STEM Accommodation Scholarship at Victoria University Melbourne Australia 2026

The STEM Accommodation Scholarship at Victoria University (VU) offers eligible international students a full year of free accommodation, worth up to $15,548, instead of a tuition fee cut. It's aimed specifically at offshore applicants, meaning students who are still outside Australia when they apply, which makes it a good fit for Indian students applying to VU directly from India, unlike scholarships that require you to already be in Australia.

This scholarship is tied to VU Melbourne's Footscray Park Campus, the university's main hub for STEM subjects, and covers science, engineering, and information technology degrees only, not every course VU offers. For Indian students eyeing engineering or IT programs in Australia, this can meaningfully cut down first-year living costs, since accommodation is one of the biggest recurring expenses for international students.

Subraxo recommends treating the value of this scholarship as covering rent, WiFi, and utility bills for your first year, rather than tuition, since that's specifically what it pays for.

To qualify for the STEM Accommodation Scholarship, applicants must meet the following:

• Be applying from outside Australia at the time of application (offshore applicants only).
• Be commencing a new undergraduate or postgraduate degree in science, engineering, or information technology at VU Melbourne.
• Not already be a current VU student.
• Not be a new postgraduate applicant receiving credit or advanced standing for previous study.
• Not be a new undergraduate applicant receiving credit for more than 4 units of previous study.
• Be assessed as meeting the required academic standard, based on prior academic results (this is merit-based, not automatic for everyone who applies).

VU has also said it particularly encourages applications from female students, as part of its effort to close the gender gap in STEM enrolments, though this is stated as an encouragement rather than a strict eligibility filter.

There's no separate scholarship form to fill out. Once you apply for an eligible course at VU Melbourne, your application is automatically assessed for the scholarship. If you meet the bar, VU emails you to confirm you'd like to take it up. If you're not selected, you won't be notified separately, so don't wait on a rejection email before making other plans.

Since scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis within each intake, applying early for your intended intake genuinely improves your chances.

Partial Funding , Free accommodation valued up-to $15,548.

• Undergraduate recipients get one year (52 weeks) of free accommodation at UniLodge VU, valued at $15,548.
• Postgraduate recipients get six months (26 weeks) of free accommodation at UniLodge VU, valued at $8,502.
• Accommodation is a single room in a shared 6-bedroom apartment, with mixed or single-gender options depending on availability.
• Room rates include unlimited WiFi and all utility bills, so there are no extra monthly costs to budget for on top of it.

One cost students do still need to plan for: a refundable UniLodge VU security deposit of $1,300, returned about two weeks after the rental contract ends.