About the Scholarship

Are you a talented Australian,  passionate about this country and with the desire  to contribute to its  future? Then you should consider applying for the Cranfield Australian Alumni Scholarship.

Funded jointly by Cranfield Alumni in Australia and the Cranfield School of Management, UK, the scholarship was established in 2005 to give talented Australians the opportunity to benefit  from a world-class business education at Cranfield School of Management.

The Scholarship is  the only scholarship in Australia which is focused on identifying future leaders and entrepreneurs and providing them with a unique opportunity to accelerate their professional, personal and leadership development by undertaking the intensive one year MBA programme.

Cranfield’s MBA programme was recently rated Number 3 world-wide by the Wall Street Journal in its survey of the intensive one-year MBA programmes.

What the Cranfield Australian Alumni Scholarship covers and how it is distinctive

The scholarship covers

• tuition fees for the full time MBA programme, presently £28,000, and
• a grant of A$20,000 towards accommodation, living and travel expenses.
• subject to sponsorship, a contribution to airfares. (In  2007 and 2008 we were also able to provide sponsored airfares due to the kind support of Virgin Airways.)

At current exchange rates, the total value of the scholarship is around A$85,000, making it the most valuable in Australia for one year of study.

However, the Cranfield Australian Alumni Scholarship is distinctly different from other notable scholarships available to Australians for overseas study, for example, the Rhodes, Menzies, Fulbright and Sir John Monash scholarships, which all have a strong academic eligibility criteria and are oriented to post-graduate research.

This scholarship, by contrast, is open to applicants who may not have completed an undergraduate degree, but have demonstrated through work track record that they have the talent and persistence to do well.

Who is eligible to apply for CAAS

Eligibility for the scholarship has been deliberately defined in simple terms:

• applicants must be Australian nationals residing in the country,
• must have at least 3-4 years of practical, “real-life” work and life experience with a track record of success and will most likely be around 28 to 34 years of age but there are no fixed upper or lower limits
• and have the talent and passion to contribute to Australia’s future.
• Be accepted on the Cranfield MBA programme, through the normal Cranfield application process. Cranfield’s minimum entry requirements are
  a.  Minimum GMAT score of 600; and
  b.  Successful work experience of over three years
• Complete the Scholarship Application form, which simply asks the applicant to make a persuasive case to be awarded the scholarship.

As the scholarship aims to improve the quality of leadership and management skills in all sectors of business and the community, we actively seek diversity in age, education and professional background in the registrants. The scholarship will be particularly attractive to highly skilled specialists who wish to broaden and strengthen their management experience.

This scholarship, through the diversity of its reach and the skills and knowledge in leadership and management that it will develop in the recipients, has the capability to make a significant impact to Australia.

In the longer term, Australians with internationally ranked skills in leadership and management will contribute both to the economic welfare of the nation as well as to the values that make Australia unique.