Australian Catholic University (ACU) International Student Scholarships: Merit, New-Program and Research Awards Explained

Australian Catholic University (ACU) does not run a single international scholarship — it runs several, aimed at different situations: general academic merit, students commencing specific new programs, students from particular regions, and research candidates. Mixing these up is the most common mistake applicants make, because the eligibility, value and application process differ meaningfully between them. This guide separates the categories so you know which page to actually check, and roughly what to expect before you go and confirm the current figures yourself.

Why we are not printing a single “ACU scholarship is worth $X” number

Scholarship percentages, eligible courses and deadlines at ACU — like almost every Australian university — are set per intake and reviewed regularly. Quoting a specific dollar figure or percentage here and letting it sit unchanged on the page for months would do you a disservice, because the number that was accurate when this article was written may not be the number available for your intake. What we can do is explain the categories clearly enough that you know exactly what to search for on ACU’s official scholarships pages, and what questions to ask if you contact ACU’s international admissions team directly.

Category 1: general merit-based tuition scholarships

ACU has offered a merit-based scholarship that reduces annual tuition fees for academically strong international applicants, generally assessed automatically as part of your application rather than through a separate form. This is the broadest category — it is not tied to a specific course or region, but to your academic record.

Category 2: new-program tuition scholarships

Separately, ACU has run scholarships tied specifically to students commencing selected newly launched programs — historically this has included courses such as the combined computer and data science dual degree and the Bachelor of Business and its double-degree variants. These new-program scholarships tend to offer a larger reduction than the general merit award, reflecting ACU’s push to build enrolment in courses without an established track record yet. Because “new program” status is time-limited by definition — a course stops being new after its first few intakes — confirm on ACU’s current scholarships page whether the specific course you’re applying to is still covered.

Category 3: campus- and discipline-specific scholarships

ACU has also run scholarships targeted at specific campuses or workforce needs — for example, tuition support tied to sport and health-related courses at the Brisbane campus, and support for nursing students at the Ballarat campus. These are narrower in scope than the general merit award and change more frequently, so they are worth checking specifically if your intended course and campus happen to match one of ACU’s current workforce-development priorities.

Category 4: regional scholarships

ACU has offered a scholarship guaranteeing a tuition fee reduction for the full course duration for eligible students from Latin America, the Pacific Islands, or Timor-Leste. If you hold citizenship or residency connected to one of these regions, this is worth checking even if you don’t otherwise fit the general merit criteria, since eligibility here is based on origin rather than academic ranking alone.

Category 5: research scholarships (PhD and HDR)

For Higher Degree Research candidates, ACU automatically assesses international applicants for a Tuition Fee Scholarship as part of the application process — successful international applicants who are not awarded this scholarship are required to pay full tuition fees, so it is worth understanding this is competitive rather than guaranteed. Separately, ACU has run a more prestigious PhD scholarship offering a small number of outstanding international applicants a full tuition waiver plus an indexed stipend and allowances for health cover and relocation. See our companion guide on applying for a PhD at ACU for how the research application and scholarship assessment fit together.

How to actually check what applies to you

1. Identify your course level and course — undergraduate, postgraduate coursework, or HDR, since the scholarship categories above map to different application processes.
2. Check ACU’s current international scholarships page for your intake year, since ACU has run separate scholarship listings by commencing year in the past (for example, a distinct scholarships-2026 page).
3. Note whether the scholarship is automatically assessed (as with the general merit award and the HDR Tuition Fee Scholarship) or requires a separate application — this differs by category and is worth confirming before you assume you’re covered.
4. Check the deadline explicitly. Scholarship deadlines can fall earlier than the general course application deadline, and missing a scholarship-specific date can mean losing eligibility even if your course application is still open.

What tends to disqualify an otherwise strong applicant

Two patterns come up repeatedly when international applicants miss out on an ACU scholarship they were realistically eligible for. The first is applying after the scholarship-specific deadline has passed, even though the course application itself is still open — scholarship deadlines are not always the same as course application deadlines, and this is the single most avoidable reason for missing out. The second is assuming a scholarship applies automatically when it actually requires a separate expression of interest or supporting statement — categories like the regional scholarships and some campus- or discipline-specific awards have historically required more than just ticking a box on the standard application. If you are applying for anything beyond the general merit-based award, treat “does this need a separate step” as a question to actively confirm rather than assume.

Comparing scholarship value against total course cost

A scholarship percentage on its own doesn’t tell you very much without the underlying fee figure to apply it against — a 20% reduction on a higher-cost course can be worth more in absolute terms than a 25% reduction on a lower-cost one. When you’re comparing scholarship offers across different courses or even different universities, work out the actual dollar figure over the full course duration, not just the headline percentage, and factor in whether the scholarship applies for one year or the full course — some scholarships are one-off, others are guaranteed for the full enrolment period, and that distinction materially changes the total value.

How UNILINK can help

UNILINK’s Australian onshore team provides free application support for eligible bachelor’s and master’s applications to Australian universities, including ACU — and as part of that, we help you work out which scholarship category realistically applies to your situation before you apply, rather than after. If you’re weighing ACU against other options, our guide to narrowing down a shortlist across three tiers of university covers how scholarship value should factor into that decision alongside course fit.

FAQ

Q1: Do I need to apply separately for ACU’s scholarships?

It depends on the category. General merit-based tuition scholarships and the HDR Tuition Fee Scholarship have historically been assessed automatically as part of the standard application. Course- or region-specific scholarships may require a separate step. Confirm the current process for each scholarship on ACU’s official scholarships page.

Q2: Can I receive more than one ACU scholarship at the same time?

Scholarship stacking rules vary and are set out in each scholarship’s specific terms and conditions. Do not assume scholarships combine — check the terms for each award you’re being considered for.

Q3: Are new-program scholarships only available for the first intake?

New-program scholarships are typically tied to a course’s status as newly launched, which is time-limited. Check ACU’s current scholarships page to confirm whether your intended intake is still covered for the specific course you’re applying to.

Q4: Does the PhD scholarship cover living costs, not just tuition?

ACU’s more prestigious PhD scholarship has included an indexed stipend plus allowances for health cover and relocation, on top of a tuition waiver — but this is a competitive, limited-place award, distinct from the standard Tuition Fee Scholarship that is automatically assessed for all international HDR applicants.

Q5: Where do I find the exact current percentages and deadlines?

On ACU’s official international student scholarships page and, where relevant, ACU’s HDR scholarships pages — these are the only sources that reflect the current intake’s terms.

Sources

• ACU international student scholarships: https://www.acu.edu.au/study-at-acu/fees-and-scholarships/international-student-scholarships
• ACU 2026 international student scholarships: https://www.acu.edu.au/international-students/scholarships2026
• ACU Stipend Scholarship (Graduate Research School): https://www.acu.edu.au/research-and-enterprise/graduate-research-school/scholarships/acu-stipend-scholarship

Scholarship categories described above were cross-checked against ACU’s own scholarship pages in August 2026, but exact percentages, eligible courses and deadlines change by intake and are not reproduced here as fixed figures — confirm current terms directly on ACU’s official scholarships pages before you apply.