Australia Awards Scholarship for Vietnamese Students: Eligibility and Selection Process

A Long-Running Program

Australia Awards has supported more than 7,500 Vietnamese graduates since 1974, according to Australia Awards Vietnam , the official site for the program. For the 2025 and 2026 intakes combined, 107 Vietnamese scholars were selected. The scholarship funds postgraduate study and short courses in Australia and is part of the wider Australia Awards program run under Australia's development partnership with Vietnam.

What the Scholarship Covers

Australia Awards for Vietnam runs alongside short course offerings for working professionals who do not want a full degree abroad. The full scholarship track funds postgraduate study, typically a Masters or PhD, at an Australian university. Exact coverage details, including which costs are included, are published on the official site's scholarship information pages and are confirmed at offer stage, so check the current terms before you plan your budget around any figure you see elsewhere.

Eligibility

You need to be a Vietnamese citizen residing in Vietnam to apply. Beyond citizenship, the official site provides an eligibility check tool so you can confirm your own status before you commit time to a full application. Academic requirements follow the standards of your target Australian institution, and you need an English test score, usually IELTS Academic, that meets your course's minimum requirement. Because these thresholds are reviewed for each intake, use the eligibility page on australiaawardsvietnam.org rather than a fixed number from a previous cycle.

Priority Fields of Study

The program maintains a dedicated priority fields of study list tied to Australia-Vietnam development cooperation. This list shifts between intakes as priorities change, so check the current list on the official site before choosing your course or research topic. Applying in a field outside the current priority list does not disqualify you, but it puts you at a disadvantage against applicants whose study plans match Australia's stated priorities for Vietnam.

Selection Process

Selection follows the same broad structure used across Australia Awards country programs.

1. You complete the online application with academic transcripts, references, and a study or research plan.

2. Australia Awards Vietnam checks eligibility and completeness before moving your file forward.

3. Shortlisted applicants go through an academic assessment based on submitted documents.

4. Selected candidates attend an interview where panels assess your study plan and readiness.

5. Successful applicants receive a conditional offer, usually tied to confirming your English test score.

6. Final offers go through endorsement before pre-departure preparation begins.

Timeline: Plan a Year Ahead

Applications for Intake 2027 closed on 30 April 2026. Intakes run on an annual cycle, so if you missed a window, expect roughly a year until the next one opens rather than a short wait. Because exact opening dates move slightly between cycles, check australiaawardsvietnam.org directly rather than assuming the same month each year, and start your English test and document preparation well before you expect the window to open.

After You Are Selected

Awardees get access to pre-departure support, travel assistance, and settling-in guidance once selected, according to the official site's Awardees section. The program also keeps an active alumni community for former scholars, which is worth reviewing if you want a sense of where past Vietnamese Australia Awards graduates have ended up.

Short Courses as a Lower-Commitment Option

If a full postgraduate degree in Australia is not realistic for your current career stage, Australia Awards Vietnam also runs short courses for working professionals. These are non-degree, shorter programs aimed at specific skills or sectors rather than a full Masters or PhD. They carry separate eligibility and application steps from the full scholarship track, and they do not require the multi-year commitment a degree program does, which makes them worth checking if you want an Australia Awards credential without leaving your job for years.

Building a Competitive Application

Given that only 107 scholars were selected across two full intake years, competition for the full scholarship track is real. A study or research plan that ties directly to a current priority field, backed by a clear explanation of how you will apply what you learn back in Vietnam, carries more weight than an application built around personal preference for a particular Australian city or university. Start your English test preparation early and treat the eligibility check tool on the official site as your first step, not a formality, since it tells you where you stand before you invest time in the full application.

Where Past Applicants Come From

Vietnamese Australia Awards recipients typically come from a working background rather than straight out of an undergraduate degree, since the scholarship targets emerging leaders with real professional or research experience in a field tied to Vietnam's development priorities. If you are still an undergraduate, use the years before you apply to build relevant work or research experience in a priority field rather than applying immediately after graduation. This background is part of what separates a strong application from one with good grades but no demonstrated field experience.

Questions to Answer Before You Start

Before you begin the online application, confirm three things using the official site: whether your target Australian course and university meet the program's academic requirements, whether your intended field appears on the current priority fields of study list, and whether your English test result, or your plan to sit one, fits the timeline for the next intake. Answering these three honestly before you start saves you from building a full application around a plan that will not clear the eligibility check.