Managing your Scholarship

Understanding the fundamentals of your scholarship(s) could help you avoid unnecessary confusion and stress if at any time your ability to undertake your research is affected.

Understanding your Scholarship

It is important you know who funds your scholarship and how it works. Knowing this will then help you and others know which set of scholarships terms and conditions are relevant to you. For example, if you hold a centrally allocated scholarship (such as RTP Stipend or Monash Graduate Scholarship), they are governed by Monash's RTP Scholarship Policy and Procedures.  A faculty scholarship can often have a different set of conditions attached to them. If you are unsure about what scholarship conditions apply to you, you can find that information within your scholarship offer letter and we recommend you familiarise yourself with them.

Knowing your Entitlements

All scholarship holders are paid fortnightly. This payment is for 2 weeks study which is equivalent to 10 working days (pro-rata for part time).  Many scholarship holders are automatically entitled to four weeks (20 days) of annual leave and two weeks (10 days) of sick leave (pro-rata for part-time students).  It is important that you keep your supervisor informed of these particular absences as you do not need to formally apply to take this leave.

Your scholarship may allow for additional periods of leave such as 12 weeks of paid maternity leave (per birth/pregnancy or adoption), 12 weeks of paid sick leave or 5 days of paid parental leave. As these periods of leave will extend the duration of your scholarship, candidature and any future milestones, you need to formally apply for them.

We recommend you familiarise yourself with our Handbook to further learn about expectations and restrictions around any leave requests. Should you find yourself needing to take a break from your research, there are options to take unpaid leave or make further changes to your enrolment.