Rowan Nicks International Scholarship and Rowan Nicks Pacific Islands Scholarship

Applications for the 2025-26 Rowan Nicks Scholarships will open mid-2025. Stay tuned for updates on this page.

The Rowan Nicks Scholarships and Fellowships provide opportunities for recipients to develop their management, leadership, teaching and clinical skills through clinical attachments in selected hospitals in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Applicants for the Rowan Nicks International and Pacific Islands Scholarships must:

• commit to return to their home country on completion of their Scholarship;
• meet the English Language Requirement for medical registration in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand (equivalent to an IELTS score of 7.0 in every category for Australia, or 7.0 in reading and writing and 7.5 in speaking and listening for Aotearoa New Zealand);
• hold a Master of Medicine in Surgery, or his/her country's post-graduate qualification in surgery. However, consideration will be given to applicants who have completed local general post-graduate surgical training, where appropriate to the needs of their home country; and
• be able to demonstrate long term leadership prospects, as ideally they would be a mid-career professional.

Applicants for the Rowan Nicks Pacific Islands Scholarship must be a citizen of the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu or Vanuatu.

Applicants for the Rowan Nicks International Scholarship must be a citizen of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia**, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal or Vietnam.

**With preference given to Indonesian applicants from outside the major capital cities of Jakarta and Surabaya who will return to practice in regional areas.

• The selection panel will consider the potential of the applicant to become a surgical leader in the country of origin, and/or to supply a much-needed service in a particular surgical discipline.
• The panel must be convinced that the applicant is of high calibre in surgical ability, ethical integrity and qualities of leadership.
• Selection will primarily be based on merit, with applicants providing an essential service in remote areas, without opportunities for institutional support or educational facilities, being given earnest consideration.

A scholarship is anywhere from 3-12 months.
A living allowance of up to $56,000* for a 12-month attachment or pro-rata for shorter attachments, one return economy airfare from the scholar's home country, plus up to $10,000 to cover administrative fees, settling-in expenses, and professional development opportunities such as the RACS Annual Scientific Congress or other appropriate conference.

*The value of the award may be reduced if the candidate will receive a salary or funding from another source while undertaking the scholarship or Fellowship program. Candidates are obligated to declare to RACS any additional funding obtained or applied for at the time of application, after the submission of the application and at any stage during the selection process and during the tenure of the scholarship or Fellowship.

Scholarships Coordinator, Global Health
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
250-290 Spring Street
East Melbourne VIC 3002 Australia

Email: [email protected]