
Be honest about this before you apply. If your family can only manage Australia with a full scholarship, a bachelor's there isn't realistic, because full bachelor's scholarships almost don't exist.
- For a bachelor's on a tight budget, a public university in Germany costs about Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for the first year, and Finland cuts tuition for many Nepali students. Our cheapest countries guide compares all 10.
- For a funded master's, apply for Australia Awards if your career is in Nepal, and look at UK scholarships such as Chevening alongside it.
- Anyone promising you a guaranteed scholarship is selling you something. Universities decide, and they put it in writing.
If Australia is still the plan, our Australia page has every fee and step from Nepal, and the full cost breakdown shows where a scholarship fits.
