Scholarships

2025 New Colombo Plan Scholarship

At a glance

• You must be a current ECU undergraduate student to be eligible for this scholarship.
• Questions about this scholarship can be directed to international.office@ecu.edu.au.
• 2025 NCP Scholarship Program Guidelines
• 2025 NCP Scholarship Program Advice to Applicants

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the NCP scholarship you must:

• be an Australian citizen;
• be a current ECU student;
• be nominated by ECU (following the Expression of Interest process);
• be enrolled in and undertaking, until completion of all study components of the NCP Scholarship Program, at least one Bachelor Degree or Bachelor Honours Degree at ECU;
• be between 18 and 30 years of age (inclusive) for non-Indigenous applicants, or between 18 and 35 years of age (inclusive) for Indigenous applicants, on 1 January 2025;
• have completed at least one Semester at ECU at the time of applying;
• must be academically capable of successfully completing their proposed overseas study;
• intend to undertake a Scholarship Program at one of the 40 Indo-Pacific Host Locations;
• not be a previous recipient of an NCP Scholarship;
• not be an employee of the branch of DFAT that administers the NCP; and
• not already commenced or have planned to commence a study abroad or Exchange program.

To be eligible, your proposed Scholarship program must (unless otherwise approved by DFAT):

1. include at least one Study component (see Section 5.2 of the Guidelines) commencing within three months of the Scholarship program commencement date. All Study components must be confirmed by the Host institution prior to Program commencement.
2. be for a Scholarship term:
   • of between three and 19 months in duration, and
   • commence on or between 1 January 2025 and 15 December 2025, and
3. at all times during the Scholarship term, you must be undertaking either:
   • a full-time Study component
   • a full-time Internship component
   • a full-time Language training, or
   • a Permitted gap.

In addition, Scholarship programs may include:

• a part-time internship component (see Section 5.2.2) undertaken concurrently with a full-time study component or full-time language training component
• a part-time mentorship (see Section 5.2.3) undertaken concurrently with a full-time study component, full-time internship component or full-time language training, or
• a part-time language training component (see Section 5.2.4) undertaken concurrently with a full-time study component or full-time internship component.

Selection criteria

All applicants will be required to complete an online Expression of Interest, addressing four assessment criteria. (Expression of Interest Read only PDF Form)

How to apply

Applications for the NCP Scholarship are completed in 4 stages:

1. Complete an online Expression of Interest by 4th of September 2024. Expressions of interest will be assessed by an ECU panel and nominated to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
2. Nominated applicants will then submit a formal written application to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This application will require a risk assessment and referee reports.
3. Written applications will be assessed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, and shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview.
4. Scholarship outcomes will be announced by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Previous awardees

Jemima Dunn, ECU Performing Arts student and 2022 NCP Scholar, completed her Scholarship Program in Singapore. Read about how the NCP Scholarship is helping her to re-connect with the Indo-Pacific.

About the scholarship

Successful applicants for the Scholarship will be awarded a range of benefits, depending on the proposed Scholarship Program. These can include:

• In-country living allowance;
• Travel allowance;
• Language training grant;
• Host university tuition fees (where applicable)
• Access to a highly selective internship network
• Insurance
• A dedicated Case Manager

See 5.4 of the Guidelines more detailed information of the Scholarship benefits.

For more information

Before completing an Expression of Interest form you are strongly encouraged to read the 2025 NCP Scholarships Program Guidelines and advice to applicants for detailed information on this scholarship, processes and requirements.

If you have any questions, please contact international.office@ecu.edu.au.