Moondani Balluk research scholarships

Scholarships

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Research Scholarships

Victoria University recognises that Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people are under-represented in graduate research studies and encourages qualified Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander applicants to undertake their research studies at Victoria University.

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Research Scholarships are for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people wishing to undertake a research degree at Victoria University. Preference will be given to applicants for the Master of Research degree.

Applicants are encouraged to nominate a research-focus outline in their application.

• Annual stipend value: $48,691 per year (2026 rate)
• Tuition fees: covered by the Research Training Program

Aboriginal History Archive Research Scholarships

The Aboriginal History Archive Research Scholarships are granted to candidates with a strong understanding of the nature of community control to conduct independent and team-based research, which will contribute to the research project - Resetting the Record: Indigenous History, Truth and Justice - funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation.

Led by Professor Gary Foley, the overarching aim of the project is to unearth Indigenous history, stories, alternative narratives and learnings from the past, to engage communities, present into the public debate, provide materials for curricula, and, most importantly, make submissions to the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission in Victoria.

Participation in this project provides a unique opportunity to contribute to impactful research in Indigenous history, truth and justice.

• Annual stipend value: $48,691 per year (2026 rate)
• Tuition fees: covered by the Research Training Program

Foley Collection Research Scholarship

The Foley Collection Research Scholarship is to enable graduate research projects which use the Foley Collection and the Aboriginal History Archive – a selection of digital works from a major historic archive collected over the past 45 years by Aboriginal activist and academic Gary Foley.

It is part of a large-scale archive of print, audio visual and digital material currently housed at the Victoria University Moondani Balluk Academic Unit.

Applicants for the Foley Collection Graduate Research Scholarship can be domestic or international students. Domestic students will be given priority due to the nature of the projects.

• Annual stipend value: $48,691 per year (2026 rate)
• Tuition fees: covered by the Research Training Program.

Lisa Bellear Indigenous Research Scholarship

The Lisa Bellear PhD scholarship is granted to a promising Indigenous Australian researcher wishing to undertake a graduate research degree.

• Annual stipend value: $48,691 per year (2026 rate)
• Tuition fees: covered by the Research Training Program

Applicants for the Lisa Bellear Indigenous Research Scholarship must:

• be Australian citizens, or have been granted permanent resident status (this includes New Zealand citizens who are granted permanent residency status on arrival)
• be an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander.

There is normally only one scholarship awarded for Research Period 1 each year.

About Lisa Bellear

Lisa Bellear (1961-2006) was a Goernpil woman of the Noonuccal people of the Minjerribah, Queensland. She was a poet, photographer, activist, dramatist, comedian, broadcaster and academic. She lost her mother and connection to her family when she was only weeks old and overcame some of her personal grief and loss through her 'adoption' into the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Victoria, particularly the Harding family. She traced her biological family and went on to be an accomplished, caring and strong woman. Lisa was passionate about social change, she was always participating and contributing to campaigns and protests and always out on the streets with her camera.

Lisa graduated from The University of Melbourne in social work and was employed as an academic at The University of Melbourne, LaTrobe University and Victoria University. She wrote a book of poetry Dreaming in Urban Areas (UQP, 1996) and was a founding member of the Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Co-operative, the oldest Indigenous Theatre company in Australia. An avid photographer, Lisa took thousands of photographs over many years while she engaged in Aboriginal politics. She read at literary festivals, pubs and conferences across Australia and was published in literary journals, newspapers and anthologies. She broadcast on 3CR in the Not Another Koori Show for more than 20 years.

She was a friend, colleague and staunch supporter of the Moondani Balluk Indigenous Academic Unit and her skills and expertise are carried on through the VU graduates that she taught and mentored in the Bachelor of Education/Arts (Nyerna Studies) program.

Lisa herself best summed up the demands and gift of her poetry: “You can allow your eyes and heart to see. See the injustice, cruelty; and you can also hear the laughter and the love.”