SYDNEY: Students battling the credit crunch have been cast a lifeline from Sydney-based Raffles College of Design and Commerce.
The North Sydney institute has announced five new scholarships to study commerce, design and art degrees from 2010, in addition to its existing full scholarship program for design.
The new scholarships included one full-fee ($55,540) and one half-fee ($27,770) scholarship each for the Bachelor of Design and Bachelor of Arts (Visual Communication) degrees.
Raffles College chief executive Isaac Ng said the extra scholarships were a timely funding stream under the current economic climate.
"The scholarships will attract exceptionally talented students to our college community and provide those students with a unique education experience."
Winner of the 2007 Provost Scholarship Brad Butler was now in his final year of a degree in design. Butler won first prize in a formal wear competition staged by fabric retailer Spotlight last year, beating out 200 entrants from across Australia and New Zealand.
As part of his prize, Butler scored an expenses-paid trip to Melbourne to meet with high-profile J'Aton Couture designers Jacob Luppino and Anthony Pittorino.
The program is open to current Year 12 students and only available to those with an Australian citizenship. Applications, which will be made available on the institute's website, will close on September 30, with scholarships awarded in early December.