After more than 25 years of giving back to the medical community in the central west, the CWMA made the hard decision to close earlier this year.

In a final generous act to the community, the organisation has donated $460,000 to medical scholarships for the new Joint Program in Medicine between Charles Sturt in Orange and Western Sydney University.

Charles Sturt Director of Advancement Mrs Sarah Ansell said the generous donation was a wonderful way to kick-start the program when the first cohort of students arrives in 2021.

"It's important to be able to ensure that personal circumstances, such as financial hardship, are not barriers for capable rural and Indigenous students entering the program," she said.

"We have been given a life-changing gift of almost half a million dollars and we want to thank CWMA for the work they have done for this community and the impact they will continue to have through the scholarships."

CWMA executive director Mrs Sandra Christensen said the board was determined to commit funds that would contribute to the regional medical community.

"We wanted to put our assets to use in a way we felt would benefit the community," Mrs Christensen said.

"We always said we need medical students who were trained in rural and regional areas and that would create opportunities for GPs to stay in these areas. I'm really looking forward to seeing where it goes."

The contracts have been finalised and potential students can apply for scholarships from September 2020.

The details of the scholarships and funding allocation will be sorted in time for the first intake of students when the course commences in 2021.

The scholarships are available to Indigenous rural students or financially disadvantaged rural students who demonstrate financial hardship, sound academic achievement and community or regional involvement.

They will also support the program's research projects.

The full list of the University's scholarships and grants can be found on the Charles Sturt Scholarship website.