PhD Scholarship Opportunity – The Successful Settlement of New Migrants in Regional Victoria

The Melbourne Social Equity Institute and the Ballarat EVOLVE Strategic Partnership invite proposals from applicants interested in undertaking research into rural / regional settlement of new migrants in the Ballarat, Wimmera and/or Western Districts of Victoria.

Applications closed at 12 pm midday on Monday 3 August 2020

This Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship is provided by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute and will be located within the Centre for Health Equity, School of Population and Global Health under the primary supervision of Associate Professor Cathy Vaughan. The PhD research will be co-supervised by Dr Olivia Mitchell from the Culturally Inclusive Rural Health Care research group in the Department of Rural Health.

The EVOLVE Strategic Partnership involves five primary partners:

Collectively these partners promote successful migration and settlement to the region. The partnership is centred in Ballarat as the regional gateway to the western district, and spans the Central Highlands and Wimmera regions.

The Melbourne Social Equity Institute and EVOLVE Partnership invite proposals from applicants interested in undertaking research into rural/regional settlement of new migrants in the Ballarat, Wimmera and/or Western Districts of Victoria.

Specifically, the partners are interested in research that will contribute to social equity through a focus on:

  1. developing the capacity of local support systems/agencies to support regional settlement
    OR
  2. better understanding the social impact of regional settlement, including community responses to diversification.

Applicants interested in pursuing specific issues within these broad areas (such as, but not limited to, models of culturally responsive service delivery; the role of social/sports/community clubs and religious institutions in regional settlement outcomes; service and community responses to specific health and social issues such as mental health, family violence, adolescent health and substance use; network analysis and local infrastructure capacity to support increased settlement) are encouraged to apply.

The Partnership will maintain a strong interest in the social equity outcomes of the PhD, and the successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with EVOLVE to develop a policy and practice relevant proposal.

Community-engaged and participatory research approaches are particularly welcome, and the successful candidate will be supported with access to local networks, data and industry expertise.

SCHOLARSHIP BENEFITS

The scholarship benefits include:

The Melbourne Social Equity Institute provides an additional $2,000 per annum (a maximum of $6,000 during candidature) in research support funds. The successful candidate will also receive automatic entry into the Institute’s PhD Program Migration, Statelessness and Refugee Studies.

ELIGIBILITY

The scholarship is only available to Australian and NZ citizens or Australian permanent residents. The scholarship is conditional upon acceptance into a PhD program at the University of Melbourne.

Applicants must be eligible for acceptance by the University of Melbourne into a PhD program. By the commencement of the program, applicants must have completed an accredited fourth-year program at Honours 1 or Honours 1 equivalence level, or at an Honours 2 level with an outstanding record of professional or research achievements since graduation.

Applicants should possess excellent interpersonal skills.Applicants will ideally be available to commence before the end of 2020.

APPLICATIONS

Applicants will be asked to provide the following information.

  • Name and contact information
  • Intended mode of study (full time/part time)
  • Relevant academic qualifications
  • Any previous academic awards, scholarships or prizes
  • Information about any substantial pieces of research completed as part of previous degrees (up to 250 words)
  • Any research publications you have authored or co-authored
  • Any study or work experience that is relevant to your PhD proposal or that has required you to develop relevant research and writing skills (up to 100 words)
  • Contact details of two references
  • Your CV
  • A brief research proposal – outline preliminary ideas, key research questions, methodologies, relevant conceptual and theoretical approaches; address how the project fits into the specific research program (1 – 2 pages)
  • Your academic transcripts (upload attachment)
  • If applicable, Masters/Honours thesis examiners' reports

If possible, we ask that this information be collated into a single PDF.

Applications close at 12 pm midday on Monday 3 August 2020.

FURTHER ENQUIRIES

If you have any questions about the PhD Program or the application process, please contact Associate Professor Cathy Vaughan c.vaughan@unimelb.edu.au or Charlene Edwards from the Melbourne Social Equity Institute charlene.edwards@unimelb.edu.au.

ABOUT THE MELBOURNE SOCIAL EQUITY INSTITUTE

The Melbourne Social Equity Institute is one of five Interdisciplinary Research Institutes at the University of Melbourne. Each operates with a small directorate and supports and encourages research across disciplinary boundaries.

The Melbourne Social Equity Institute supports collaborative research between academics, members of community organisations, policy makers and people with lived experiences to help build fairer societies.

THE BALLARAT EVOLVE PARTNERSHIP

More Information

Charlene Edwards

charlene.edwards@unimelb.edu.au