Melbourne International Undergraduate Scholarship 2027: 225 Awards With a 20% Fee Cut for Indians

The University of Melbourne has opened 225 undergraduate scholarships for the 2027 intake. The scholarships office confirmed a 20 percent tuition sponsorship for Indian applicants. Semester 1, 2027 applications close on 30 November 2026. This replaces the earlier 25 percent one-year tuition waiver format. Melbourne is a top Australian intake destination for Indian students. The reset lands as Canberra has tightened international student caps. Auto-awarded funding now weighs more in every affordability decision.

• The 225 places open to citizens under a USD 10,000 GDP per capita ceiling. India’s GDP per capita sits near US$2,700 per World Bank data. Indian applicants qualify by nationality alone.
• The 20 percent fee sponsorship runs for the full bachelor’s degree. It replaces the older 25 percent single-year waiver.
• No separate scholarship form is required. Applicants holding an unconditional undergraduate offer are auto-considered.

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What Changes for Undergraduate Scholarships From 2027

The redesign has two moving parts. First, the annual intake expands to 225 undergraduate scholarships for the 2027 admission year. Second, the award now runs as a flat 20 percent fee sponsorship for the full degree, not a single-year 25 percent cut.

A parallel award, the Melbourne International Excellence Scholarship (Undergraduate), matches the same 20 percent structure from 2027 onwards. Both are merit-based. Both are auto-awarded on the strength of the admission application, not a separate form.

How Indian Students Qualify for the 20% Fee Sponsorship

The citizenship test uses World Bank GDP per capita data. Any nationality under US$10,000 qualifies. India’s most recent World Bank figure sits well below that mark. This makes the scholarship a passport-level qualifier for Indian applicants. The other stated tests are:

• An offer for an Overseas Fee place in a bachelor’s degree for that year.
• Secondary school completed outside Australia, or an Australian foundation programme.
• No prior tertiary study, apart from year-12 extension work.

Class XII CBSE, ICSE and state-board students clear the schooling test. Students already enrolled in an Indian bachelor’s do not.

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What the 20% Tuition Cut Saves in Rupees

Undergraduate tuition at Melbourne varies by faculty. Arts and commerce degrees sit around A$50,000 per year in the university’s published bands. Science, biomedicine and design run higher. A 20 percent sponsorship at A$50,000 is A$10,000 off per year.

At ₹67.20 per Australian dollar (August 2026), the annual saving translates as follows:

Over a three-year degree, the sponsorship removes between ₹20 lakh and ₹23 lakh from tuition. That is roughly the interest cost of a mid-tier education loan over seven years.

Research Scholarships Stay the Bigger Pot

The undergraduate awards sit alongside a much larger graduate research programme. The university funds around 600 Graduate Research Scholarships each year. Those come with full tuition, a living allowance of A$39,500 per year and academic-expense support. For Indian students at the master’s-by-research or PhD level, the cost math is very different. Auto-consideration for the Melbourne Graduate Research Scholarships closes on 31 October for the following year’s intake.

Eligibility rests on four tests. Applicants must be citizens of a country with GDP per capita of USD 10,000 or less on World Bank data, which covers India, hold an offer for an Overseas Fee place in a bachelor's degree commencing that year, have completed secondary school outside Australia or an Australian foundation program, and have no prior tertiary study beyond year 12 extension subjects. 

How Do Indian Students Apply for 2027 Scholarships?

There is no standalone form for the undergraduate scholarship. Applicants apply for the degree. The scholarships office runs the consideration in the background.

1. Submit the University of Melbourne undergraduate admission application before 30 November 2026 for the Semester 1, 2027 intake.
2. Meet the Overseas Fee tuition classification and Melbourne’s English-language bar. Standard IELTS is 6.5 overall with no band below 6.0.
3. Attach class XII marks or equivalent secondary school documents. Predicted grades are accepted for early applicants.
4. Accept the unconditional offer once issued. Scholarship consideration is triggered on offer acceptance, not application submission.
5. Watch the university offer portal for the scholarship award notification. It usually arrives with the enrolment confirmation.

Late applications can still land in the July 2027 (Semester 2) intake. Scholarship windows there are tighter and popular courses fill first. Indian applicants targeting Semester 1, 2027 have a fixed window to file the admission form. The 30 November 2026 cut-off closes both the admission window and the auto-consideration path for all 225 undergraduate awards. Missing it pushes the next real shot to the Semester 2, 2027 intake.