Lillian de Lissa Scholarship

The Lillian de Lissa Trust was established in 1977 to assist advanced or postgraduate studies or research in the pre-school field.  The Trust was named for the late Lillian de Lissa who established the Kindergarten Union of South Australia and was the Director of the first free kindergarten in Adelaide. The Trust is governed by deed between the Public Trustee and the Minister for Education. A Trust Board was established in 2021 under the Trust Deed.

The Lillian de Lissa Trust welcomes applications from masters by research students engaged in or planning early childhood research that would be for the ‘benefit of children in South Australia’.  The Scholarship will be promoting the highest possible standards in the provision of early childhood education (children between birth and 8 years).

The focus of the Scholarship supports s3.1 of the Lillian de Lissa Fund Trust Deed which establishes the purpose of the Trust is to promote the highest possible standards in the provision of pre-school education by:

Enabling or assisting advanced or post-graduate studies or research, either within or outside Australia, in the pre-school area or in any other area with the purpose of the benefit of such studies and/or research being applied in the pre-school area within the Commonwealth of Australia for the benefit of the State of South Australia.

The funding available for the Lillian de Lissa Trust Research Grant for 2024 is:

• Domestic and International Students: $25,000 per annum.
• Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Students: $37,000 per annum. 

This Scholarship is intended to supplement the Australian Government's Research Training Program Scholarships (RTPS). 

If the successful recipient is applying for the Scholarship in their first year of study, they will be automatically eligible to be approved for a second year of scholarship funding. Whereas if the successful recipient is applying for the Scholarship in their second year of study, they will only receive funding for their second year of study.

To be eligible for the 2024 Lillian de Lissa Trust Scholarship;

• The applicant must be in the first year, or at the beginning of their second year of undertaking a masters by research in the field of Early Childhood Education.
• OR
• The applicant must be planning to undertake a masters by research in the field of Early Childhood Education, starting within the next 12 months from application.
• The masters by research must be undertaken full time at a South Australian University. 
• The supported research outcomes must be of benefit to South Australian Children and the South Australian Early Childhood Education sector.
• People of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent and/or those who are living with a disability are strongly encouraged to apply.