Established in 2000, the Rural Australia Medical Undergraduate Scholarship (RAMUS) scheme is an integral part of the Australian Government's long-term strategy to increase the number of medical practitioners in rural and remote areas of Australia. Its aim is to increase the number of students with a rural background who enter and complete their study of medicine at university.
The RAMUS Scheme supports 578 current scholarship holders. Each year the number of scholarships offered maintains the total at 578. Scholarship holders receive $10,000 a year during the completion of a standard medical degree at their chosen university. The scholarships are not bonded. Scholarship holders are encouraged to take part in activities to maintain and strengthen their ties to rural Australia and to develop an appreciation of work as a medical practitioner in rural areas. All scholarship holders have a rural doctor as a mentor and are required to be a member of their university’s student rural health club.
The National Rural Health Alliance has managed the RAMUS scheme on behalf of the Department of Health since the Scheme's inception in 2000.
One hundred and sixty nine medical students commenced RAMUS scholarships in 2014. Eligible students are those with a rural background, demonstrated financial need and a commitment to working in a rural area in the future. Not all eligible students succeed in being offered a scholarship, with financial need often being the key determinant of success and failure.
The 2015 application round opened on 5 November 2014 and will close on 12 January 2015. The basis for consideration of an applicant's rural experience will continue to be ASGC-RA, notwithstanding the changes to it that are soon to be implemented.