Rise with La Trobe
Looking to gain a culturally adept academic pathway to La Trobe University? Whether you’re an Indigenous high school student or a prospective mature age one, our new RISE with La Trobe Indigenous pathways program supports and prepares you for your future university study.
You’ll gain access to a range of activities, workshops, and events, which include academic learning, cultural activities and connections, mentoring, academic assistance and introductions to university life. Then, once you’ve successfully completed the pathway program, you’ll be given a conditional offer to study at La Trobe University.
RISE also offers you a range of deadly activities to participate in, including:
If you’re looking to gain information about what opportunities La Trobe has to offer, we have a range of easy options for you. You and your family can join our friendly Indigenous Student Services staff for a private guided tour of our campuses and facilities. Alternatively, you can join us on a campus tour day and meet prospective Indigenous students from across the state. We will also be holding several community information sessions both online and on campuses where you can ask questions and learn more about the La Trobe experience. Lastly, we can come visit you at your school to talk about the RISE with La Trobe program and all the deadly options you have post-high school completion.
Looking for more information about La Trobe’s education pathways? We have you covered.
All RISE participants can gain entry into a La Trobe University diploma or undergraduate degree by completing our Achieve, Tertiary Preparation Program or Prepare pathways units.
Our interactive experience days allow you to find out what it’s like to be a La Trobe university student for a day. You’ll attend a university lecture and access a guided tour of your chosen campus. You’ll then explore the facilities within our schools and discover the exciting possibilities that could await you, from creating, producing and presenting a real news production to building your own robot.
Each year, La Trobe’s campuses host an Open Day where students can explore our facilities, meet fellow students and ask questions to lecturers and Indigenous Student Services staff. You’ll also be able to participate in a range of fun Open Day activities and festivities.
Throughout the year, RISE holds a variety of workshops help boost your academic potential. You’ll develop your skills in a range of areas, including referencing, assignment planning, essay writing and time management. What’s more, you’ll have the opportunities to attend as many workshops and learn about as many topics as you wish.
Want to kick exam stress to the kerb? Our Exam Preparation workshops will help you prepare for your exams, while also teaching you valuable stress management techniques.
Each campus will hold several on campus University days, where RISE participants can join La Trobe staff, current students, mentors, and fellow RISE participants to live life as a university student for a day. The day will include exposure to university lectures, speciality activities and departments like ‘making a news report’ with the media team, ‘Making a robot’ with the science department, sequencing DNA in Bundoora and much more. Students will gain a true insight to what it feels like to be a university student, while also meeting and yarning with current Indigenous University students.
After you’ve participated with RISE for three or more months, you’ll receive a laptop containing all the infrastructure required to successfully complete your VCE and participate in RISE academic modules. We’ll also provide you with ongoing IT assistance to ensure you have everything you need to thrive along the way.
Want to find out more about our many employment, cadetship, internship and scholarship opportunities? Our Career Expo days allow you to explore the many education and career options you could pursue, as well as the study requirements for each of your areas of interest.
You’ll have the chance to speak with Elders and community leaders in our rewarding cultural enrichment experiences, which occur biannually at each of our campuses. You can listen to guest speakers, participate in cultural tours undertake cultural activities and even visit cultural sites of significance.
Each year, we hold a Cultural and Educational Camp to bring together all RISE participants under the age of 18. Here, you’ll meet new friends as you participate in a variety of activities over an unforgettable four days. You’ll immerse yourself in Indigenous culture, build cultural support networks and learn about our courses and Indigenous education opportunities.
We’ve designed our mentoring program to match you with a university student mentor, who’ll give you education and support throughout your time in the RISE program. This is a great opportunity to ask questions and discover more about the practicalities of being a university student.
You’ll have voluntary access to a private tutor, who’ll provide you with academic support through our Indigenous Academic Excellence Program. Our tutors come from a variety of educational and cultural backgrounds, and you’ll be placed with a tutor who has studied the same disciplinary interest field as yourself. For example, if you’re interested in becoming a teacher, you’ll be placed with a tutor who is currently studying education at university, or with a qualified teacher.
How to access a conditional offer to study at La Trobe University
To complete the program and receive a conditional offer, you need to successfully complete one of the four below options. You will be provided with access to individual and group private tuition to help you secure your early conditional offer to La Trobe.
The Aspire Year 11 Conditional Entry program uses your performance in year 11 to secure you an early conditional offer into a range of courses at La Trobe.
The Aspire Community Contribution program rewards your involvement in community, leadership and volunteering with an Aspire ATAR and an early conditional offer into your chosen course at La Trobe.
The Aspire Early University Study program rewards Year 12 students who’ve done additional studies at La Trobe with an early conditional offer into their dream course. This program is 100% free and online.
This program has two options, you can take on three or six micro-subjects through Aspire Prepare, or take a first-year undergraduate subject through Aspire Advanced.
The Aspire Achieve Plus program rewards Year 12 students who’ve studied a first-year university subject pair as part of their VCE studies with an early conditional offer to La Trobe.
We also want to make sure those who left school earlier can take part in RWL and university, so we’ve designed our Tertiary Preparation Program to give you supported learning that’ll prepare you for university. To successfully complete the program, you need to pass 60 credit points of study. Each of our subjects are worth 5 credit points in value, so you need to complete and pass 12 subjects to complete the program.
How we support you
Once you complete the program, you’ll be given a huge range of support as part of your conditional offer. The following is a list of support for RISE with La Trobe graduates:
Indigenous Academic Enrichment Program (IAEP) | If you accept a conditional offer through RISE, you need to engage in at least 2 hours of tuition per week with a dedicated tutor for your first semester. This service will be delivered through the Indigenous Academic Enrichment Program (IAEP). |
Scholarship ($5000) | Each commencing student will be given a $5000 commencement scholarship to help you with associated university costs. |
Dedicated Indigenous Support Team | You’ll have access to a dedicated Academic Adviser and a Student Engagement Senior Officer who are committed to supporting you throughout your university journey and beyond. |
| The Indigenous Support Team will help you with financial support, administrative assistance, academic advice, tuition access, referral to internal and external services and Indigenous-specific support. | |
Culturally safe study spaces | Our Indigenous Student Centres are culturally safe spaces for Indigenous students to access while on campus. Each of our Indigenous student services centres are unique and offer a variety of facilities, including dedicated study spaces, computer labs, free printing, comfortable lounge areas to support wellbeing and provides spaces for students to yarn and connect with others. |
Cultural and academic events | The Indigenous Student Services team develop and implement localised Indigenous workshops and events. |
Referral service | Through collaboration with internal departments, we facilitate referrals to expertise areas, including but not limited to: Access Ability, Student Health and Wellbeing, Future Students, Library Services, Student Complaints and Appeals, Living at La Trobe, Scholarships, Student Administration, Advising and Success, Employability and the Learning Hub. |
| We facilitate referrals to give you opportunities for placements, cadetships, internships, scholarships, and domestic/international exchanges. | |
| We also facilitate external referrals to Indigenous services. Referrals include mental health and wellbeing, family and ancestry tracing services and hardship support. | |
Free gym membership | All commencing Indigenous students studying at Bundoora and Bendigo can access a complimentary membership to the La Trobe gym, while students at our regional campuses will have access to a gym membership bursary. |
Student Mentor Program
RISE with La Trobe gives you exclusive access to our Indigenous Student Mentor Program, which empowers and support you throughout your educational journey, with a huge range of additional activities and support on offer, including:
- homework tuition sessions
- a university mentor specific to your discipline
- university academic and cultural events
- access to an Indigenous Student Centre located in your geographical area
- opportunities to discover new skills, passions, and points of interest
- increased confidence and self-esteem, space to establish a sense of place within the education sector, and assistance with motivation and goal setting.