Scholarship details
Study levels
Undergraduate and Postgraduate
Student type
Future students and Current students
Study area
All study areas
Eligibility criteria
Sporting excellence
Citizenship
Australian
Application dates
- Applications open
- 7 September 2026
- Applications close
- 8 January 2027
What you'll receive
You'll receive a scholarship valued up to $10,000, paid over two years.
QUT Sport Scholarships have additional benefits, including:
- automatic membership to QUT's College of Excellence and Elite Sport Program
- access to personal and professional development opportunities
- access to nutrition, optometry, podiatry, sports psychology services and more.
Eligibility
To be considered for a QUT Elite Sport Scholarship, you must:
- be an Australian citizen
- be starting a QUT undergraduate or postgraduate degree for the first time or be a continuing QUT student admitted and enrolled in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree
- hold a minimum course grade point average (GPA) of 4.0 or above if you are a current student
- be representing either an Australian state or national sporting organisation, at under-age or open levels, in a sport recognised within Olympic, Paralympic or Commonwealth Games, or in a recognised high performance pathway program with a professional player league (e.g. Australian Football League, National Rugby League, cricket etc.)
- provide confirmation of performance level equivalent to one of the following levels:
- minimum of Talent 1 (T1) athlete categorisation level within Australian Sports Commission’s FTEM framework
- minimum of a current 'Emerging' Athlete Categorisation with written verification from your national or state sporting organisation (NSO or SSO), the AIS, a state institute or state academy support network (SIS/SAS)
- written support of your pathway status in the FTEM framework from your state/national sporting association or professional league club (e.g. T2, T3 etc)
- have no anti-doping rule violations or match fixing offences at any time
For more information about the FTEM framework, visit the AIS website or contact your national or state sporting organisation.
This scholarship is not available to:
- students currently receiving a scholarship, excluding equity scholarships
- diploma students.
How to apply
Complete the online application and attach all relevant supporting documentation. Late applications will not be considered.
You'll need to verify selection, results and achievement in your sporting CV. You must provide:
- a one page cover letter telling us about your background, reasons for application and future sporting goals
- an overview of squad selections and/or events competed at in reverse chronological order for the previous three years (e.g. 2026, 2025, 2024 etc.) including placing and results where relevant
- copies of your official team selection notifications (on official letterhead or official email threads)
- supporting references from your club, league, state or national sporting organisation.
Applications will not be considered without at least one supporting written reference from a relevant coach and/or sport official from your sport which outlines your development status and performance prospects.
If you have any questions, contact us via email elitesport@qut.edu.au.
Complete the application form
To be considered for this scholarship, you will need to submit your application by the close date.
Apply for a 2026 QUT Sport Scholarship
What happens next?
All applications are subject to a competitive selection process and only one application will be considered per athlete. Your application will be assessed by the QUT Sport Scholarship Committee in consultation with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) and other sports scholarship partners as appropriate. Selection criteria include individual sporting performance merit and the quality of the supporting documentation provided. Generally, the committee will consider the athlete’s performance record, whether the sport is recognised by the Australian Sports Commission and whether the sport has 'funded' or 'non-funded' status with the Australian Sports Commission. Athletes, coaches or officials in sports that sit outside Australian Sports Commission recognised sports can still apply and be considered. These applicants will need an outstanding performance record in the last 12 months with supporting references to be competitive with athletes from ASC recognised sports.
Scholarship offers will be made from February each year.
Due to the large volume of applications received, we'll only notify students who are successful in being offered a scholarship.
Conditions
To keep your QUT Elite Sport Scholarship:
- you must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 4.0 or higher in each semester
- you are encouraged to represent QUT at a minimum of two targeted events or appearances each year, which may include:
- speaking at QUT Sport events
- contesting the National University Championships (if your sport is contested)
- participating in other elite sport program projects/events.
You can:
- take approved leave of absence from your course in accordance with the QUT Leave of Absence policy. Scholarship payments will be suspended during periods of leave
- concurrently receive a QUT Equity Scholarship, if eligible.
You can't:
- defer your scholarship offer. If you defer your course, you will need to reapply for the QUT Elite Sport Scholarship the following year
- hold another merit scholarship concurrently with this scholarship. If you have any questions about holding other scholarships, contact us at scholarships@qut.edu.au
About the scholarship
We are proud to support elite athletes, coaches and officials across a wide range of sports by offering sport scholarships annually for both new and existing students.
Sport scholarships are spread over a number of categories to support athletes at all levels of performance. This includes talented sports people who are still developing and progressing in their chosen sport all the way through to high-performance level athletes representing Australia at national and international levels.
Testimonials
Top of his game
'Studying at QUT has allowed me to pursue my passion of mathematics and physics in structural civil engineering, while also being able to compete at the highest level in swimming. I've always believed that to be at the top of my game I have to have a balanced life, and that involves my study. I'm extremely passionate about both swimming and engineering, and being a part of QUT has allowed me to do both at the highest of levels.'
Jack McLoughlin
QUT Elite Athlete and Olympic Silver Medallist Tokyo, Dual Olympian 2016-2020