Emeritus Professor John Jackson Scholarship

This scholarship provides up to $25,000 per year ($5,000 towards tuition fees and up to $20,000 paid as a stipend) for the standard duration of your program.

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must:

• be an Australian citizen
• be enrolling full time in semester 1 and 2 in your first year of a diploma, advanced diploma or undergraduate degree program at RMIT in 2023
• have completed Year 12 of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) the year previous to your enrolment at RMIT
• be able to demonstrate financial hardship such as:
  • receiving a government tested low income benefit or having a Centrelink Health Care Card
• be able to demonstrate circumstance/s which impact your ability to study such as:
  • living with a disability, long-term medical condition or identify as neurodiverse
  • experiencing personal/family/social difficulties
  • be from an interstate or rural/regional area and moving/moved to Melbourne to study at RMIT
  • have previously/are currently living in foster/kinship care or are a ward of the state
  • be from an under-represented background such as
    • Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
    • were born overseas, are from a non-English background and recently migrated to Australia
    • current or former refugee
    • completed secondary school at a School Network Access Program school
• be able to demonstrate academic potential/merit
• not have previously been enrolled in further education.

It is preferred that you apply direct to RMIT for this scholarship.

Direct to RMIT applications

The online application form will be made available here when applications open. 

VTAC applications

The online application form will be made available here when applications open. 

Supporting documentation

Before you begin your application, please visit Supporting Your Application for more information about supporting your application with evidence and answering application questions. Applications without supporting documents will not be considered.

Application questions

If you are shortlisted for the scholarship, you will be contacted to answer further application questions. Please check the email address you nominate in your scholarship application form at least twice per week. It is expected that the online application will take approximately thirty minutes to complete. The main application questions are listed below to allow you time to prepare your answers in advance prior to starting the online application. 

• What motivated you to choose your RMIT program? Include the steps you have taken to achieve your educational goals.
• What are your future plans and career aspirations?
• What current challenges do you face in your studies and how will a scholarship help you to overcome this?

Find out more about applying for scholarships.

Applications for 2023 are now closed.

It is anticipated that this scholarship will next be offered for Semester 1, 2026, with applications opening August 2025.

Applications for 2023 are now closed.

View the Coursework Scholarships Office’s terms and conditions (PDF, 698KB).

The Emeritus Professor John Jackson Scholarship was created to provide support to students who have experienced significant family/social and economic difficulties and challenges but who are passionate in their desire for tertiary education.

The scholarship offers assistance with fees in order to minimise a recipients’ tuition debt later in their career, as well as a substantial allowance to assist with everyday experiences such as transport costs and student requirements such as text books. This allowance is designed specifically to minimise if not eliminate the time a recipient’s must devote to earning supplementary income during their university course.

We welcome all eligible students to apply, and encourage applications from students who:

• are LGBTIQ
• are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders
• have been born overseas, be from a non-English speaking background and recently migrated to Australia, including former Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders
• have a long-term medical condition or disability which impacts study
• are relocating from regional Victoria to study at RMIT
• have completed secondary education at a School Network Access Program school
• are experiencing difficult family circumstances which impact their education.

Emeritus Professor John Jackson had a distinguished career at RMIT. Professor Jackson was the former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Resources), a position he held from 1999 to 2003. He was later appointed Emeritus Professor in 2004. Emeritus Professor Jackson saw the University grow as an international provider of educational excellence and established new territory in research.

Emeritus Professor Jackson was at the forefront of these endeavours and his legacy continues to this day. Though he sadly passed away in 2006, his vision was to provide assistance to students so they could undertake a tertiary education without worry of financial constraints.

RMIT University is honoured that Emeritus Professor Jackson has remembered the University and its students with his generous contribution. His gift will now live on by acknowledging student excellence and financial need.

Quotes from past recipients:

"This scholarship has changed my life as i was able to have amazing experiences that would have never occurred otherwise. I was able to do a subject in Ravenhall prison last year, attended a subject in Malaysia as well as do an internship in India. All of which would have never been possible without the scholarship." - Bachelor of Criminology and Psychology student

Find out how to contact the Coursework Scholarships Office.