Postgraduate Scholarships and Opportunities

The National Art School is proud to have a generous scholarship of $20,000 to support a student studying in the Master of Fine Art Program. Funded by the Clitheroe Foundation, this scholarship is open to current Bachelor of Fine Art Students who are immediately applying to continue study at the School in the Master of Fine Art program. The scholarship can be used for fees and course costs or as a stipend to support living expenses for the two-year duration of the course.

Applications for the scholarship are made as part of the application to the Master of Fine Art program.

The Standish & Co Scholarship is generously funded by Standish & Co, and provides $5,000 to a student continuing from the Bachelor of Fine Art Program into the Master of Fine Art program and majoring in Photomedia. The recipient is intended to use the funds as a stipend to support living and study expenses. The Scholarship also provides $5,000 of in-kind printing at Look Print and mentorship (valued at $5,000) over the two years of the MFA degree.

Applications for the scholarship are made as part of the application to the Master of Fine Art program.

The Mark Henry Cain Memorial Travel Scholarship is an annual award of $10,000 in commemoration of Mark Henry Cain, an artist trained at Glasgow School of Art who relocated to Sydney in 1937. The Scholarship supports an MFA1 student to travel for their artistic research for a period of 6-8 weeks in the UK (including England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland). The award is supported by generous endowment made by a private donor.

Congratulations to the 2025/2026 recipient Bethany Shanahan.

Applications for 2026/2027 round will open in April 2026.

The nineteenth edition of the renowned TROPICAL LAB, an international art camp for art academies and institutes, took place from 17 July to 1 August 2025 at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore.

Congratulations to the 2025 awardee, Alicia Finney.

TROPICAL LAB is an international art camp for art academies and institutes, at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore. It is an intensive and highly engaging fourteen-day event bringing together more than 20 student-artists from various art colleges and institutions around the world. TROPICAL LAB is a real and imaginative space for student artists to research, experiment and collaborate to create contemporary artworks, regardless of medium, method and approach.

The event include workshops, talks and seminars guided by established international and Singaporean artists culminating in an exhibition curated by LASALLE’s curatorial division, Institute of Contemporary Art Singapore at LASALLE.

Applications for the 2026 edition will open in October/November 2025.

The Eloise Morton Memorial Fund was established in loving memory of former NAS student, Eloise Morton. Eloise was a vibrant student and dear friend of the Sydney arts community,

who tragically passed away in 2024 before she could complete her Master of Fine Art (MFA) degree.

Two awards valued at $2,100 each will be granted in 2025 and 2026, to assist recipients with the costs of art materials, books and equipment towards their studies.

Eligible applicants must be enrolled in the MFA (full-time) at NAS and be able to demonstrate financial hardship.

Applications for 2026 round will open in April 2026.

The East Sydney Doctors Scholarship is generously funded by East Sydney Doctors. The Scholarship provides $5,000 to a student completing the first year of the Master of Fine Art degree and going into the second year of the program at the National Art School.

The recipient is intended to use the Scholarship as a stipend to support living and study expenses. The Scholarship is open to students continuing their progress in the Master of Fine Art program at the National Art School.

Applications for the 2026 Scholarship will open on Monday 6 October 2025 to Sunday 16 November 2025. 

Application Guidelines

The Lift Off Award, generously funded by private donors, will provide $20,000 to a promising graduating MFA candidate from the National Art School.

The successful recipient will be eligible to use the funding to undertake an artist residency, international travel, to establish a studio, purchase specialised equipment, mount an exhibition, a publication or any project that requires a lift off to support their burgeoning art practice.

Applications for the 2026 Award will open on Monday 6 October 2025 to Sunday 16 November 2025. 

Application Guidelines

The Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre boasts an on-site, live-in artist in residence studio called the Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio (AIR).

The AIR studio is generously supported by benefactor Mr Tim Fairfax AC and named in honour of his mother Nancy Fairfax, who was a great friend of Margaret Olley.

The AIR program includes:

• A $5000 stipend
• A two to four-week studio residency in March 2026
• A three-month solo exhibition in 2027, in the Friends Gallery at the Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre.

Applications for the 2026 program will open in October 2025.

The Aboriginal Art Centre Internship (AACI) program is made possible through the generous support of Sharon Toffler and Mark Tedeschi AM QC.

These internships provide graduating students with an opportunity to acquire practical arts management experience and training in an active Aboriginal community art centre environment. Working closely with the Art Centre Manager, interns will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with artists and day-to-day arts centre operations. Successful applicants are expected to take up the internship in 2026.

Recipients will be provided with transport to and from the art centre, accommodation, and stipend for the ten-week period of the internship.

Applications will be open to students completing the Bachelor of Fine Art or Master of Fine Art programs in 2025.

Applications for the 2026 AACI program will open on Monday 6 October 2025 to Sunday 16 November 2025.

Application Guidelines