Opportunities

Prospective postdocs and students

I welcome enquiries from prospective postdocs and graduate students. In the School of BioSciences (University of Melbourne), we have access to a range of resources including molecular lab facilities, constant temperature rooms.

Melbourne is a fantastic place to live with a vibrant cultural scene – and the University of Melbourne is in the heart of it. More information about Melbourne can be found at Visit Melbourne

PhD Scholarships

Perhaps the most important first step before starting a PhD is to secure a scholarship to cover tuition and/or living expenses. Information regarding financial support for graduate research students can be found here. Australians and New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents can apply for Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) and Melbourne Research Scholarships (MRS).

International students can apply for International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS) or a Melbourne International Research Scholarship (MIRS) and Melbourne International Fee Remission Scholarship (MIFRS). These are extremely competitive. Other international postgraduate scholarships that would allow you to study at Melbourne may be available within individual countries – it is worth doing a thorough search.

Postdoctoral Fellowships

The main independent fellowship scheme offered by the Australian Research Council (ARC) is the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA; 3 years). Applications are submitted through the Melbourne Research Office in February of each year for funding commencing the following year.

The University of Melbourne administers two postdoctoral fellowship schemes – McKenzie Fellowships and Centenary Fellowships (type ‘Centenary’ in the title search of this link for the latest information about this scheme). Both ARC and University of Melbourne postdoctoral fellowships are open to applicants of any nationality and are highly competitive.

You can also apply for international postdoctoral fellowships that allow you to spend some or all of your time at the University of Melbourne. These include: FoRST Postdoctoral Fellowships (New Zealand); National Science Foundation Fellowships (USA); NSERC Fellowships (Canada); Marie Curie Fellowships (Europe); Royal Society Fellowships (UK); and Fellowships from the Swedish Research Council, Swiss National Science Foundation, The Research Council of Norway and National Science Foundation South Africa, among others.

Other Links

There are a number of sites that advertise positions and provide useful information on a range of aspects to do with doing a PhD and life after a PhD. These are just some:

• Evoldir: the Evolutionary directory provides a current listing of postdocs and academic jobs.
• Keogh Lab – Student Resources: This site provides a list of links to great advice, skill development and grants available to postgrad students, as well as a list of postdoctoral fellowship schemes in Australia and links to job advertisement webpages