Accepting and declining Awards
Congratulations on your scholarship or award from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music.
Unless advised otherwise, you have four weeks from the date on the offer letter to accept your award. If you have completed the process to accept your award and have not been paid within a month, contact the Scholarships Office.
Accepting your award
There are three steps to accepting your award. Before you begin, make sure you take note of any conditions and requirements requested by the Dean in your award offer letter.
INCOMING CANDIDATES (Such as 2026 Entrance Grant or Tuition Fee recipients)
You don't need to wait until you are enrolled to accept your award. Please accept it using the link below and send a thankyou letter. Leave the student number field blank. You will be emailed in January with instructions in setting up your bank details as you cannot do this until you have enrolled.
Step one: payment information
Use the payment method outlined in your offer letter. If there are any problems regarding your banking details or payment, you will be emailed by University Services to either your student email address (if you are enrolled) or the personal email address you used to submit your scholarship application (for external parties and alumni).
Current and graduating students receiving cash payments will need to ensure their bank details are in the University system. Instructions for input or updating bank details are here. It is your responsibility to ensure your banking details are correct in the University system during the course of your candidacy.
Alumni and external parties will need to be set up in the University system as an AdHoc Supplier/University customer. If this is the case, you will be sent by email from University Services after you have accepted your award but not before the commencement of your approved activity or travel preparations. The Supplier/Customer setup email will come from University Services and provide you with a temporary password to enter your bank details into the University systems so that we can transfer your award money to your account.
If your award type is a reimbursement, you will be contacted by University Services with payment instructions.
If you are enrolled part-time, we will not withhold income tax from your scholarship payments. However, you should declare your payments as assessable income in your tax return or seek independent tax advice to ensure that your individual circumstances are covered.
Step two: accept your award
Please read the Fine Arts and Music Scholarship Terms and Conditions
Next, select this link to accept your award. The acceptance (and decline) form is held in SmartyGrants. This is the progam we use for all applications, the first time you use this (which may be at this moment) you will need to set up a login. Please make a note of your login for use when you apply for (or accept) future awards.
Accept my award
If you need to DECLINE your award, please email the Fine Arts and Music Scholarships Office <fineartsmusic-scholarships@unimelb.edu.au>
Step three: thank you letter and bio
All Award recipients are required to write a statement of appreciation to the donor or benefactor of the Award. Not only is this a great way to show your appreciation and gratitude, but it also enables the donor to see how their much‐needed support adds value the lives of our students and contributes to the ongoing development of the broader artistic sector. The acknowledgment and appreciation of continuing support is of great value to the donor as well as to future recipients who may also benefit from the generosity of these donors.
The thank you should take the form of an attached Word document with a brief statement of the impact of the Award, generally no longer than a page. Personal accounts are always appreciated but if you are unsure of what information to include the following outline may be of assistance.
If you are accepting two awards, please create a separate document for each scholarship and email as separate attachments within the same email.
Naming convention for the thankyou letter document is [year] [scholarship name] [yourname] thankyou letter
eg. 2026 Bardsley Your Name Thankyou letter
Instructions on what to put in the statement
1. Award name, year of award, your name
2. First paragraph: Please introduce yourself and state what are you enrolled in (or a graduate of).
3. Second paragraph: What are your goals? What impact will this Award have for you? For example, outline how you will be using these funds. Examples include: supporting your study through purchasing of materials, travel, rent, lessons etc.
4. Artistic Biography Include a brief biography. Please include this in the letter rather than a separate document. This should include details about your background, past studies and teachers, recent accomplishments (Performances, exhibitions, etc), key interest areas (eg. Opera, figurative drawing) and extracurricular activities. You may also wish to include your CV and/or copies or images of your work (if relevant). You can choose not to provide these details as we understand your right to privacy.
5. Please email the letter to fineartsmusic-scholarships@unimelb.edu.au and we will forward this letter on to the donors on your behalf.
Contact the Scholarships Office for more information.
Email: fineartsmusic-scholarships@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9035 9044