Scholarships on offer for prospective teachers
Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships
Applications for the latest round of Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships are now open for prospective students looking to commence an undergraduate or postgraduate teaching qualification in 2025.
The Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships Program supports new undergraduate and postgraduate teaching students to meet the costs of their study in an accredited teaching degree.
In exchange, recipients will be required to undertake a commitment to teach in government schools or government-run early learning settings after graduating from their degree.
Scholarships of up to $40,000 per student are available for new full-time undergraduate teaching students (up to $10,000 per year for a four-year qualification) and up to $20,000 for new full-time postgraduate teaching students (up to $10,000 per year for a two-year qualification).
Eligibility
Applications are strongly encouraged from high-achieving school leavers, mid-career professionals, First Nations peoples, people for whom English is an additional language or dialect, people with disability, people from regional, rural or remote locations, or people from low socio-economic backgrounds, who aspire to embark on a rewarding career in teaching.
Scholarships are available over five rounds from 2024 to 2028 with up to 1000 scholarships per year to be offered. Round 1 scholarships have already been awarded with 16 applications awarded to students who will be studying an education program with CQUniversity.
To be eligible to apply for a Round 2 scholarship you must be a person living in Australia who is:
- an Australian citizen
- a permanent resident
- a holder of a permanent humanitarian visa; or
- a New Zealand citizen living in Australia; and
- you will be studying full-time and commencing an accredited teaching degree in the first semester or study period of 2025.
A rewarding career
CQUniversity’s Head of College for Education, Associate Professor Rickie Fisher said the Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship program offers a great opportunity for prospective teachers to gain generous financial support to help cover the cost of their education studies.
“The Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships are significant and have the potential to greatly assist students with the cost of studies including tuition fees, study resources, and expenses associated with teaching practicals.
“I strongly encourage anyone looking to commence an undergraduate or postgraduate education course with CQUniversity to apply for one of the scholarships.
“Not only do programs such as this help with the cost of living and study costs, they also help students to succeed at university,” he said.
Assoc Prof Fisher also said there was a critical teacher shortage in Australia and encouraged everyone to consider the profession, no matter what stage of life they are in.
“Australia (especially regional Australia) needs more teachers and government and universities are working hard to attract more people to the profession.
“No matter what stage of life you are in, whether you are a recent school leaver or a mid-career professional, teaching is a rewarding career that allows you to make a difference in the life of others.”
Career outlook
Currently there are critical early childhood, primary, middle, secondary and special education teacher shortages across most states and territories of Australia. This means there are strong employment opportunities for graduate teachers across the nation. Some states also offer employment programs for pre-service teachers, allowing them to enter the classroom before they have completed their qualification.
The average teaching salary in Australia is around $89,000 per year, with graduate salaries ranging from $75,000 to $85,000 per year. Experienced teachers can earn up to $120,000 per year with management level staff earning even more.
Find out more
The Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships Program delivers on Action 2 under the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan to help attract high quality candidates into the teaching profession and to help address teacher workforce shortages.
For more information about education courses at CQUniversity visit the CQU website and search for education under ‘Find a Course’.
To find out more about Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships please visit the website for the Australian Department of Education or the CQUniversity Scholarships page.
