Charlie Perkins Scholarships to study at Oxford or Cambridge

The Charlie Perkins Scholarships are postgraduate scholarships directed towards Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians who have the potential to become leaders in their field of study and in their communities. The Scholarships were launched in 2009 in the memory of leader and activist Dr Charlie Perkins - the first Aboriginal person in Australia to graduate from university. With the assistance of the University of Oxford and the Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust, these annual scholarships support talented Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians to undertake postgraduate study at the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge. Since the program's inception fifteen years ago, 34 Charlie Perkins Scholars have been accepted into full-time studies at these universities, with 31 having graduated to date. The Charlie Perkins Scholarship Trust is administered by the Aurora Education Foundation, and a panel of prominent Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, together with representatives from the British Government and Cambridge Australia Scholarships, select the scholars each year.