About the Scholarship

Dr Meredith Doig spent most of her career in the corporate world, in manufacturing (Ford Australia), mining (Rio Tinto) and banking (ANZ). Since 1998, she has been a professional company director with appointments to commercial, government and not-for-profit boards.

Meredith's education followed the classical liberal tradition, with studies in pure mathematics, linguistics and classical civilisation. She has served on the Federal Government's Higher Education Council, the Council of the University of Melbourne and the board of the Asian University for Women Support Foundation.

From 2011 to 2016, she was a Council member at Federation University.

Apart from her professional career, Meredith has been a long-time community activist, lobbying on issues ranging from social equity to corporate governance. In 2015 she contested the State seat of Polwarth in Victoria, and in 2016 stood for election to the Federal Senate. She is President of the Rationalist Society of Australia.

Dr Doig established the Meredith Doig Scholarship in 2016 to encourage women to continue their studies in a STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subject.

Eligibility 

• Domestic student
• Continuing student in 2025
• Identifies as woman/female
• Enrolled in a undergraduate or postgraduate course (excluding research degrees)
• Undertaking studies in the field of science, technology, engineering or mathematics
• Studying at the Mt Helen Campus in Ballarat

Scholarship Amount 

1 Scholarship Available 

The recipient will receive $4,000 in two instalments: $2,000 after the first census date and $2,000 after the second census date.

Conditions 

• Active and enrolled for the full year post census date.
• Students who defer their offer or take a leave of absence will forfeit their award.
• Can be full-time or part-time.
• Must not be in their final semester of studying when applying
• Awardees are required to attend the Foundation event at the scholarship-specified campus. 
• Students are to maintain current contact details. If you cannot be contacted by mail, email or telephone in relation to this scholarship, your scholarship may be terminated.

How to apply 

Read the Selection and Administration Guidelines to check your eligibility. 

• Once applications open you will need to complete the application form questions and provide the required written references. 
• Please note all applications will require two written references. If you are unsure what to provide in a written reference, please refer to the example reference.  

Reference letter

A reference letter is a written recommendation from someone who knows your situation well. This person: 

• should be at least 18 years old. 
• have known you for at least a year or for the entire time you were in the situation. 
• not be a close family member. 
• not live with you. 
• and be able to speak about your situation without needing you to explain it to them. 

Reference letters can be written by supervisors, co-workers, clients, teachers, or professors. 

Please note, that the reference letters must not be older than 12 months from submission date. Reference letters that do not meet the requirements will be deemed as invalid.

If you're unsure about what to include in a reference letter, you can look at an example reference for guidance.

Information Privacy Procedure

Please read the Information Privacy Procedure before entering your profile in the Scholarships and Grants portal. Entering and submitting scholarship applications will constitute your consent to using your personal information as detailed in the Information Privacy Procedure.